Lussekatter aka Saint Lucia Buns

• Vegetarian

• Refrigerated

  • 1 Egg yolk, large

• Baking & Spices

  • 1 1/2 tsp Active dry yeast
  • 2 1/4 cups All-purpose flour
  • 1/4 cup Granulated sugar
  • 1/4 tsp Saffron, dry
  • 1/3 tsp Salt, fine

• Dairy

  • 3 1/2 tbsp Butter
  • 1/3 cup Milk, hot
  • 1/3 cup Milk

Found on lilvienna.com

Description

Ingredients

• 1/3 cup + 1 tbsp (95 ml) hot milk (not boiling)
• ¼ teaspoon dry saffron (crush using mortar and pestle or in a bowl with the back of a spoon or crumble as fine as possible with your fingers)
• 1/3 cup (80 ml) warm milk
• 1 ½ teaspoons (5 g) active dry yeast*
• 3 ½ tablespoons (50 g) melted butter, cooled slightly
• 1 large egg yolk
• ¼ cup (50 g) granulated sugar
• 1/3 teaspoon fine salt
• 2 ¼ cups (320 g) all-purpose flour
• Raisins, rinsed and patted dry (optional)* If you want to let the dough rise in the fridge overnight, half the amount of yeast.

Directions

• In a mug or small ceramic bowl (plastic will discolor) add the hot milk and saffron and let it sit for 15 minutes. Stir occasionally. The milk infuses the bright color and lovely flavor.
• In a large bowl sprinkle the yeast over 1/3 cup warm milk and set it aside for 5 to 10 minutes for the yeast to dissolve.
• Add the melted butter, egg yolk, sugar, and salt to the yeast-milk and stir.
• Add almost all of the saffron-milk to the mixture (set 1 tablespoons aside for brushing later). If you didn’t grind your saffron, strain the slightly cooled mixture - it should be warm, not hot - through a fine mesh sieve. Stir well.
• Gradually add the flour and knead to make a workable dough. It should be on the moist side, without being tacky. If you used cups for measuring, gradually add enough of the flour (almost all of it) to make a workable dough.
• Shape into a ball, oil a bowl and let the dough rise covered at warm room temperature until doubled in bulk, about 1 to 1 ½ hours (or overnight in the fridge, see note above).
• Transfer the dough to a lightly floured work surface and divide the dough into 10 equal parts. Shape each piece of dough into 14-15 inch (35-40 cm) long logs. The logs roll out smooth if the dough is relatively moist, so please don’t use too much flour. Wetting your hands or your work surface sometimes helps when the dough is too dry and doesn’t roll out easily.
• When rolled out, lightly turn the “rope” on the floured working surface so that the dough isn’t sticking. You can skip this step, if using a tall baking dish, which you can entirely cover with cling wrap (without touching the dough). If you are using a regular baking sheet, don’t skip this step or the moist dough will stick to your tea towel later.
• Curl the ends in opposite directions, forming an S with spirals at both ends. Place the shaped dough pieces 2 inch apart on parchment paper–lined baking sheets.
• Cover with a tea towel (or plastic wrap when using a tall baking dish) and let rise at room temperature for 30-45 minutes until the lussekatter are noticeably puffy, but not doubled.
• Preheat the oven to 400 °F (or 200 °C).
• Uncover the dough pieces and press the raisins into the center of each spiral.
• Brush the buns with the remaining saffron-milk (or egg white mixed with 1 teasp. water or egg-wash), and bake until golden, about 8 to 12 minutes.
• Remove the buns from the oven and let them cool … or wait at least 5 minutes before enjoying them.