with a remarkable enthusiasm, surpassing any Italian festivities
devoted to the same lady. One mandatory constituent in the
celebrations is a saffron-flavoured bun, in Swedish called a
lussekatt, a "Lucia cat". The shape of this bun might vary
somewhat, but is always based on bread designs dating back to
earlier Christmas celebrations in Sweden.
Ingredients:
· 300 ml milk
· 1 g saffron
· 50 g fresh baker's
yeast
· 150 g sugar
· 125 g butter or
margarine
· 700 g all purpose
flour
· 1 egg
· salt, raisins
Proceed as follows:
1. Melt butter or margarine in a pan and add the milk and
the saffron. Warm the mixture to 37 oC. Use a
thermometer, the correct temperature is important!
2. 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.
Mix into a smooth dough.
3. Cover the dough with a piece of cloth and let it rise for
30 minutes.
4. 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..
5. Form each bun into a string, 15-20 cm long, then
arrange the string in a suitable shape, e.g. like an S or a
double S. Regardless of the shape, the ends of the string
should meet. Press a few raisins into the dough.
6. Cover the "Lucia cats" with a piece of cloth and let
them rise for 40 minutes.
7. Whip the egg together with a few grains of salt. and
paint the "Lucia cats" with the mixture.
8. Bake them for 5-10 minutes in the oven at 250 oC until
golden brownish yellow.
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