Pasca (Romanian Easter Bread)

For the Dough

1. In a large bowl, mix together 1 ½ cup of flour, warm milk, sugar, and yeast. Cover the mixture and place it in a warm place for 25-30 minutes, until bubbly.
2. Separate ONE of the eggs, placing the whites in a separate bowl and setting it aside. (We will use this later to brush the bread before it goes into the oven.)
3. Once the flour and yeast mixture is nice and bubbly, mix in the 2 eggs and one egg yolk. Add 2 ½ c of flour, the soft butter, vanilla, and salt. Mix until the dough starts to come together. Then, turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead it until it is smooth and elastic, 8-10 minutes, adding only as much of the remaining 1 cup of flour as is necessary to keep it from sticking to your hands. (Alternately, you can mix the dough in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook for 2-3 minutes, until it is smooth and elastic, adding flour as necessary to keep it from sticking to the sides of the bowl.)
4. Place the dough into a clean, well greased bowl and cover it with a damp tea towel. Let the dough rise in a warm, draft free place until it has roughly tripled in bulk, 2 hours.
5. Once the dough has risen, turn it out onto a lightly floured surface and knead it a few times. Divide the dough in half.
6. Press one half of the dough into the bottom of a well-buttered 9 ½ or 10 inch spring-form pan.
7. Divide the other half of the dough into three even pieces and roll them into thin ropes, about 2 feet long. Press one end of each of the ropes together and braid the ropes gently. Arrange the braid into a ring, connecting the two ends. Stretch the braided ring gently and place it into the spring-form pan along the outside edge of the pan.
8. Cover the spring-form pan with your damp tea towel and let the dough rise again in a warm, draft free place until doubled in bulk, roughly 30-40 minutes.
9. Preheat the oven to 375F.
10. While the dough is rising, make the cheese filling by beating all of the filling ingredients (except the raisins) together with an electric hand mixer, until smooth and pour-able. Gently stir in the raisins.
11. In the small bowl with 1 reserved egg white, add 1 tsp water. Mix the egg whites and water together and brush the dough with the egg whites once it has risen.
12. Then, pour the cheese filling into the middle of the braided circle. (Only pour enough in to fill the cavity, do not let it run over.)
13. Bake the bread at 375F for 15 min. Reduce the heat to 325F and bake for an additional 40 minutes, until the bread is nice and golden and the center is set, but still jiggles slightly.
14. Turn off the oven and let the bread cool in the oven for 1 hour with the door shut.
15. After cooling 1 hour, remove the bread from the oven and serve or let cool completely on a wire rack before serving.