Classic lussekatter (saffron buns)
50 min · 5 g protein · 176 cals / serving
Golden, S-shaped saffron buns for Lucia morning, soft and fluffy with a raisin in each curl. Kvarg in the dough keeps them moist and tender for days, the way kesella does in many Swedish kitchens, so they need less than half the usual butter and less sugar while the saffron still sings.
Ingredients
- 1 g saffron
- 1/3 cup + 1 tbsp granulated sugar
- 4 tbsp butter
- 3/4 cup + 1 tbsp skimmed milk, 0.5% fat, fortified
- 1 3/4 oz fresh yeast, for sweet doughs
- 1 1/4 cups quark, room temperature
- 1 egg
- 1/2 tsp salt
- about 7 cups all-purpose flour (bleached)
- 48 raisins (about 3 tbsp) raisins
- 1 egg, beaten, for brushing
Steps
- Grind the saffron with a teaspoon of the sugar in a mortar (or crush it between your fingers into the sugar) until it is a fine orange powder.
- Melt the butter in a saucepan, pour in the milk and warm it to 98°F, finger-warm. Stir in the saffron sugar.
- Crumble the yeast into a large bowl and stir in a little of the warm milk until it dissolves. Add the rest of the milk, the remaining sugar, the kvarg, the egg and the salt, then work in most of the flour, a cup at a time, until you have a soft dough that comes away from the bowl. Knead for 10 minutes by machine or 15 by hand, until smooth and springy; it should stay soft and only slightly sticky.
- Cover and let the dough rise in a warm place for 45 minutes, until doubled.
- Turn it out onto a lightly floured surface, divide into 24 pieces and roll each into a rope about 8 inch long. Curl both ends in opposite directions into an S and press a raisin into the center of each curl. Set them on lined baking sheets, cover and let them rise for 30 minutes more. Heat the oven to 435°F.
- Brush the buns with the beaten egg and bake one sheet at a time in the middle of the oven for 7–9 minutes, until golden. Cool on a rack under a clean towel so they stay soft.
Good to know
Dry yeast instead of fresh?
Use one 12 g packet of dry yeast for sweet doughs, mixed into the flour, and warm the milk to 113°F instead.
Why is the dough so soft?
Kvarg adds moisture, and a slightly sticky dough is what makes lussekatter soft the next day. Add flour only until it stops sticking to your hands when floured; too much makes dry buns.
Do they freeze?
Very well. Freeze them as soon as they have cooled, and warm them for 5 minutes at 300°F or thaw under a towel.
Alternatives
Per
- Calories
- 291
- Protein
- (12%)
- 9 g
- Fat
- (17%)
- 5 g
- Carbohydrates
- (71%)
- 53 g
- of which sugar
- 9 g
- Fiber
- 2 g
- Sodium
- 123 mg
More desserts
Computed from the ingredients with our published formula, not yet kitchen-tested. How
As written, 4225 kcal goes into the pot and 1664 g of ingredients comes out as about 1450 g of food: 291 kcal per 100 g. Cooking moves water and energy density is the score's biggest lever, so the dish is scored as cooked, not as an average of its parts. Every ingredient links to its food page, with the same data and score. The label's percentages are each macronutrient's share of the calories. The full formula.