METHOD:

Pour 3 tbsp of your water over your raisins in a small bowl and set aside. Soaking your raisins like this will allow them to absorb moisture before you press them into your buns. This will ensure they don’t steal moisture from your buns and will keep them from burning in the oven.

Next up mix your ground saffron with the remaining water. If you prefer you could mix it into some rum which also allows the flavour of the saffron to develop. If you are using strands you could skip the water soak and instead use a pestle and mortar to combine the saffron with some of the sugar.

To start making the dough for the buns start by crumbling your yeast into a large mixing bowl and set aside.

Then heat your oil and oat drink in a sauce pan. You just want it to reach body temperature. You could test this by putting your finger into the liquid and it should feel neither cold or hot when you do so. If the liquid is too hot you could kill the yeast and if it is too cold it will take longer for the yeast to activate and rise your dough. If you have a thermometer you could use it and warm your liquid to 37 degrees celsius but this is not necessary, trust your instincts with the finger test.

Once the liquid is the right temperature pour some of it over your yeast and dissolve it into the liquid by stirring with a wooden spoon. You could also use your fingers if you prefer. Once dissolved add the remaining liquid and give it a mix.

Add your saffron mixture, sugar and salt and mix well to dissolve and integrate.

Finally add your flour little by little and mix it well into the liquid with a wooden spoon. After a while it will become a tacky and shaggy dough. This is when I like to use my hands to work the dough, this is a sticky job and takes about 10-15 minutes to reach a good result. If you have a standing mixer you could simply use that to combine your dough and this will take about 5 minutes. You want your dough to become elastic and for the gluten to develop. My dough is quite tacky and sticky so it will always feel sticky in your hands at this point but you should feel and see when your dough becomes more elastic. (See video for help.)

Once you’re happy with your dough simply shape it into a ball the best you can and leave it in the bowl. Dust with a little more flour and place a baking cloth over the top of the bowl.

Let the dough rise for 30 to 45 minutes or until it has doubled in size.

Prepare two lined baking sheets and once your dough has doubled in size you will want to prepare your baking surface as well by dusting it with some flour. A light layer of flour should be sufficient.

Place your dough onto the surface and give it a little knead to knock some of the air back within it. Use a knife or a dough scraper to split the dough into, more or less, four equal parts. Then split each part into four equal parts again to create sixteen pieces of dough for your buns. If you want them the exact size each should be roughly 60 grams.

Take one piece of dough into lightly floured hands and make a rough ball out of it and then start rolling it between your hands so that it becomes a sausage shape. Place the “sausage” onto a lightly floured surface and roll it out to become roughly 20-25 cm. Then curl the two ends in opposite directions towards the center of the length as to create a curly s-shape. You will want to do this with quite a firm hand and not use too much flour, just enough so the dough doesn’t stick to your hands or the surface.

Place your first lussekatt bun on the lined baking sheet and repeat with the remaining dough. Each baking sheet should have eight lussekatt buns when your finished. Place a baking cloth or clean dish towel over each sheet and leave somewhere warm.

Let the buns rise for another 30 minutes, or until they’ve roughly doubled in size, and preheat your oven to 225 degrees celsius.

Once you’re buns have risen the desired amount brush them gently with an oat based alternative to cream before placing one raisin at the centre of each curl in the buns, this makes two raisins per bun. Brushing the buns will ensure they stay moist and help them develop a lovely sheen when baking.

Finally bake your buns for 6-8 minutes in the centre of the oven. They should be a light golden brown when ready. Repeat with the second sheet,