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200 ml milk
1 teaspoon saffron threads
50g butter
1 sachet iast action yeast (7g)
500g spelt flour
1 teaspoon salt
50g cottage cheese
50 ml maple syrup or honey
1 teaspoon vegetable oil
2 free-range organic egg yolk(s), beaten
raisins
In the Scandinavian countries and in the north of Italy (in Syracuse on Sicily, the birthplace of the Saint Lucia) every year on December 13 the St. Lucia festival is celebrated. Saint Lucia lived in the third century. Because her feast once coincided with the shortest day of the year, in Sweden it became the Christian holiday of light and the beginning of the Christmas season.
In Sweden girls wake up the family early in the morning, in a white dress with a red sash and candles on their head. Traditionally they bring the Saint Lucia buns (Lussekatter) for breakfast and sing special Saint Lucia songs. We do not take it that far, but we do bake the buns from Paul Hollywood's recipe.
How to make Lucia buns (Lussekatter)
Warm the milk on low heat until gently steaming.
Remove from the heat and add the saffron and butter.
Heat the mixture to 40°C and let it cool to lukewarm.
Sift the mixture and remove the saffron threads.
Whisk in the fast action yeast.
Sift the flour into a large bowl.
Stir in the salt.
Add gradually while you stir the wet to the dry mixture.
Knead it lightly and then add the soft cheese and maple syrup.
Knead a moment, grease a clean bowl, place the dough in it,
Cover the bowl and let the dough proof for 1 hour in a warm spot.
Place a baking mat on your work surfac and, dust it with flour
Scrape the dough out of the bowl.
Knead the dough briefly.
Divide it into 3 pieces.
Make rolls of 50 grams.
Roll them into a flipped S.
Let the buns rise for another 30 minutes.
Brush the buns with beaten yolk.
Press a raisin in both ends of each bun
Preheat the oven to 200°C
Bake the buns in 10-12 minutes lightly golden brown.
Allow the buns to cool for 10 minutes on the baking tin.
Then move the Lussekatter to a wire rack to cool completely.
The buns taste best fresh from the oven but if you want to keep them a day best store them in a biscuit tin