Lucia bread
Lussekatte or Lucia bread originates from Sweden and is eaten on Lucia Day. They are sweet breads with a hint of saffron, and they taste wonderful! The recipe doesn't meet the whole grain logo requirements, but it's an opportunity to incorporate more whole grains into your daily routine.
Ingredients
- 5 dl milk
- 1 egg
- 50 g fresh yeast
- 150 g sugar
- 150 g soft butter
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 0,5 g saffron (alternatively 1/2 tsp turmeric if you want the yellow color without the taste of saffron)
- 880 g wheat flour
- 220 g Whole wheat flour
Instructions
- Warm the milk and add crushed saffron. Tip: Crush the saffron in a mortar with some of the sugar to bring out the color and flavor better.
- Crumble the yeast into a bowl, add the milk, and dissolve the yeast.
- Add sugar, salt, eggs, and soft butter, and mix together.
- Gradually add the flour and knead the dough thoroughly, either by hand or in a mixer, until it is smooth and elastic. The dough should be slightly soft but not sticky. Adjust with a little more flour if necessary.
- Let the dough rise, covered, for 30-45 minutes or until it has doubled in size.
- Preheat the oven to 200 degrees Celsius (conventional heat).
- Divide the dough into small pieces, about 40 pieces, and roll them into sausages. Shape the sausages into S-shaped Lucia breads. Place them on baking trays lined with parchment paper. Press a raisin into each end of the S-shaped bread.
- Let the Lucia breads rise for about 30 minutes under a tea towel.
- Brush with beaten egg for a beautiful golden surface.
- Bake the Lucia breads in the oven for about 8-10 minutes, or until they are golden and fully baked. Keep an eye on them so they don't get too dark.
- Cool on a wire rack, and enjoy the Lucia breads warm or cooled.