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    Home » Bread and buns

    Saffron buns

    Published: Dec 21, 2022 · Modified: Mar 11, 2024 by Anna

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    These saffron buns with raisins and a very soft touch of vanilla are perfect to have with some tea, coffee, or a cup of warm mulled wine. They are extremely flavorful and the texture is soft, moist, and melt-in-your-mouth.

    Saffron bun with raisins on a small round plate, more buns on the background.
    Jump to:
    • Why you should try this recipe
    • Ingredients you will need
    • Cooking tips
    • How to make saffron buns
    • Possible variations
    • FAQ
    • More related recipes
    • Recipe card

    Why you should try this recipe

    These Swedish saffron buns are not too sweet. If you're not a big fan of overly-sweet baked goods, this saffron buns recipe is for you. But, if you want to make them sweeter, you can add a bit more sugar or apply some glaze on top. So, this recipe is easily adjustable to your taste.

    Amazing saffron flavor. Saffron is not for everyone but, if you like the flavor, this recipe is for you. Also, a little bit of rum complements and accentuates the saffron flavor.

    The perfect treat for Christmas. This recipe is very common to bake for Saint Lucia Day or Christmas in Sweden (they’re also called lussekatter or Lucia saffron buns) and I'm sure you'll like them too. Give them a try and surprise your guest with something new!

    Looking for more delicious bread and bun recipes? You might enjoy these: Hot cross buns, Semlor, or Japanese milk bread.

    Ingredients you will need

    Flour - Many recipes are using bread flour, but I prefer to make these St. Lucia buns with all-purpose flour for an extremely soft, buttery texture.

    Yeast - You can use active dry yeast, instant yeast or fresh yeast (I use instant yeast). They are interchangeable, but it's important to know how to swap them correctly. To learn more about this, read the 'Types of Yeast and How to Use Them in Baking' article.

    Salt - Use salt for flavor balance.

    Saffron threads - If you buy whole saffron threads, you'll need to crush them in a mortar with one tablespoon of sugar. You can also crush the threads with your hands or using a knife. Sometimes, you can buy already-crushed saffron.

    Rum - We need some rum to bloom our saffron. The alcohol will evaporate during the baking but if you want to skip it - go ahead! You can bloom your saffron in a tablespoon of milk instead. You can also replace the rum with one tablespoon of cognac.

    Vanilla - This is optional, but I prefer to prepare my saffron bun recipe with a little bit of vanilla extract.

    Milk - The whole milk you use should be lukewarm. If needed, you can heat it for 10 seconds in a microwave.

    Sugar - With the amount of white granulated sugar I provide, your buns will be just a little bit sweet. After all, this recipe should not be very sweet. That’s just how it is. However, no one said that you can't make it sweeter. You can increase the sweetness by adding two extra tablespoons of sugar.

    Egg - We will need one egg for the dough and one egg for an egg wash. 

    Butter – The unsalted butter we use for the dough should be at room temperature - the extra tablespoon for brushing freshly-baked buns should be melted, of course.

    Raisins - You can choose whatever raisins you want. Make sure you soak them in the water for at least 30 minutes before decorating the buns with them.

    Broken in half saffron bun with raisins on a small round plate, more buns on the background.

    Cooking tips

    Always use a digital kitchen scale for all baking recipes but especially when it comes to cakes, bread, and buns. If you add too much flour, which is very possible when measuring the ingredients with cups, your Saint Lucia buns will become doughy and not so fluffy. If you add too much liquid, the dough will be too sticky to work with, meaning you have to add more flour to fix it at the expense of flavor and sweetness.

    Soak the raisins. Don't just stick dry berries to your buns as they will dry out even more in the oven! Soak them in water for 30 minutes to one hour to rehydrate and make them full and juicy again.

    Keep an eye on the buns during baking. The first 10 minutes are usually fine but, after that, the buns start browning fast. It's better to check on them every minute after the 10-minute mark. My oven bakes these buns in 12 minutes, but it can be different for your oven.

    Brush with some butter right away. Warm buns will suck up all the butter you brush on top of them, so don't wait too long after they’re out from the oven. Additional butter will add moisture to your buns and will keep them soft for many days, so don't skip this step.

    A hand is holding a cut in half saffron bun.

    How to make saffron buns

    Making the dough

    1. In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine the saffron, rum, and vanilla extract. Let it sit at room temperature for 30 minutes. Then add the lukewarm milk and sugar and stir to combine. 
    2. Add ½ of the flour and yeast and mix to combine. Cover with a kitchen towel and place in a warm place for 1 hour or until the dough is bubbly.
    3. Add the rest of the flour, salt, and egg and place the bowl into the mixer fitted with a hook attachment. Knead on medium for 5 mins or until the smooth dough has formed.
    4. Lower the speed to medium-low and start adding the butter, one tablespoon at a time. Don’t add another portion until the previous one has been incorporated into the dough. Scrape the bottom and the sides of the bowl and remove the dough from the hook a couple of times during the process.
    5. Knead the dough on medium-high for 5-7 minutes or until you can stretch a small piece of it into a square, creating a film thin enough for light to pass through. The dough should not tear at all or tear just a little bit only at the edges while performing the so-called windowpane test.
    6. Transfer the dough to a large bowl lightly greased with oil. Cover it with plastic wrap and leave it in a warm place to proof for 1-2 hours.
    Collage image showing six steps to make saffron buns dough.

    Shaping and baking the buns

    1. When the dough has doubled in volume and is springy to the touch, punch it down and remove it onto a lightly floured surface. Split it into 15 even parts and roll them into balls.
    2. Roll each roll into a 12" (30cm) rope and then curl each end in opposite directions creating an “S” shape. Place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper leaving at least 2" (5cm) space in between.
    3. Cover the buns with plastic wrap and leave to proof for 30-40 mins at room temperature, or until puffed up.
    4. Preheat the oven to 392F (200C) and place the raisins into a small bowl with warm water to rehydrate. After 30 min, drain them and place them on a paper towel.
    5. After the last proofing, apply the egg wash on each bun and place one raisin in the center of each curl on the buns.
    6. Bake for 12 minutes or until puffed up and turned golden brown.
    7. Remove from the oven and brush right away with melted butter. Serve warm.
    Collage image showing six steps to shape and bake saffron buns with raisins.

    Possible variations

    More raisins - I show how to make a very basic saffron bun decoration that doesn't use too many berries, but you can add more while shaping them and creating the “S” shape curls.

    Glaze - Make a simple sugar glaze and dip the top of each bun (the buns should be completely cooled down) in it. This is a great way to add more sweetness to our St Lucia buns as well.

    Melted chocolate - Drizzle some melted chocolate on top of the buns and enjoy! 

    FAQ

    Can you shape saffron buns differently?

    Absolutely, you can! There are many ways you can do it. Just make sure that you adjust the baking time if you make bigger or smaller buns than in this recipe.

    How to store these buns?

    I store them covered with plastic wrap on a plate at room temperature for up to 1 week.

    Can you freeze saffron buns?

    Yes, you can! Wrap each one in plastic wrap and then in a piece of foil and freeze for up to one month. Thaw in the fridge overnight and slightly heat in the microwave before serving.

    Two hands are tearing apart a saffron bun with raisins.

    More related recipes

    Brioche bread

    Cinnamon rolls

    Sandwich bread

    Recipe card

    Saffron bun with raisins on a small round plate, more buns on the background.

    Saffron buns

    These saffron buns with raisins and a very soft touch of vanilla are perfect to have with some tea, coffee, or a cup of warm mulled wine. They are extremely flavorful and the texture is soft, moist, and melt-in-your-mouth.
    Print Pin Rate
    Prep Time: 5 minutes minutes
    Cook Time: 4 hours hours 55 minutes minutes
    Total Time: 5 hours hours
    Servings: 15 buns
    Calories: 236kcal
    Author: Anna

    Equipment

    • Digital kitchen scale
    • Stand mixer or hand mixer and a large mixing bowl
    • Parchment paper

    Ingredients

    • 1 g saffron threads crushed in a mortar or by hands
    • 1 tablespoon dark rum
    • ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
    • 250 ml whole milk lukewarm
    • 100 g white granulated sugar
    • 500 g all-purpose flour
    • 7 g instant yeast
    • 1 teaspoon salt
    • 1 large egg at room temperature
    • 100 g unsalted butter at room temperature
    • 3 tablespoon raisins soaked in warm water for 30 minutes and then drained and dried
    • 1 egg whisked for egg wash
    • 2 tablespoon unsalted butter melted for brushing the buns after baking

    Instructions

    • In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine the saffron, rum, and vanilla extract. Let it sit at room temperature for 30 minutes. Then add the lukewarm milk and sugar and stir to combine.
    • Add ½ of the flour and yeast and mix to combine. Cover with a kitchen towel and place in a warm place for 1 hour (I use an oven with the lights turned on) or until the dough is bubbly.
    • Then, add the rest of the flour, salt, and egg and place the bowl into the mixer fitted with a hook attachment. You can also use a hand mixer with hook attachments. Knead on medium for 5 mins or until the smooth dough has formed.
    • Lower the speed to medium-low and start adding the butter, one tablespoon at a time. Don’t add another portion until the previous one has been incorporated into the dough. Scrape the bottom and the sides of the bowl and remove the dough from the hook a couple of times during the process.
    • Once all the butter is in, knead the dough on medium-high for 5-7 minutes or until you can stretch a small piece of it into a square, creating a film thin enough for light to pass through. The dough should not tear at all or tear just a little bit only at the edges while performing the so-called windowpane test.
    • Transfer the dough to a large bowl lightly greased with oil. Cover it with plastic wrap and leave it in a warm place to proof for 1-2 hours.
    • When the dough has doubled in volume and is springy to the touch, punch it down and remove it onto a lightly floured surface. Split it into 15 even parts (approximately 68g each) and roll them into balls.
    • Then, roll each roll into a 12" (30cm) rope and then curl each end in opposite directions creating an “S” shape. Place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper (you’ll need two baking sheets), leaving at least 2" (5cm) space in between. Repeat the process with the rest of the dough.
    • Cover the buns with plastic wrap and leave to proof for 30-40 mins at room temperature, or until puffed up.
    • Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 392F (200C) and place the raisins into a small bowl with warm water to rehydrate. After 30 min, drain them and place them on a paper towel.
    • After the last proofing, apply the egg wash on each bun and place one raisin in the center of each curl on the bun.
    • Bake for 12 minutes or until puffed up and turned golden brown.
    • Remove from the oven and brush right away with melted butter. Serve warm.

    Notes

    Store covered with plastic wrap on a plate at room temperature for up to 1 week.
    Freeze for up to one month.

    Nutrition

    Nutrition Facts
    Saffron buns
    Serving Size
     
    1 bun
    Amount per Serving
    Calories
    236
    % Daily Value*
    Fat
     
    8
    g
    12
    %
    Saturated Fat
     
    5
    g
    31
    %
    Trans Fat
     
    0.3
    g
    Polyunsaturated Fat
     
    0.5
    g
    Monounsaturated Fat
     
    2
    g
    Cholesterol
     
    31
    mg
    10
    %
    Sodium
     
    169
    mg
    7
    %
    Potassium
     
    98
    mg
    3
    %
    Carbohydrates
     
    36
    g
    12
    %
    Fiber
     
    1
    g
    4
    %
    Sugar
     
    8
    g
    9
    %
    Protein
     
    5
    g
    10
    %
    Vitamin A
     
    257
    IU
    5
    %
    Vitamin C
     
    0.2
    mg
    0
    %
    Calcium
     
    31
    mg
    3
    %
    Iron
     
    2
    mg
    11
    %
    * Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
    Tried this recipe?Mention @sugarpursuit or tag #sugarpursuit!

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    Hey there! My name is Anna, and I am here to share with you my sweet and savory baking recipes and show you how to make beautiful cakes.

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