Saint Lucia Buns - Lussekatter - Saffron Buns - cooking recipe

Ingredients

300 ml milk
1 g saffron
50 g baker's yeast
150 g sugar
125 g butter or 125 g margarine
700 g all-purpose flour
1 egg
salt
raisins

Preparation

Melt butter or margarine in a pan and add the milk and the saffron.
Warm the mixture to 37 oC (100 oF).
Use a thermometer; the correct temperature is important!
Pour the mixture over the finely divided yeast; then add the remaining ingredients (except for the egg and the raisins), which should have a temperature of 21-23 oC (72-75 oF).
Mix into a smooth dough.
Cover the dough with a piece of cloth and let it rise for 30 minutes.
Knead the dough, divide it into 25-30 pieces and form each piece into a round bun.
Let the buns rest for a few minutes, covered by a piece of cloth.
Form each bun into a string, 15-20 cm long, then arrange the string in a suitable shape, e.g. an S or double S. Regardless of the shape, the ends of the string should meet.
Press a few raisins into the dough.
Cover the\"Lucia cats\" with a piece of cloth and let them rise for 40 minutes.
Whip the egg together with a few grains of salt, and paint the\"Lucia cats\" with the mixture.
Bake them for 5-10 minutes in the oven at 250 oC (475 oF) until golden brownish yellow.