Swedish Saffron Buns for St. Lucia Day

What you need

• 500 g (4 cups) all-purpose flour
• 7 g (2 1/4 tsp) active dry yeast
• 300 ml (1 1/4 cups) whole milk
• 100 g (7 tbsp) unsalted butter, diced
• 2 pinch saffron threads, about 0.5 g
• 80 g (6 tbsp) granulated sugar
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 large egg
• 24 raisins
• 1 egg yolk, for the glaze

Method

Restated from the original video

1. 1

   Warm the milk and butter in a small pan over low heat, stirring, until the butter melts. Take it off the heat and let it cool until just lukewarm to the touch.

2. 2

   Crush the saffron with 1 tsp of the sugar in a mortar, then stir it into the milk. Leave to infuse for 10 min until the milk turns deep yellow.

3. 3

   Sprinkle the yeast over the saffron milk and leave for 5 min, until foamy.

4. 4

   In a large bowl, whisk the flour with the rest of the sugar and the salt.

5. 5

   Add the saffron milk and the egg, and stir to a shaggy dough.

6. 6

   Knead for 10 min by hand or 8 min with a dough hook, until smooth, elastic and slightly tacky. Add a spoonful of flour only if it sticks to your hands like glue.

7. 7

   Put the dough in a lightly oiled bowl, cover and leave in a warm spot for 1 1/2-2 hours, until doubled in size.

8. 8

   Line two baking trays with parchment. Punch down the dough and divide it into 12 equal pieces.

9. 9

   Roll each piece into a rope about 20 cm (8 in) long.

10. 10

    Curl both ends of each rope inward in opposite directions to make an S shape. Set the buns 4 cm (1 1/2 in) apart on the trays.

11. 11

    Press a raisin into the center of each curl.

12. 12

    Cover loosely and leave for 30 min, until puffy.

13. 13

    Preheat the oven to 180 °C (350 °F). Beat the yolk with 1 tbsp of water and brush it over the buns.

14. 14

    Bake for 15-18 min, until deep golden. Cool on a rack for 5 min and serve warm.

Imported from archanaskitchen.com. Recipe Grab pulled out what you need to cook it; the video stays where its author put it.