email this pageSaffron buns, or lussekatter as they are called in Sweden, are the lightly sweetened S-shape rolls that bakers make to celebrate the festival of Santa Lucia on December 13th.
Although the history is unclear, Lucia’s Day or the festival of light, originated around 304 A.D. with Lucia, an Italian girl who cared for the poor and was persecuted and killed by the Romans. Centuries later, the festival was celebrated in Scandivania, where girls brought food to the hungry.
Traditionally families celebrated Lucia’s Day early in the morning when the children, dressed in white, holding candles, singing carols, and led by the oldest daughter, woke their parents. The daughter, in a long white gown tied with a red sash and wearing a crown of lingonberry leaves decorated with lighted candles, carried a tray of saffron buns.
In Sweden today, the festival of Santa Lucia is a national holiday. Schools close early, and children, dressed in white and holding candles with batteries, bring saffron bread to hospitals and nursing homes.
To celebrate the holiday, we made a batch of saffron rolls, and as they do in Sweden, studded them with raisins to represent Lucia’s eyes. Deliciously light and tender, the rolls were gone soon after they came out of the oven. Even without white gown and red sash, saffron buns are a lovely way to start the day.
Lussekatter (Saffron Buns)
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Ingredients
1 cup heavy cream
.06 ounces saffron threads
1 1/3 cups sugar, divided
6 (.25-ounce) packages yeast
1 cup 2 percent low-fat milk, warm
2 eggs, beaten separately
1 teaspoon salt
8 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, divided
1/3 cup water
1/3 cup raisins
2. Crush saffron with 1 tablespoon sugar in a mortar until very fine.
3. Combine yeast, milk and 2 tablespoons sugar; let stand 10 minutes or until mixture is foamy.
4. Add butter mixture, saffron mixture, 1 of the beaten eggs and salt to yeast mixture. Stir well. Add remaining sugar. Add 6 cups flour; stir until a stiff dough forms. Turn mixture out onto a floured surface; knead about 10 minutes, adding additional flour 1/2 cup at a time, until dough is smooth and elastic. Place in a large bowl, cover with a damp cloth, and let rise for about 1 hour or until doubled in size.
5. Boil water and pour over raisins; let sit until raisins are plump.
6. Preheat the oven to 475F. Knead dough and divide into 24 pieces. Shape each into an S shape. Place 2 raisins at ends of buns. Let rise 1 hour. Brush with remaining beaten egg. Bake 8 to 10 minutes or until browned. Yield: 24 buns.
Recipe by Brett Jocelyn Epstein, "Relish the Season," December 2006.
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