Saint Lucia buns - Lussekatter - Saffron buns

Margareta's Note:

A Swedish Tradition On 13 December the Swedes celebrate the Italian Saint Lucia with a remarkable enthusiasm, surpassing any Italian festivities devoted to the same lady. One mandatory constituent in the celebrations is a saffron-flavoured bun, in Swedish called a lussekatt, a "Lucia cat". The shape of this bun might vary somewhat, but is always based on bread designs dating back to earlier Christmas celebrations in Sweden. A Swedish Traditional Recipe from The Santesson Family, www.santesson.com

• Total Time: 1 hrs 8 mins
• Prep Time: 1 hrs
• Cook Time: 8 mins

Ingredients:

Servings: 24

• 300 ml milk
• 1 g saffron
• 50 g baker's yeast
• 150 g sugar
• 125 g butter or 125 g margarine
• 700 g all-purpose flour
• 1 egg
• salt
• raisins

Directions:

1. Melt butter or margarine in a pan and add the milk and the saffron.
2. Warm the mixture to 37 oC (100 oF).
3. Use a thermometer; the correct temperature is important!
4. Pour the mixture over the finely divided yeast; then add the remaining ingredients (except for the egg and the raisins), which should have a temperature of 21-23 oC (72-75 oF).
5. Mix into a smooth dough.
6. Cover the dough with a piece of cloth and let it rise for 30 minutes.
7. Knead the dough, divide it into 25-30 pieces and form each piece into a round bun.
8. Let the buns rest for a few minutes, covered by a piece of cloth.
9. Form each bun into a string, 15-20 cm long, then arrange the string in a suitable shape, e.g. an S or double S. Regardless of the shape, the ends of the string should meet.
10. Press a few raisins into the dough.
11. Cover the"Lucia cats" with a piece of cloth and let them rise for 40 minutes.
12. Whip the egg together with a few grains of salt, and paint the"Lucia cats" with the mixture.
13. Bake them for 5-10 minutes in the oven at 250 oC (475 oF) until golden brownish yellow.

Reviews

[twinkie456]

I have made these for years, the "Traditional Swedish" method of grinding the saffron is to grind it (after it has been toasted) with a sugar cube. these are wonderful. I have used cardamom in place of saffron for a traditional, but less expensive treat.

[Techie Pet]

Great recipe, although I had difficulty measuring out a 1g portion of saffron, and subsequently it wasn't very pronounced. Also, I think I'll try 450 next time as I it was just barely done on the inside and yet the raisins were singed at the top. The instructions are great and easy to follow - thanks for posting!

[Ramsey Kinkle]

These are the sweetest buns I have ever tasted!