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.
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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!
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 or instant yeast (I use instant yeast). They are interchangeable, but you'll need to wake up active dry yeast in lukewarm milk before adding it to the flour and saffron mixture. Also, if you make the recipe with active dry yeast, you might need to add 15 minutes to every step of proofing. If you want to use fresh yeast, you need to take 3x more of it. However, always follow the conversion ratio provided by the manufacturer of the yeast you use.
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.
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.
Step by step directions
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.
7. 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.
8. 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.
9. Cover the buns with plastic wrap and leave to proof for 30-40 mins at room temperature, or until puffed up.
10. 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.
11. After the last proofing, apply the egg wash on each bun and place one raisin in the center of each curl on the buns.
12. Bake for 12 minutes or until puffed up and turned golden brown.
13. Remove from the oven and brush right away with melted butter. Serve warm.
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
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.
I store them covered with plastic wrap on a plate at room temperature for up to 1 week.
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.
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Recipe card
Saffron buns
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.
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