Traditional Swedish Christmas Lucia Buns - Lussebullar & Lussekatter

They are called Lussebullar or Lussekatter in Sweden and are very popular around Christmas time. This is an old tradition we never miss each year. We eat this a lot for fika on the 13th of December. Santa Lucia. These taste so good and are so easy to make!

Approximate time
2 30 minute raise times
30 practical work

Step 1: Ingredients

×100 grams of butter
×5 dl (2.1 cups) of milk
×1 gram of minced saffron (major ingredient of taste, a must have)
×1 dl (0.4 cups) of raisins
×1.5 dl (0.6 cups) of sugar
×50 grams of yeast
×A pinch of salt
×5 dl (2.1 cups) of flour
×2 Eggs
×X amount of extra flour (read step 10)
×1 extra egg

Step 2: Preheat Oven

At 225°C (437°F)

Step 3: Butter

Add 100 grams of butter into a steel bowl. This is to melt the butter and puting the other ingredients in there at the same time. Put the stove on medium heat. Be careful it's not too hot. We don't want to kill the yeast. 40°C (104°F) maximum.

Step 4: Milk

Add 5 dl (2.1 cups) of milk.

Step 5: Saffron

Add 1 gram of minced saffron.

Step 6: Raisins

Add 1 dl (0.4 cups) of raisins. Mix all ingredients together.

Step 7: Dry Ingredients

Add 1.5 dl (0.6 cups) of sugar, 50 grams of yeast, little salt, 5 dl (2.1 cups) of flour into another bowl.

Step 8: Eggs

Crack 2 eggs into the mixture.

Step 9: Dry Ingredients

Add the dry ingredients we made together and whisk it around.

Step 10: The Tricky Part

You will be going to make this mixture into a dough. Add X amount of flour meanwhile whisking. The thing is, the amount of flour depends a lot when creating the dough. I used another 18 dl (7.6 cups) of flour. You know you have to add another cup of flour when the dough is still sticky. When you can touch the dough and the dough releases from your hands, then it's enough.

After the dough is made, put a towel on top of the bowl and let it raise for 30 minutes.

Step 11: Knead

Once raised, put the dough on a floured work bench and knead it.

Step 12: Making the Buns

There are two ways of doing this. You can cut a piece of the dough, forming it into a ball and then it's done.

Other method is doing a kind of pretzel. Start by rolling out a piece of the dough into a long snake. On one end, twist into a snail right turn. Other end, twist into a snail left turn. Keep going until they meet in the middle.

Step 13: Raise Second Time

When you have made the buns, place them on a baking sheet. Oven paper is not necessary. Put a towel on them and let them raise for 30 minutes.

Step 14: Baking

Crack an egg and brush it over the buns. This is to prevent them from getting burned by the heat of the oven. Place the sheets one at a time in the middle of the oven for 5-6 minutes. Mine got a little too brown but it's not a big deal.