Lussekatter (Swedish St. Lucia Saffron Buns)
- Yield: 16 buns 1x
Ingredients
Scale
- ½ tsp Divine Healing saffron threads
- ½ tsp salt
- 1 ½ tsp vodka
- ¼ cup (37g) raisins
- 4 cups + 2 ⅔ Tbsp (500g) bread flour
- ½ cup + 1 ¼ tsp (100g) caster (AKA superfine) sugar [1]
- 1 ½ tsp active dry yeast
- 1 ¼ cups (284g) whole milk, lukewarm (110–115°F)
- 1 large egg, lightly beaten
- 6 Tbsp + 1 tsp (90g) unsalted butter, cubed & room temperature
Instructions
- Place saffron threads and salt in a mortar, then grind with a pestle. Transfer mixture to a small bowl and pour vodka over the saffron and salt. Let infuse for at least 30 minutes.
- Put raisins in a small, heatproof bowl. Pour hot water over them, fully submersing all the raisins. Allow to soak while you make your dough.
- Sift flour into the bowl of your stand mixer.
- Stir sugar and yeast into flour with a spatula or spoon.
- Attach the dough hook to your mixer and turn on at the lowest speed setting. Slowly pour in lukewarm milk, saffron mixture, and half of the beaten egg.
NOTE: Save the other half of the egg! You’ll use it for the egg wash. - After all of the liquids have been added, turn mixer up to the second or third speed. Add butter one cube at a time over the course of several minutes.
- If the dough is still rather sticky after kneading for a bit, you can add a little bit more flour—a few tablespoons at most. Be careful not to add too much flour nor overwork the dough in the mixer.
NOTE: The dough should be a little sticky, but not such a sticky mess that your hands end up covered with dough when you try to handle it. - Once you are satisfied with the consistency of your dough, knead for 2–3 minutes more.
- Turn dough out onto a lightly floured work surface, then shape dough into a ball. Place dough into a large bowl and cover bowl tightly with cling film. Place bowl in a warm, dry spot and leave undisturbed until dough doubles in size, roughly 1 hour.
- Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Set aside.
- After dough has doubled in size, turn dough out onto a lightly floured work surface, then punch it down to release excess gas build-up. Divide dough into 16 equal pieces.
NOTE: The pieces will weigh about 65g each. - Roll out a piece of dough to create a dough snake that’s roughly 12" long. Coil your dough snake into a tight S, then place on prepared baking sheet.
- Repeat with remaining dough. Loosely cover baking sheets with cling film, and place them in a warm, dry spot and leave undisturbed until buns double in size, roughly 30 minutes.
- Heat oven to 425°F.
- After the second proof, brush buns with the rest of the beaten egg.
- Gently dry off your raisins and place one raisin in the centre of each coil of your buns.
- Bake for 8–10 minutes or until golden brown.
- Enjoy your lussekatter with some glögg on Lucia Dag (13 December)!
Notes
- If you don’t have caster (AKA superfine) sugar, very briefly blitz granulated sugar in a spice grinder or blender. Don’t grind too much, otherwise you’ll end up with confectioners’ sugar!
Adapted from: SwedishFood.com
