These Swedish saffron buns are traditionally eaten on the Santa Lucia holiday. Lucia, also called Lucy, was supposedly a Christian martyr who is considered to be patron saint of light. That’s ironic because she blinded herself rather than agree to marry a suitor who found her beautiful. She wanted to devote her life to God.
The buns taste like winter to me and the bright yellow colour brings a welcome shot of light to the dark days. They’re great with a mug of tea or coffee, or a nice steaming glass of hot mulled wine or glögg.
Look at the previous post to get advice on using dried yeast.
Ingredients:
.5 g saffron
1 tsp sugar
75 g butter
½ cup milk
25 g yeast
1 egg
½ cup sugar
3½ cups flour
1 tsp salt
1 cup water
1 handful of raisins
flour for the surface
Instructions:
1. Crush the saffron with the 1 tsp sugar in a mortar with a pestle until finely ground.
2. Melt the butter in the milk over low heat. Let it cool and then add some of it to the yeast.
3. Whisk the egg. Mix it into the rest of the butter and milk mixture. Then mix in the ½ cup sugar, the flour, the salt, the saffron, and the yeast, stirring frequently.
4. Cover the mixture with a cloth and let it rise for about an hour.
5. Boil the water and soak the raisins in it, so that they get plump.
6. Take the dough out of the bowl and knead it on a lightly floured surface. Pinch of bits of dough and make bun shapes. The traditional Swedish lussekatter are made in S-shapes, but any shape is fine. Place the buns on a baking tray.
7. Let the buns rise for another 30-60 minutes. Decorate them with raisins.
8. Bake for 8-10 minutes at 200 C. Serve warm.
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