Mix 120 g of flour and dry yeast. Dissolve 1 tsp sugar (from the total amount given) in lukewarm milk. Add the milk with sugar to the flour with dry yeast and mix to a very soft pre-dough. Cover the pre-dough in the mixing bowl and let it rise in a warm place for about 20 minutes.
Separate egg yolks from egg whites. Beat egg yolks, sugar and vanilla sugar until fluffy and white.
Beat egg whites and salt until stiff and fold into egg yolk-sugar mixture.
Add the egg-sugar mixture and softened butter to the pre-dough, then gradually add the remaining flour and knead into a soft, very sticky dough. Then knead the dough for about 15 - 20 minutes, cover it with a towel and let it rise in a warm place for 1 hour.
Now knead the dough briefly and let it rise for another approx. 35 minutes.
Pour hot water over raisins, let them steep for 5 minutes and then dry them thoroughly.
Add raisins to the dough and knead it so that the raisins are evenly distributed in the dough.
Grease the baking pan with butter and dust it with flour, tapping off the excess flour. Dust the work surface with flour, roll your hands in flour, shape the dough into a ball and place it in the baking pan (the pan should not be more than half full with the dough). Cover the mold with a towel and let the dough rise in a warm place for about 1 hour.
Bake the kulich in a preheated oven at 180 °C on the second rack from the bottom for about 25 minutes (For this, note the detailed tips and tricks for baking Russian Easter bread here at the top of the post). After baking, carefully remove the Easter bread from the baking pan, place it on its side on a pillow and let it cool, carefully turning it over and over during the process.