Lucia bread for Lucia Day

Lucia bread is eaten on December 13th every year - on Lucia Day. The fine, yellow 'S' shaped buns taste so delicious and are a cozy Christmas tradition. They can be served in the afternoon, when everyone has returned home, if the 13th falls on a weekday. Or for breakfast, if the holiday falls on a weekend and there is extra time for morning fun.

TIP: Also try my recipe for Christmas cookies or species or date candy

Cold-risen Lucia bread

If you want to bake Lucia bread for breakfast, you can choose to cold-rise the dough. You can easily do this by simply using 10 g yeast with the following procedure: 

Method for cold-risen Lucia bread

Place the saffron in a bowl and pour 0.5 dl boiling water over it. Let it steep for 15 minutes.

Cut the butter into small cubes and leave it on the table to soften.

Put saffron water and cold milk in a large bowl and dissolve yeast in it. Add sugar, egg, salt and cardamom and stir until there are no lumps. Gradually add flour and knead the dough well. The dough should feel supple and smooth and should easily release from the bowl or table. It should not be sticky, and if it is, you can add an extra 25g of flour.

Add softened butter to the bowl and knead it into the dough until it is nice and shiny. Refrigerate the dough overnight. 

The next day you pour boiling water over the raisins so they soak faster. 

Roll out the dough to about 0.5 cm thick. Cut strips of about 2 cm, so you get about 12 strips. Cut the marzipan into small cubes, saving a small piece at each end. Then roll the strips into "S" shaped buns. Place them on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.

Let the buns rise for 60 minutes under a damp tea towel. While you preheat the oven to 200 degrees on the regular oven function.

Brush the Lucia bread with beaten egg and place a raisin in the middle of each twist.

Bake the Lucia breads in the oven for 12-15 minutes, until they are nicely golden. Let them cool on a wire rack, and serve them warm.

TIP: Also try the recipe at vanilla wreath or oatmeal balls

Saffron in Lucia buns

What gives Lucia bread its characteristic color and flavor is saffron. The world's most expensive spice! That's why it's also important that you process saffron correctly so that you get the best flavor and color out of this noble spice. You need to pour a little boiling water over the saffron threads to "wake" them up. This is an important step, because if you just add saffron directly to the dough, it won't give the same color and flavor. If you think saffron is too expensive, or don't have it in stock, you can add 1 tsp. turmeric to the dough as a cheaper alternative. It doesn't add any flavor, but the buns get a nice, yellow color. In this recipe, a little cardamom is added to the dough. It's not traditional, but it gives a good flavor. And cardamom is incredibly Swedish, so I wonder if it will work ;-) 

TIP: Also try this recipe: Christmas buns with orange and raisins or star bread