First, warm the milk (do not boil it, just so that it steams slightly) and dissolve the yeast in it.
Add the oil or margarine and the vanilla and mix everything together.
Transfer everything to a tall bowl and add the remaining ingredients. Knead a dough out of it. Cover the bowl with a kitchen towel and let the dough rise for about 1 hour. The dough must have twice the volume and form small bubbles.
Knead the dough again. The batter is perfect when it comes off the edge of the bowl easily.
Now preheat the oven to 200 ° C (180 ° convection).
Shape the braid: Divide the dough into 3 thirds and form three long strands. These should each have a length of approx. 40 cm. Now braid these three strands into a loose yeast plait.
Brush the braid with the beaten egg yolk before baking in the oven.
Bake in the middle in the preheated oven at 200 ° for about 25 minutes.