St. Lucia Buns Recipe

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St. Lucia Buns Recipe

St. Lucia Buns are soft Swedish saffron rolls flavored with cardamom and finished with raisins and a simple glaze.

Prep Time40

Cook Time16

Rise Time1 30

Total Time2 26

Course: Bread, Breakfast, Dessert

Cuisine: Swedish

Servings: buns

Author: Kristyn Merkley

Ingredients

For the Dough

2 packages active dry yeast
½ cup warm water, 105–115°F
⅔ cup lukewarm milk, scalded and cooled
½ cup sugar
½ cup butter, softened
2 large eggs
½ teaspoon ground cardamom
½ teaspoon powdered saffron
1 teaspoon salt
4 ½ - 5 cups all-purpose flour, divided

For Shaping and Topping

raisins
softened butter, for brushing

For the Glaze

1 cup powdered sugar, sifted
2 tablespoons milk, just enough to thin

Instructions

Add the saffron threads and 1 teaspoon of the measured sugar to a mortar and pestle. Grind until the saffron is broken down into a fine powder. Set aside.
In the bowl of a stand mixer, dissolve the yeast in the warm water. Let it sit for about 5 minutes, until foamy.
Stir in the lukewarm milk, sugar, softened butter, eggs, cardamom, saffron mixture, and salt.
Add 3 cups of flour and with the dough hook, mix until smooth. Gradually stir in 1 1/2 to 2 more cups of flour (we usually use 4 1/2 cups of flour total), just until the dough is soft and easy to handle.
Turn dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic (about 6 - 8 minutes).
Place in a greased bowl, cover, and let rise until doubled (about 1 hour).
Punch down dough. Divide into 24 pieces and shape each loosely into a short log. Cover and let rest for about 10 minutes before rolling into ropes. Roll each piece into an 8- to 10-inch rope and shape into an S. Curl both ends inward to form a loose coil and place buns onto greased baking sheets. Place one raisin in the center of each coil.
Brush tops lightly with softened butter. Let rise until noticeably puffy and close to doubled in size (about 30–45 minutes).
Bake at 350°F for 18 - 20 minutes, or just until lightly golden. Do not over-bake, or the buns can dry out quickly. Brush with butter after baking if you’d like the rolls to be even softer.
In a small bowl, mix powdered sugar with a little water or milk to create a thin glaze. Drizzle or spread over cooled buns.
Best fresh. These buns are softest the day they are baked. Warm leftovers briefly before serving.

Notes

Recipe Tips.

Keep the dough soft, add flour slowly so rolls don’t turn dense.
Don’t skip the rises, that’s what makes them fluffy.
Shape loosely, tight coils can keep them from puffing nicely.
Brush with butter while warm for extra softness.
Let cool before glazing so the glaze sets instead of melting.

Store. Keep in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 days or refrigerate for up to 5 days. Warm briefly to soften before serving.

Freeze. Freeze baked rolls (unglazed is best) for up to 2 months. Thaw at room temperature, warm if desired, then glaze.

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