Lussekatter – Swedish Saffron Bread
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Lussekatter, or St. Lucy’s Cats, are a sweet saffron bread from Sweden.
One legend says that the Devil in the shape of a cat used to beat naughty children up, while Jesus Christ in the shape of a child handed out buns or bread flavoured with saffron to kind and well brought up children. This was done to keep the fishy Devil away. To make the bread lighter in colour and more “sun-like†the yellow spice of saffron was added
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Ingredients
- Saffron threads - 1/2 teaspoon
- Milk - 1/3 cup + 1 tablespoon to soak saffron
- Melted butter - 1/4 cup 50 gms + 2 teaspoons for brushing before proving and after baking
- Sugar or jaggery powder or honey - 3 tablespoons
- Salt - 1/4 teaspoon
- Active dry yeast - 1 teaspoon
- All purpose flour - 1+1/2 cups
- Eggs - 2 small
- Raisins - 16
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Instructions
- Crumble saffron into 1 tablespoon hot milk and let sit (up to 30 mins).
- Heat the remaining milk and mix with butter, sugar and salt in a large mixing bowl. Let cool to lukewarm. Add yeast and sit 10 minutes. Add saffron milk and stir.
- Mix in half the flour and one egg until well combined. Add in the rest of the flour until a soft dough forms. Apply 1 teaspoon of butter over the surface to the dough to keep it from drying out as it proves.
- Cover with a damp cloth or cling film and allow to sit in a warm place until puffy, but not quite doubled in size (60-90 minutes)
- Divide dough into 8 portions, each about the size of an egg
- Roll each ball into a rope about 8 inches long
- Roll both ends of the rope in opposite directions and form into a tight “S†or figure-8.
- Tuck a raisin into the curve of each end.
- Transfer to a greased baking sheet, about one inch apart. Cover again and let rise in a warm place for 60-90 minutes.
- Beat the second egg in a small bowl and brush over buns.
- Bake in a preheated oven @200 degrees celcius for 10 - 15 mins, remove when the base turns golden brown. Brush the rolls with 1 teaspoon butter as soon as you take them out from the oven. Enjoy with a hot cup of tea or coffee.
Notes
To rise your dough always place it in a microwave that has been heated (empty) for 3 mins on full power, this creates a warm and humid environment for the yeast to develop and ferment the flour.
Never add yeast to hot liquid always allow it to become warm. (your finger dipped in the liquid should not burn)
Never add salt befor the yeast activates. Salt kills yeast as does hot water.
You can add a pinch of cardamom powder to the flour for an added new dimension in flavour.
There is no indication of bread being baked from inside, make sure to bake at the mentioned temprature for the mentioned time.
If your dough is very crumbly and doesnt bind properly add in some milk a teaspoon at a time.
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Parinaaz Marolia
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This is your star recipe. As if done by a professional.
Good recipe! However i would also like to give this a try without eggs and use whole wheat flour instead of apf. Are eggs a must in this recipe?