Sweden: St. Lucia Buns (Lussekatt)

I like to buck tradition. And in the spirit of bucking tradition, I made a Swedish Christmastime dessert in early March. I also like to make pancakes for dinner sometimes. What of it?

Tradition dictates that on December 13th (Saint Lucy's Day), the family's oldest daughter wearing a white robe with red sashes, and a wreath with candles on her head, wakes the eldest members of the family with these lussekatt in bed. Additionally, the daughter sings a song. Legend tells us that Lucia put the candles in the wreath on her head in order to free up her arms to carry the bread she was smuggling to Christians in hiding. Lucia must've been really graceful, because I know if I were her, my hair would've caught on fire. So, let's all be thankful that I'm not Swedish (as I am my family's eldest daughter).

Does anyone remember Kirsten, the Swedish "American Girl" doll? I don't think she's regularly sold anymore, but when I was very little, she was one of the three dolls they had. I became familiar with Saint Lucy's Day because of Kirsten, and because of this book cover:
Though, I don't think I knew what she was carrying were lussekatt. And I'm pretty sure I never thought I would make them.

So, here we are. I made lussekatt. Mostly because I'm going to be at work late for the first three days of the work week, and will be unable to cook (and because we had dinner plans last night). Also--and no offense, Sweden (we all know I love you and IKEA)--I found most of the Swedish recipes I was finding to be pretty unpalatable. The idea of lightly flavored saffron buns was much more appealing. I also thought lussekatt were slightly less predictable than Swedish Meatballs, and much prettier to photograph.

St. Lucia Buns (Lussekatt) - from Recipe Gold Mine
-2 packages dry, active yeast
-1/2 cup warm water (110-115 degrees)-2/3 cups lukewarm milk, scalded and cooled
-1/2 cup sugar
-1/2 cup butter, softened
-2 eggs
-1 teaspoon cardamom
-1 teaspoon salt
-1/4 teaspoon crushed saffron threads
-5 - 5 1/2 cups, unbleached all purpose flour
-1/2 cup raisins
For Glaze:
-Butter, softened
-1 egg, slightly beaten
-1 tablespoon water
-2 tablespoons sugar

1. Dissolve years in warm water in a large bowl. Stir in scalded milk, sugar, butter, 2 eggs, cardamom, salt, saffron, and 3 cups flour. (**NOTE: I used a blender to mix all of this, adding 1 1/2 cups flour at a time). Beat until smooth. Then, stir (by hand) enough of the remaining lour to make dough easy to handle.

2. Turn dough out onto lightly floured surface. Knead until smooth and elastic, about 5 minutes.

3. Place dough in a greased bowl, turn greased side up. Cover, let rise in a warm, draft-free place for 1 1/2 -2 hours, or until doubled.

4. Punch dough down; divide into 4 equal parts. Cut each part into 6 pieces. Shape each piece into a smooth rope, 10-12" long. Shape each rope into an S-shape and coil the ends. Place on greased cookie sheets. Brush tops lightly with butter and place raisins in the middle of each coil. Let rise until doubled in size, about 35-40 minutes.

5. Heat oven to 350. Mix 1 egg and 1 tablespoon water and brush buns with mixture. Sprinkle with 2 tablespoons sugar. Bake until golden-brown, about 15-20 minutes.