Lussekatter

Lussekatter is the most vital part of a Swedish Christmas! Made in time for Saint Lucia day they're eaten all through the holidays, and usually made in the traditional "Lussekatt" shape shown here. This is my 100% authentic, tried and tested, all-time best recipe - and it's easy to make without quark and nuts.

Course Dessert, Fika

Cuisine Swedish

Diet Vegetarian

Prep Time 30

Cook Time 1

Rising Time 1 30

Total Time 3

Servings

Calories 153kcal

Author Emmeline Kemperyd

Equipment

Ingredients

1 tablespoon saffron threads loosely packed, see notes for using ground saffron instead
1 teaspoon sugar
2 tablespoon rum or other alcohol/water
1.75 oz fresh yeast room temperature, see notes for using dry yeast instead
2.1 cups milk room temperature
⅘ cups salted butter room temperature, softened, cut in pieces
¾ cups sugar
7 cups flour or slightly more or less + more for baking out
80 raisins soaked in water
1 egg

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

Start by grounding saffron and sugar with a mortar and pestle, or a bowl and a spoon. Then mix with the rum and set aside for at least 30 minutes.
1 tablespoon saffron threads, 1 teaspoon sugar, 2 tablespoon rum
Crumble the yeast into a large bowl. Add milk, mix, then add in room temperature butter in pieces and mix again, trying to mash up the butter pieces a bit as you go.
1.75 oz fresh yeast, 2.1 cups milk, ⅘ cups salted butter
Mix in sugar and the saffron mixed with sugar and rum. Add a little water to the bowl or glass that held the saffron mix, swoosh it around, and pour in to make sure you get as much of the saffron flavor as possible. Then mix.
¾ cups sugar
Start adding the flour. Add a bit at a time until it is all mixed in. When it's getting hard using a spoon to mix, start using your hands instead.
7 cups flour
When all the flour is added, start kneading the dough. Knead for at least 10 minutes, or longer if you can. When done it should come away easily from the sides of the bowl. Do not add more flour! If it's too sticky, you just haven't kneaded enough. Once done, cover with a kitchen towel and set aside to rise for 60 minutes.
After 60 minutes, check to see if the dough has risen sufficiently. It should be about double in size. If not, let it rest a bit longer.
When the dough has risen, place a piece of parchment paper on top of an oven tray. Spread a little flour on a clean surface and take a small piece of dough - enough for one Lussekatt. Roll it out into a 20 cm/7-8'' long snake shape and roll the edges in to create the classic Lussekatt shape (see pictures and detailed instructions in post). Then place on the parchment paper, taking care to space them out so that they have room to rise about 50% more. Continue until you've created all the Lussekatts.
Drain the raisins and place two in each Lussekatt, one at the middle of each spiral. Then cover with a kitchen towel and set aside for 30 minutes.
80 raisins
Preheat your oven to 400°F (200°C).
When the Lussekatter have risen by 50%, mix together your egg and remove the kitchen towel. Brush the Lussekatter with the egg.
1 egg
Bake in the middle of the oven for 8 minutes, until golden, then remove and place on a cooling rack or kitchen towel to cool. Cover with a kitchen towel. Repeat until you've baked all your Lussekatter.

Video

Notes

Cooking time will vary with your oven.

Ingredient notes & substitutions

Milk, yeast and butter should be at room temperature
Fresh yeast - if you have the choice between regular and one for sweet doughs, use the one for sweet doughs. But both work.
Instant dry yeast can be used instead of fresh yeast. You then need to adjust the quantity and the process slightly - see instructions below.
Saffron powder can be used instead of saffron threads. 1 tablespoon of loosely packed saffron threads is equal to about 0.04 oz (1 g) of saffron powder.
Saffron - if using saffron threads you need to ground them first, using a mortar and pestle or a spoon and a bowl, but I recommend doing this even if you're using ground saffron
Rum is just used to extract maximum taste from the saffron - you can use vodka, cachaca or brännvin instead, or just water
Salted butter can be switched for unsalted and a ½ teaspooon of salt

How to make this recipe with dry yeast

If you use instant dry yeast instead of fresh yeast you will need just ¼ of the quantity stated, in weight. For one batch of this recipe this means 0.5 oz (14 g).

You also need to adjust the proces slightly:

Mix the instant dry yeast with the flour and let it sit for 10 minutes
Follow the recipe as written, mixing the milk with the butter, sugar and saffron, and then adding the flour and yeast mixture

The dough can take a little bit longer to rise than when using fresh yeast.

Tips & tricks

Ground the saffron with sugar - this is especially important if using saffron threads and not already ground saffron
Extract all the saffron flavor by allowing it to steep in alcohol before adding it to the dough. This way you can use less saffron, but still get a lot of taste.
Use fresh yeast - dry will work, but fresh rises quicker and better
Use room temperature butter and milk for the best consistency (instead of melting the butter and heating the milk as many recipes will tell you). Melted butter will absorb a lot of flour which makes your finished buns much dryer.
Weigh your flour as the density of a cup or deciliter of flour can vary greatly. If you don't have a scale, follow the cups or deciliter measurement instead but be mindful of how the dough feels. When done it should be a bit sticky, but easily release from the sides of the bowl.
Don't add too much flour as this will make your buns dry. Instead, knead the dough well.
Knead your dough for at least 10 minutes - this together with the room temperature butter makes all the difference for the softest buns
Soak your raisins in water first to avoid them soaking up moisture from the dough
You can also make these into other shapes - in Sweden the second most common shape is to create a large saffron wreath
Cool on a rack to avoid a soggy bottom
If you're freezing part of your batch: let them cool down almost fully on the rack and then immediately pack them in bags and stick in the freezer. This ensures you lock as much moisture as possible inside.
If you don't like saffron, can't find it, or it's just one of those years when it's too expensive - you can use ground turmeric to get that yellow color instead. Or use part saffron, part turmeric. This is what all the cheap bakeries do in Sweden!
If you don't like raisins, just skip them
Store Lussekatter in plastic bags in room temperature for up to 4 days - they will go dry before they go bad
Freeze Lussekatter in plastic bags to store them for longer - up to 3 months - and thaw in room temperature before serving

Nutrition