Swedish Saffron Sweet Bread

Yesterday, I made Lussekatter or Swedish saffron sweet bread. I had picked up the December issue of Saveur while traveling home from the east coast and an entire article was dedicated to Swedish holiday baking traditions. Of course, I became intrigued. This particular combination of sweet saffron was a blend of flavors I had never tried before–so to remedy that, I decided this recipe would be a good place to start.

I’m going to cut right to the chase here. This bread was fantastic. Imagine a light, soft, airy brioche that warms you through and through. The hints of saffron off-set by the subtle sweetness of the bread itself is like nothing I’ve ever tasted before. Exotic yet homey, expansive yet comforting, the flavors and texture of this bread were wonderful. It gives off the best aroma while rising and baking too, luring your whole house into the process and transporting everyone to a different (and warm) place. It was relatively simple to make too.

This was also Noel Bakerina’s second project of the month. She left a little note that described the tradition of the Swedes use of Saffron in this particular bread:

December 13th is the day of Saint Lucia in Sweden and has been celebrated for hundreds of years. In Scandinavia, daylight is scarce during the winter and nights are long and dark. It is celebrated in particular on December 13th because it historically has been noted to be the shortest day of the year. Saint Lucia, a celebrated figure across many religious denominations in Scandinavia, is the light that overcomes the darkness and will bring longer days in the months to come. The saffron used in the buns was used to represent the light–the yellow hue not only encourages Saint Lucia but also celebrates her strength.

Cheers!

Lussekatter (Swedish Saffron Sweet Bread) via Saveur

2, 1/4 oz. packets active dry yeast
2 cups milk, heated to 115 degrees
2 tsp. saffron, lightly crushed
3/4 cup plus 1 tsp. sugar
6 1/2 cups flour
3/4 tsp kosher salt
3 eggs
12 tbsp unsalted butter, cut into 1/2″ cubes, softened
canola oil, for greasing
raisins, for garnish

1. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle, mix together yeast, milk, saffron, and 1 tsp. sugar; let sit until foamy, about 10 minutes. Stir in the remaining sugar, along with the flour, salt, and two eggs. Mix on low speed until dough forms and gathers around the paddle. replace paddle with dough hook and add butter, knead on medium-high speed until dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl, 8 minutes. Transfer dough to a large bowl greased with oil and cover with plastic wrap; let rest in a warm place until doubled in size, 1 hour.

2. Divide dough into 32 pieces and roll each piece into an 8″ long rope. Form each rope into an S shape and then roll each end into a tight spiral. Place shaped dough pieces 2″ apart on parchment paper lined baking sheets; cover with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place for 30 minutes.

3. Heat oven to 400 degrees F. Uncover the dough pieces and place a raisin at the center of each of the spirals. Lightly beat the remaining 1 egg with 1 tbsp. water and brush each bun with egg mixture. Bake until buns are golden brown and cooked through, 16 minutes. Transfer buns to a wire rack and let cool for at least 10 minutes before serving.

*Note: If you happen to shape your dough into the bread-circle like I did above, it is really helpful to use a baking stone. Place your stone, or your parchment lined baking sheet in the center rack–if it is on a rack that is too high or too low, the top or the bottom will get over done and the middle will not finish cooking all the way through. This recipe makes a lot of rolls, so I was able to make two bread circles. Me being me, I tried to put them both in the oven at the same time, the bread stone on the bottom shelf and the parchment lined baking sheet in the middle. The bread on the stone cooked through, but the bottom of it was overdone, and the bread on the middle rack had a beautiful color to it and looked perfect–until I saw it two hours later and the middle had sunk–it hadn’t cooked all the way through. You live and you learn!