Two reasons why we are excited about this post.
Reason number one. The recipe. These traditional Swedish Christmas buns have a wonderful warm saffron flavor and additions of sweet raisins. They are easy to make and fun to shape. This spelt version is slightly more wholesome than the original recipe, but still very moist, indulgent and rich. We usually eat them for St. Lucia’s Day (December 13) and Christmas. But if you ask us, any day in December is a good saffron bun day.
Reason number two. This video.
A few days ago we had some friends over to help us shoot this. We wanted to simply give you a feeling of our Saturday morning bun baking. Hopefully it inspires you to try these buns at home. You will find the recipe at the bottom of this post. Let us know if you like the video and we’ll try to do it again sometime.
Swedish Lucia Saffron Buns “Lussebullar”
Makes around 15 buns (can easily be doubled)
During the weekend we have also been experimenting with a vegan version, and it came out really delicious too. Just replace the butter with coconut oil and turkish yogurt with soy yogurt (non GMO). Add a little more almond butter for extra yum.
1 tbsp dry active yeast (or 25 g fresh active yeast)
1/2 tsp sea salt
1 g (2 sachets) saffron powder
60 g organic butter
1 cup soy milk (non GMO)
5 tbsp maple syrup
2 tbsp almond butter (optional)
5 tbsp turkish yogurt or quark cheese
4 cups / 1 liter (450 g) spelt flour (we use half whole and half light)
30 raisins
1 egg yolk, beaten (for brushing)
Stir dry yeast, salt and saffron in a large mixing bowl and set aside. Melt butter in a medium size sauce pan, then add milk, maple syrup and almond butter and heat until 100F (40°C). Whisk vigorously to dissolve the almond butter. Pour the mixture into the mixing bowl with yeast. Add yogurt and stir around until dissolved. Add 2/3 of the spelt flour. Stir around with a wooden spoon until it is thick enough to knead with your hands. Add more flour until the dough is easy to work with and has formed into a round ball that doesn’t stick to your hands. Cover the bowl with a kitchen cloth and leave to rise in a warm place for about an hour, or until double in size and full of air pockets.
Transfer the dough to a lightly floured surface and knead for a minute, form it into the shape of a baguette. Divide it into 15 equal pieces and, using your hands, roll each piece into a long 1/2-inch ( about 1 cm) thick string. Then roll both ends tight in opposite direction into an S-shaped bun. Place buns, well spaced apart, on 2 baking sheets, cover with a cloth and set aside in a warm spot to rise for about 30 mins. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 425°F (220°C). Brush the buns with an egg yolk or water and then place one raisin in each circle. Bake the buns until golden brown on top, about 7-9 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to let cool slightly. Serve. Preferably with freshly brewed coffee, tea or glögg.
Store buns in an airtight container for up to a week, but of course they taste best fresh from the oven.
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101 Comments
Delicious! Elsa is just so cute :)
Beautiful!!!
Loved everything – video, photos and recipe!
Going to try the buns soon!
And I, too, am excited about this post! Before I spent a year studying in Sweden I hadn’t heard of St. Lucia Day or Saffron Buns – two things definitely worth hearing about. Thanks for sharing this recipe just in time to make them for the 13th!
And that video – so charming. More please.
Åh fantastiskt fint!! mer filmer!
Fun! Beautiful video. My sister lives in Sweden and when she was home for the holidays last year we hosted a Swedish Fika for all of our friends and family, and I was in charge of making the saffron buns. It was such a great event!
I blogged a recap of the event here,
http://nicandkier.blogspot.com/2012/01/swedish-fika.html
Wow, they look so delicious!
Once more I know why greenkitchenstories is my favourite blog on the internet!
Beautiful video too!
Do you think they would work, if I used 100% whole grain flour or might the buns not get fluffy enough?
Thanks!
THANKS Lena :-)
I think it would, the texture will change a bit but it will probably work just fine.
Happy baking
/Luise
Loved the video! What a darling little girl you have!
And the rolls look delicious! I think I might try to make some today to celebrate my 1/4 Swedish heritage. : )
Ohhhhhh I just LOVED the video. And Elsa! Ugh. So cute.
I love the video too! yes – absolutely do more, they are a pleasure to watch.
Waaahooo! Totally in love with the vid! do it again do it again do it again ;)
Haha, Wishing once again it was possible to hug through the computer..
Hugs to you all, sweets! (and compliments to the camera friends!)
I love it. My husband, who is swedish, has his birthday on Santa Lucia and I love the lucia buns. I will try your recipe. Brilliant video. Thanks.
Awwwe! So cute to see pretty Elsa baking with her beautiful Mom, such a precious time and fond memories you are making together ( I love cooking with my little one.) Your St Lucia Saffron Buns look yummy. Do you think I could use some of my starter instead of the yeast since I am in the middle of baking our multigrain French loaves and have some nicely refreshed levain handy? I’ll let you know how it goes, in the meantime I’ll share your great video onto my facebook page. Merci beaucoup.
Hi Ketmala, great idea to use a sourdough starter instead of yeast. I have tried a sourdough saffron bun once and it was super delicious!
Yes, please let us know how they turn out!
/David
The video is absolutely wonderful (your little one is so sweet)! I adore saffron in breads, and the buns look delicious!
Great video. Love the recipe. Thanks!
Beautiful video and I love your take on traditional lussekatter.
Glad lucia!
The video was absolutely beautiful! Everything about it was perfect and it was wonderful to see the process of how the buns are made. Little Elsa was as sweet as could be – I loved watching her roll out the dough and sitting on her feet. As always, this was a lovely post and I look forward to making yet another recipe of yours!
Thank you <3
Beautiful video, love the music and the shooting. Would be happy to see more of that. Trevlig Lucia!
Åh vilken fin film! Ni gör underbara recept. Skulle vara kul om det kom ett inlägg på svenska någon gång. Fortsätt sprida matglädje med er härliga blogg! Hälsningar Elin
Love the video! They do look pretty easy to make, will give it a go during the weekend. Thank you for sharing!
Cheers from SF, California
This looks so delicious! I have to try the vegan version for my class on friday!
And do you guys think it’ll work with turmeric (gurkemeie) instead of saffron? Saffron is so expensive these days…
Hi Sunniva, I agree that saffron is very expensive but it is really essential in these buns. If you do want to try a turmeric version I would recommend also adding cinnamon and cardamom to give it some more flavor.
Good luck and please let us know how they turn out!
/David
Such a beautiful video and recipe. Thanks so much for taking the time to make both! The video is inspiring. Thinking I need to make these soon!
I love love LOVE this video. It is beautiful, poetic and totally delicious. You really made me want to make these lovely buns… and to see the video again, cause it’s so good :)
I’m such a sucker for beautiful food videos and this one is stunning.
I love this! So so cozy and Elsa is the big star! I will defintely make this for Christmas morning this year. Thank you for being ever-inspiring! xoxo
Watching this beautiful shot video gave me a warm, glowing feeling inside. It gives the right visual personal story touch especially with the touching cute little actress! I could almost taste the buns. I will definitely make them on my sons birthday party December 20 with all his little friends. Love Philippine
Thanks Philippine & Happy birthday to your son!
Elsa is lovely! I love your healthy take on this traditional recipe, and I love the fact that you knead it by hand –I am so intimidated by yeasted doughs as i don’t have a mixer…Now I am really temped to make them! I have a small amount of saffron threads to use instead of the powder –what ratio would you suggest? Thanks for the nice video and the warm atmosphere.
Hi Valeria, thanks for your comment!
Found this: Add 3 tsp. of hot liquid for every teaspoon of saffron threads and allow to soak for two hours before you use them in your dish. Use twice the quantity of saffron threads if you are substituting threads for powder. Avoid using a wire whisk when cooking with saffron threads.
Read more: http://www.livestrong.com/article/511870-saffron-threads-vs-powder/#ixzz2F98Vm4We
Happy baking
Luise
Crazy beautiful food, family, and video! Love what you guys do.
Love the video! I feel that i know you guys better :) I thought the buns were vegan… maybe I’ll try for some substitutions and see how it goes. Happy holidays to you too!!
Hi Kaluz!
“During the weekend we have also been experimenting with a vegan version, and it came out really delicious too. Just replace the butter with coconut oil and turkish yogurt with soy yogurt. Add a little more almond butter for extra yum.”
Happy baking
/Luise
Love the video! Pleaaaase do it again! I think you spoil your readers too much! We will always want more here! And now that you started the video thing…. Elsa is so cute!!
These look fantastic, what a great colour from the saffron, and I bet the smell when they were baking was off the chain.
ooops! I just read about the vegan substitutions… I’ll definitely try that for my friend :)
Spectacular video! Well done!
I love it! So nice to get a real life feeling if your cooking. Yes please more…
What a gorgeous video. You guys are so very clever :)
Enjoyed the video and the buns look fabulous. Our family will definitely give them a try this season.
Merry Christmas!
The video was amazing! It was pro, it was cosy, it made me feel wanna jump in the kitchen to roll these babies (against the fact that I’m gluten-free). Please bring us some more vids!
i love this warm feeling seeing the film. its if i could smell the saffron. thank you and have a warm lucia day!
OMG, it´s amaizing! So sweet…
Kisses from Spain
SaraLu
Is there any way these could be made gluten free? Any suggestions?
They looks so nice.
By the way congratulations, your site is beautiful and the recipes always turn out right. I get a lot of praise thanks to you!
Wonderful. such a great video.
I’m also looking for a gluten free (and vegan) version of these. i don’t think anyone uses yeast with GF flours…does anyone know? thanks.
Hi,
I think you get the best result by choosing a gluten free flour mixture, they tend to rise better than only one GF flour substitute.
Let me know how it turns out!
-and for the vegan version: “During the weekend we have also been experimenting with a vegan version, and it came out really delicious too. Just replace the butter with coconut oil and turkish yogurt with soy yogurt. Add a little more almond butter for extra yum.”
Happy baking
Luise
Beautiful Video!
Great Song choice!
Love the vid! xx
Wow! The video is amazing. More, please! Lucia saffron buns are a real christmas treat. I love them.
Ah, these bring back so many memories! I used to make them for my students when I taught 2nd grade and we visited holiday traditions around the world. (I’m Swedish) They’re beautiful!
Beautiful! And Elsa is so unbelievably precious, good job guys ;)
Digging the video! Although I won’t be able to enjoy these buns myself (lactose intolerant) I can’t wait to bake & share them with friends and family for a holiday treat. Much love, you guys are awesome!
Thanks!
-for a vegan alternative: “During the weekend we have also been experimenting with a vegan version, and it came out really delicious too. Just replace the butter with coconut oil and turkish yogurt with soy yogurt. Add a little more almond butter for extra yum.”
hello!
Greetings from a Swede in oz. Here’s one for you, I’ll be making lussekatter today with my 22 month old daughter and both her and my 4 month old cannot have soy either! So I will be experimenting with a vegan and soy free version. will let you know how I go!
warm regards,
Sophie
Tack så mycket! Beautiful video, beautiful Elsa. And perfect timing for me because today my little niece is coming over to make Lucia Buns together for the first time ~~ I’ll show her your video and we’ll use your recipe. Trevlig Lucia!
hej david, luise, och elsa! how funny, i made lussekatter last night and after tasting mine, i thought they were of course delicious, but much too … rich tasting, if that’s the right way to describe it. then i thought to myself, “i wish there was a lussekatter recipe on gks!” it’s like you read my mind! these lussekatter are now number one on my to-make list. tusen tack!
Absolutely love this!!! A friend of mine just brought over some ‘Santa Lucia Boller” for a Christmas party…they are so unique… What a beautiful video/photography accompaniment! Looked like the perfect Weekend Baking event :)
Hi, many thanks for this very rich post. It reminds me that I one day had those buns in Norway… Now I know how to manage them. Thank you so much !
Hi, I am following your blog since I found it last year. I am one of the silent readers but I liked your video so much, I have to comment :)
What a beautiful and wonderful video. It is so great to see you “live”, Luise, you have such a beautiful natural smile and Elsa is sooo sweet. Maybe there will be a next video and we will also see David?
Unfortunately my English is so bad I can´t express my joy.
I´m looking forward buying your book, so please go on publishing :)
Best wishes from Germany
Manu
Manu!! We love when the silent readers write a comment, thanks a lot!
Sure, David will be ‘live’ in the next video ;-)
Btw; your english is just perfect!
All the best
Luise
Åh, nom nom nom! Fantastiskt underbar film med, man vill bara springa till köket och börja baka.
Those buns look wonderful! I really want to try this recipe out, but I’m gluten-intolerant. Do you have any recommendations as to what gluten-free flour I can use to replace the spelt?
Thanks Camille!
I would go for a gluten free flour mixture, they tend to rise better than just one gluten free flour. Let me know how it turns out!
Happy baking
Luise
Love the video en the buns! The family feeling and love get’s right through the hart. I’m really looking forward to see your next video.
Warm greetings,
Rosalie
We made them yesterday for celebrating Santa Lucia. We used soy yogurt as we had to make them casein-free. And we used half the saffron, but it was for sure more than enough (I powdered the threads which maybe has a more intense flavor than the powder bought as such). They were just great and a lot of fun to shape. Thanks for the recipe
they remind me of seahorses! island saffron seahorses… hmm, maybe that’s a bit bizarre…
well before i made it weird, they looked totally delicious. :-)
Haha, seahorses… cute!
Beautiful video please please do more. Elsa is a star so cute x
Hi there,
the recipe sounds lovely.
My only problem is I don’t know what saffron powder is. I could only find saffron threads. A whole package of saffron threads, as I can get it in the supermarket, weighs 0,12g. Do you know how many threads are equivalent to the 1g of the powder?
Kind regards from Vienna
Hi Konni!
Found this: Add 3 tsp. of hot liquid for every teaspoon of saffron threads and allow to soak for two hours before you use them in your dish. Use twice the quantity of saffron threads if you are substituting threads for powder. Avoid using a wire whisk when cooking with saffron threads.
Read more: http://www.livestrong.com/article/511870-saffron-threads-vs-powder/#ixzz2F98Vm4We
Happy baking
Luise
Just a lovely video. It really created a wonderful ambiance and put me in the mood for Christmas baking in a gently nostalgic way. Thankyou – and I hope there are more to come!
Hello! Lovely recipe & video – thank you so much. Quick question: will the buns be less moist/fluffy if the almond butter is left out? I know it is marked as optional but I’m wondering if it brings anything to the recipe beyond flavouring… should I try and substitute something?
God jul! :)
Hi Josie,
You can skip it and still get a nice fluffy texture. If you bake the vegan version I would defectively add almond butter.
God jul!
/Luise
I loved these buns, they turned out so pretty and tasty. i have never heard of a saffron bun and i have never even used saffron or made bread before. i am going to cook them for all my family for our christmas lunch in Australia. thanks for the recipe!
Hi Sophie,
Thanks for your comment! Glad you liked the buns.
Merry Christmas!
This video was absolutely incredible! The attention to detail was captivating. Lovely photos and recipe as well!
Love it! More videos!
Interesting. I haven’t heard of Saffron Buns before. Any other replacement for the raisins?
dried cranberries…
Luise and David, I loved your video! I think it’s lovely to see some faces behind the stories. I am gluten free too, and I hope to get a chance to experiment with these over the weekend. I will add a little note about which flour combination I use if I’m successful!
Starting to bake them now!!!
Will let you know how it goes! sooooo curious!!
Merry Christmas!!!
x
Oh, I love it. It tastes so good and the video is so beautyfull.
Check out my Lucia Saffron Buns…
http://missrouge-beauty.blogspot.de/2012/12/schwedisches-safrangeback_23.html
Thank you guys,
Mira
Wonderful video! Please make more of them- though I love your images, but through video you can perceive so much more. And I love the smiles in video :)
Thank you,
Lina
I prepared at home on Christmas morning, everyone was happy! Thank you .
Just to report back: I made them today but substituted with cinnamon instead of saffron and, accordingly, formed them into little rolls (I added a thin layer of cane sugar, cinnamon and cardamom). Turned out delicious! Thanks a lot for this healthy recipe!
These look absolutely beautiful and I loved the video. Thank you!
I just discovered your blog, it’s great! We had these buns for breakfast and we really enjoyed them with salted butter, thanks for the recipe!
I like the video too, and it’s helpful to see how you knead the dough.
I just had a problem with the texture of the dough, i had to add a lot of extra flour. I wonder what i did wrong…
My nephews enjoyed this a lot. Wonderful images and great video. Another easy and yummy meal. Wonderful recipe.
Just love the video, so beautiful! Would almond or coconut yogurt work in place of soy or is the protein in the soy yogurt essential for this recipe? I’m thinking if it’s just for moisture the alternatives would work. What do you think?
Thank you!
I guess the same question for the soymilk- do you need the protein or could you use Almond milk in its place?
Hi Elisabeth, we haven’t tried it with almond milk or yogurt, but I imagine that it would work just fine.
Please let us know the result if you try it!
/David
These are actually called Lussekatter not Lussebullar in Sweden.
Well I suppose that depends on which part of Sweden you are from. In our family we have always called them Lussebullar ;)
/David
Such a beautiful video, your daughter is gorgeous and these
buns look delicious! Thank you :) Francesca xx
We’re new to your blog and have tried a couple of recipes. I note above that you use soy, soy is genetically modified and in fact, poison due to how it’s developed. PLEASE read up on it and other GMO’s since you’re trying to post healthy recipes!
Dear Janeto, we have also read that 90-95% of the soy beans produced in the US are genetically modified. Therefore we only use the brands of soymilk which are free from GMO’s. Some examples of non GMO soy milk-brands in the US are Eden, Wildwood and Silk.
/David
Thank you for clarifying non-gmo soy. Perhaps you could incorporate this into your recipes somehow?? I must admit that I have developed a deep revulsion for GMO’s as I have a sick child and have spents 100′s of hours researching possible causes of her illness. I’ve learned things I wish I hadn’t learned in the vein of ignorance is bliss. If I see a recipe that contains one of the big 6, I immediately ignore it. If I see products that don’t designate non-gmo or are not certified non-gmo, I immediately put it back on a shelf. The more this is brought to the attention of consumers, the better for us all, in the long run. Again, thanks.
Sankta Lucia is only a distant memory now, but I thought I should let you know how they turned out! Lussekatter are actually my absolute favorite sweet bread. I love them so much I sometimes make them when I am not suppose to (like now!), much to the disapproval of my Swedish in-laws.
I have been looking for the perfect vegan recipe on many Swedish vegan blogs, but I have to say they always came out very dry. Yours were perfect. Really! The best lussekatter I have ever tried, vegan or not! I think the almond butter and the yogurt really did the trick. I tried mine with almond milk and “normal” wheat flour (I was afraid the texture would be too heavy for my taste have I used spelt). Next time, I’ll mix both flour to find out and I’ll try a sourdough version…
I have been reading your blog for a very long time, but I think it’s the first time I leave a comment. I’d like to say thank you for all the stories and recipes :)
your lil one is so beautiful and i love that you are cooking together! your video is an inspiration and i cannot wait to try to make these!
ME encanta!!!!!!!!!!!!!