Christmas Calendar 2017 - Lucia buns

Today it is Lucia day, which is a huge day in Sweden, where they will enjoy "lussekatte" together wiht the all the singing. In Denmark we have the same tradition with singing people in white dresses walking around with burning candles in their hands and the "Lucia bride" person in front of the group will have burning candle on top of her head !!! But we do not eat these buns full of saffron and butter.

I have locatede this recipe on a Swedish blog Lucia buns / lussekatter called Anne´s Food. The buns taste fantastic with this combination of butter and saffron.

Lucia Buns: 

• 40 g yeast
• 200 g milk, full-fat with 3.5% fat
• 50 g full-fat whipping cream, 38% fat
• 100 g butter
• 0,5-0.75 g saffron 
• 100 g sugar
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ½ egg, beaten
• 500 g wheat flour
• ½ egg, beaten
• raisins

1. Crumble the yeast in a mixing bowl.
2. Meanwhile melt the butter in a cooking pot, when add the milk and cream to the melted butter. Heat up to 37'C and not higher, as higher temperature will kill the yeast.
3. Add the butter-milk-cream mass into the mixing bowl, stir until you have dissolved the yeast.
4. Place the saffron together 1 teaspoon sugar in a mortar and mix it well. Add it into the liquid in the mixing bowl. 
5. Add sugar, salt, the beaten egg and the flour into the mixing bowl. Work into a silky dough, the dough is very, very sticky and moist in the beginning, but it only takes a little kneading to change the texture of it. I always knead on time, 10 minutes, so I am sure, that the dough it needed enough.
6. Let the dough rest/raise warm for 45 minutes.
7. Heat up the (conventional) oven to 200'C.
8. Divide the dough into 10 equal portions, I always a kitchen scale for this purpose in order to ensure equal baking of the buns.
9. The traditional Swedish shape of Lucia buns apparently is like a S-shape with a raisin placed in the middle of the swirls on each side.
10. Place the buns a baking tray covered with baking paper.
11. Let the Lucia buns raise for another 15 minutes.
12. Bake the buns at 200'C for 15-20 minutes.
13. Enjoy the Lucia buns together with a nice cup of tea/coffee.