St. Lucia Buns Recipe (2025)

These turned put great. Followed the recipe exactly. Accidentally made the s-shaped bun a little big. Got the stamp of approval from my swedish husband and his family for taste and texture. They laughed at how big they were though...said I american zed them. Oh well. I call it a win

For half a recipe: Combined 4 T. melted butter, 1 c. warm milk, 1/2 t. saffron ground w/1 T sugar and 1 1/2 t. active dry yeast - let yeast proof.3 1/2 c. flour in mixer, w/ 1/2 t. salt, 1/2 t. cardamom & 2/3 c. sugar. Added milk mixture and kneaded in mixer 5 min. adding about 1/2 c flour to make a soft dough. Let rise about 1 hour.Punched down, divided into 12, rolled into 3/4" thick "tubes" 10" long. Formed "s" shape. Let rise 45 min, then egg wash and raisins. 375 for 20 min - delish!

It’s a Nordic tradition from before the Lutheran reform, blending old Norse with Catholicism, mixed into our own tradition.I make mine with cardamom (the traditional Scandinavian sweet bun flavoring) and food coloring instead of saffron, and haven’t been taken by Åsgårdsreia (that’s out making trouble during the Lusse Night) yet!

The texture on these rolls was great! I halved the recipe and used active dry yeast instead of fresh, which seemed to work fine. I used 3 packets in my half batch, based on substitution ratios I found. I found I wished these were a little sweeter. Could I add more sugar without messing with the density of the dough? Or perhaps a sweet glaze at the end?

It's because the recipe calls for fresh yeast, and you are thinking of active dry yeast. You can Google for a measurement conversion from fresh to dry yeast. Or find fresh yeast somewhere.

0.34 oz active dry yeast

We make ours with cardamom rather than saffron. Maybe my Swedish fam could not afford saffron. Also —icing. I now make a braid rather than rolls. Seems to keep them from getting dry and stale for a min

My recipe adds quark and I shape the buns after the first kneading for a single 2 hour rise. These changes make the buns light and fluffy.I also make a version shaped like cinnamon rolls with a filling of butter, grated marzipan, and honey.

This a reminder to myself and everyone out there to never again make Renee’s half version of this dough. You will only get tough, dense dough that will make you go mad with insanity

Eeks those are sad Saffransbullar. There are no instructions on how to make the classic "Lussekatter" (spirals on either end). Roll each piece of dough to about 12" long. Hold each end, and in opposite directions roll the ends into spirals, until they meet in the middle. They will look as they should (albeit missing the necessary pearl sugar). For a good visual: https://true-north-kitchen.com/st-lucia-buns-lussekatter/ I also use at least 1.5 tsp saffran threads, for colour and flavour.

I followed the recipe exactly, and the buns burnt so quickly on the bottom, even before they were done! The oven temperature was so high. I think this would have worked well at a lower temperature for a slightly longer time.

Just a heads up that this recipe takes much longer than 1.5 hours. The rising time alone is about that long.

The recipe just says "wheat flour." Does that mean whole wheat flour or AP flour or a different kind of flour? Can I use AP flour?

Several hours before, soak the ground saffron/sugar in 1Tbsp cognac to bring out more flavor and color from the threads.

It seems like a lot of yeast, no? Could I achieve the same thing if I wait and let it become a sponge before adding half of the flour?

This a reminder to myself and everyone out there to never again make Renee’s half version of this dough. You will only get tough, dense dough that will make you go mad with insanity

These were great! I would recommend making them pretty small as they do rise a good deal in the oven, I started with 150 gram buns and they turned out huge.

0.34 oz active dry yeast

If you’re looking if you’re looking to spice things up a bit with a nice garnish, my friend who lived in Sweden that taught me how to make these uses pearl sugar! They are gorgeous w them!

Is "wheat flour" whole wheat or all purpose...they look like AP

For half a recipe: Combined 4 T. melted butter, 1 c. warm milk, 1/2 t. saffron ground w/1 T sugar and 1 1/2 t. active dry yeast - let yeast proof.3 1/2 c. flour in mixer, w/ 1/2 t. salt, 1/2 t. cardamom & 2/3 c. sugar. Added milk mixture and kneaded in mixer 5 min. adding about 1/2 c flour to make a soft dough. Let rise about 1 hour.Punched down, divided into 12, rolled into 3/4" thick "tubes" 10" long. Formed "s" shape. Let rise 45 min, then egg wash and raisins. 375 for 20 min - delish!

Help! Seems like a lot of yeast. Six packages?

My recipe adds quark and I shape the buns after the first kneading for a single 2 hour rise. These changes make the buns light and fluffy.I also make a version shaped like cinnamon rolls with a filling of butter, grated marzipan, and honey.

We make ours with cardamom rather than saffron. Maybe my Swedish fam could not afford saffron. Also —icing. I now make a braid rather than rolls. Seems to keep them from getting dry and stale for a min