Saffron buns

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!

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.

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.

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.

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.

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!