Warm the milk in a small sauce pan on the stove until it just starts to bubble, stirring occasionally.
Remove from heat.
Let cool until lukewarm, about 120-125 degrees.
Dissolve
yeast in warm water and set aside until yeast is frothy, about 10
minutes or so (make sure your water is at the correct temperature or the
yeast won't activate.) Then mix in egg, sugar, butter salt and raisins
(stir in the cooled milk slowly so you don't cook the eggs.) Add the
flour gradually to make a stiff dough.
Knead the dough on a lightly floured surface for a few minutes until smooth.
Place in a large, buttered, mixing bowl and turn to grease the surface of the dough.
At this point continue with next step or place dough in fridge overnight to develop, next day allow to come to room temp before continuing.
Cover
with a warm, damp cloth and let rise (I like to let my bread rise in
the oven with the light on. It has just the right amount of heat and
keeps the bread out of drafts.) Allow to rise until doubled, usually
about 1 1/2 hours.
Roll out on a lightly floured surface into a large rectangle 1/2 inch thick.
Moisten the dough with 2 tablespoons milk and rub all over the dough with your hands.
Mix together brown sugar and cinnamon ( and opt. spices ) and sprinkle mixture evenly on top of the moistened dough.
Roll up tightly (the long way).
The roll should be about 3 inches in diameter.
Tuck under ends and pinch bottom together.
Place loaf into well greased (you can use Crisco or butter for this) 9 x 5 inch pan and lightly grease top of loaf.
Let rise in warm place, uncovered, again for about an hour.
Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes or until loaf is lightly browned and sounds hollow when tapped ( 205 degrees or less ).
Remove from oven and let cool on rack.
Take melted butter and spread over top of loaf.
After about 20 minutes, lay loaf on their sides and remove from pans.