History of Luciadag
December 13th is Saint Lucy’s Day (Luciadag), a Christian holiday that Scandinavia celebrates. It is an imported Swedish holiday in Denmark, so most of our traditions stem from Sweden. In fact, it started as a tradition in Denmark during the Second World War. There was hope that it could bring some joy in a very dark time. The day commemorates Saint Lucy or Lucia, who brought food to aid Christians while wearing a candlelit wreath on her head to guide her way.
While the holiday is religious, we now celebrate it most frequently as a festival of light. This typically includes a procession at schools and/or churches. Children will wear white robes and carry candles, and one girl will be designated to play Lucia. She wears a crown of candles and walks ahead of everyone else, while everyone sings the Neapolitan song Santa Lucia. Each Scandinavian language has its own rewritten lyrics to this song. We are not personally religious, so this holiday has never had a religious connection for us. But, we still vividly remember these traditions from when we were children. For us, Luciadag is just a beautiful reminder of the beauty and light that still exists in the middle of the winter!
Lucia Buns
These buns are a traditional food eaten around and on Luciadag. They are Swedish, known as “lussekatter,” or Lucia cats. This is because they are shaped like a curled-up cat, with raisins to represent its eyes. However, these rolls are also sometimes just called “lussebullar” (Lucia rolls). The bright yellow color comes from the use of saffron, which gives them an earthy taste (it’s quite a distinct flavor and it can be hard to describe – we would also say that the taste is not always for everyone!). Our recipe should yield very soft and fluffy, sweet buns – we hope you try it out this Luciadag! Let us know how it goes in the comments below.
Lussekatter (Lucia Buns)
Ingredients
- 1/2 tsp saffron threads (if you do have pre-ground saffron instead, make sure to just use a pinch of it! A little goes a long way!)
- 400 ml (1 3/4 cup) milk
- 2 tsp instant yeast (2.25 tsp active dry yeast, 17.5g fresh yeast)
- 6 tbsp sugar
- 1.5 tsp salt
- 1 large egg
- 2 egg yolks
- 750 grams (6 cups) all-purpose flour
- 70 grams (5 tbsp) unsalted butter, softened
- 1 egg for egg wash
- Raisins (for decoration)
Instructions
- Grind the saffron threads as finely as possible using the back of a spoon or if you have one, a mortar and pestle. Warm up about 57 ml (1/4 cup) of milk and pour over the saffron, stirring well. Leave this to steep/dissolve for at least 1-2 hours, until the majority of the saffron has dissolved. You may have to reheat the milk to keep it warm which will help it dissolve a little faster.
- Heat the remaining milk, in the microwave or a saucepan, until it is “fingervarm” (finger warm), meaning it should feel warm to the touch but not hot. Add your yeast and 1 tbsp of sugar, stir, and leave it for 5-10 minutes until the mixture starts to bubble up, meaning your yeast is alive and not expired.
- Add the salt, remaining sugar (5 tbsp), saffron mixture, egg, and egg yolks to a large bowl and mix well. Once the yeast mixture has bubbled up a bit, add it to the egg mixture. Mix well.
- Slowly add the flour and softened butter, mixing with a wooden spoon until the dough starts to come together.
- Knead until smooth and elastic, about 10 minutes. Add more flour if the dough is too sticky; it should be soft and smooth, not too sticky nor too dry. Use a stand mixer if you would prefer!
- Cover the dough with cling film or a clean dishtowel and let rise for about an hour or until doubled in size.
- Once the dough has doubled in size, divide into 16 equal sized pieces.
- Begin shaping the buns by rolling out each piece into a log.
- Then, curl one end inward until you reach the middle.
- Repeat the same thing with the other end but curl in the opposite direction (see photo for visual explanation!) Repeat until you have 16 Lucia buns.
- Place the buns on a prepared baking sheet lined with parchment paper or a silicone mat and cover to let rise for another 45 minutes to an hour until doubled in size. Meanwhile preheat the oven to 410 degrees F (210 degrees C).
- Once ready, make an egg wash by combining an egg with a little bit of water and whisking together.
- Brush the buns with the egg wash and place a raisin on top of each swirl (2 per bun). You can also top with pearl sugar, but this is optional!
- Bake for 10-12 minutes until the buns are lightly golden. Enjoy these sweet rolls with a cup of tea or just on their own!
Lovely recipe came out really well. I had no issues except those that I created for myself. I forgot to fully read the recipe ahead of time and had to soften butter on the fly, which is tough without a microwave. I also have to admit that 750g of flour sounded like far too much, and yet I actually had to add about 2 extra tablespoons because my dough was a bit too sticky. It would be helpful to mention approximately how long of a “log” to roll each piece of dough into. The rolls were delicious. Thanks!
Yay, so happy to hear it 🙂 Haha, forgetting to soften butter is something I have done a million times but can’t imagine figuring it out without a microwave – that’s impressive! Yes, I agree with you that including the length of the log would be useful – we’ll have to add that. Thanks for your review and for using our recipe!