Swabian Hefezopf

You need:
500 g Wheat flour, Type 550
1/2 Cube Backing yeast (about 18 g)
80 g Sugar, 1 Pack Vanilla sugar
80 g Butter
250 ml Milk
1 TSP Lemon peel (no synthetic flavor!!)
1 Egg, 1 Egg yolk for brushing
1 TSP Salt (7 g)
100 g Raisins, 50 g Flaked almonds

Preparation: Bring all equipments and ingredients to room temperature. Prewarm the milk to 35-40°C, in 100 ml suspend the yeast. Mix with 1 TBS suggar and 1 TBS flour and let rest for 20 min at 30°C to make a sponge. In the meantime fit a kitchen machine with a dough hook and put in its mixing bowl the rest of the flour (sieved), and all other remaining ingredients (except the flaked almonds), mix. If everything is mixed, add the sponge. Now knead with the kitchen machine as fast as possible, as long as the dough blisters and separates itself from the mixing bowl (ca. 5-8 min). Now cover the dough with a moist dish towel and let it rest at a warm place (ca. 22 °C) for 3 hours. Then put it on a floury table and knead it well by hand. Now split the big chunk into three equal chunks. From evey little chunk form a 40 cm long strand. Combine every strand at one end and starting from this connection, make a plait. Put the plait on a baking tray and let it rest for 30 min at ca. 22 °C. Mix one egg yolk with a little bit of water and brush the plait with this mixture, than dredge with flaked almonds (and coarse sugar, if you like). Bake in a 180°C preheated oven (top-/ bottom heat) on the lowest rack for 20-30 min (until it is light brownish and ready).