Vegan St. Lucia Buns (Lussekatter)

Vegan St. Lucia buns - these delicious Scandinavian saffron buns are traditionally baked in Sweden and Norway for St. Lucia's day (December 13th), and are known as Lussekatter because they look like curled up cats.

Flavoured with saffron and a touch of cardamom, these soft, fluffy, sweet buns are a delicious festive treat.

What Are St. Lucia Buns?

St. Lucia saffron buns, or "lussekatter/lussebullar", are a traditional treat baked in Scandinavia to celebrate St. Lucia’s Day on December 13th. This holiday honors St. Lucia of Syracuse, the patron saint of light, and the buns' golden yellow color, infused with saffron, symbolizes the light she brought to the world during dark times.

The buns are soft, sweet, and slightly spiced with saffron and they go great with a cup of coffee or mulled wine (Glögg). Lucia buns may be shaped into various different forms but the most common is the “S” curve - the name "Lussekatter" refers to the curled up shape of the buns which looks like a sleeping cat or a cats tail.

Like most winter celebrations, Lucia Day blends both Christian and pagan practices. Before the adoption of the modern day calendar, December 13th marked the winter solstice - the longest night of the year, which was associated with much superstition. Lucia buns were originally called djävulskatter (“devil's cats”); saffron was thought to have magical properties and was able to ward off evil, so the sweet buns may have been baked to keep devils away.

Whatever the origins, the practice of creating warmth and light in the cold, dark winter months is always welcome, so while they may not actually keep the devil away, baking some St. Lucia buns is a lovely way to bring a bit of festive cheer.

Ingredient Details:

Saffron: Yes it's expensive but saffron is the key to giving these St. Lucia buns their beautiful sunny yellow colour and delicate flavour. I use saffron threads which I grind in a pestle and mortar.

Bread flour: White bread flour helps to give these buns their soft, fluffy, chewy texture. Plain (all-purpose) flour will also work though the texture isn't quite the same. I don't recommend using wholemeal flour as that will make the bread too dense.

Instant/fast action yeast: I always prefer to use fast action yeast when making bread as it can just be added straight to the flour and doesn't need to be activated first.

Salt: You simply cannot make good bread without salt. Don't omit it.

Non-dairy milk: Soy milk is always my favourite for baking as it has the highest protein content so most closely resembles dairy milk. Any variety of non-dairy milk will work however, but go for an unsweetened one if you can.

Sugar: I use caster sugar in the dough as it dissolves easily; it can be swapped for granulated if that is all you have.

Vegan butter: A block style butter such as Flora plant butter or Naturli vegan block is best. A spreadable one will work but your dough may be softer and therefore harder to shape.

Currants or raisins: These are just used to decorate the buns and can be omitted if you wish.

Cardamom: St. Lucia buns do not usually contain cardamom but I like to add a bit. Freshly ground is best as it has a stronger flavour; if using pre ground then you may wish to add a bit more to compensate. I keep the flavour quite subtle so as not to overpower the saffron but you can add more if you like, or omit it if you aren't a fan.

How To Make Vegan St. Lucia Buns:

(Full measurements and instructions can be found in the recipe card at the bottom of the page)

Step 1: Grind the saffron threads in a pestle and mortar and tip into a saucepan. Rinse the mortar out with the milk to get any remaining saffron and add it to the pan. Heat until steaming but not yet boiling. Remove from the heat, add the butter, stir until melted then set aside to cool until lukewarm.

Step 2: Mix the flour, sugar, yeast, salt and cardamom together in the bowl of a stand mixer. Add the cooled milk mixture and mix to form a shaggy dough. Knead for about 10 minutes until smooth and elastic.

The dough should pass the windowpane test - you should be able to stretch a portion of it very thin before it breaks, so thin that you can see light through it.

Step 3: Place in an oiled bowl, cover and set aside to rise until doubled in size.

Step 4: Knead the risen dough briefly then divide into 12 even portions. Shape each portion into a neat ball.

Step 5: Use your hands to gently roll one of the balls of dough out into a 35-40 cm long rope. Do not flour the work surface.

Step 6: Coil the ends of the rope in opposite directions so that it forms an "S" shape.

Step 7: Place the buns spaced apart on a couple of lined baking sheets. Cover and set aside to rise until puffy.

Step 8: Gently brush the buns with milk and press a raisin into the centre of each spiral. Bake for 15 minutes.

Top Tips:

All of my recipes are developed using grams, and as with all of my baking recipes I really do recommend using the metric measurements with a digital scale rather than the cup conversions. Cups are a wildly inaccurate measuring system and you will get far better, more consistent results using a scale, not to mention that it is also easier and less messy than cups!

Do not add the saffron milk mixture to the other ingredients while it is hot or it may kill the yeast. You should be able to comfortably hold your finger in the milk.

Don't be tempted to add more flour to the dough (unless it is wet rather than sticky), it is supposed to be a bit soft and sticky. If you add too much flour the bread will end up being dry and dense, not light and fluffy.

If you want, you can give the dough it’s first rise overnight in the fridge rather than at room temperature. This breaks up the workload and gives the buns an even better flavour.

The rising time of the dough will vary depending on how warm it is; on hot days it will rise much faster than on cold ones. If you refrigerate the dough for it's first rise, the second rise will take longer than if it's first rise was at room temperature.

After you grind the saffron, rinse the mortar out with the milk before pouring it into the pan to make sure that you don't waste any of the expensive spice!

Ideally you don't want to use any flour when rolling out and shaping the buns. The dough should be soft, but shouldn't stick to the surface or your hands.

Don't coil the dough up too tightly when creating the "S" shapes, it needs a little room to expand.

Keep the balls of dough covered with oiled clingfilm while you are shaping the Lussekatter to prevent them from drying out and forming a skin.

Soaking the raisins or currants in water helps to prevent them from burning in the oven.

If you like you can sprinkle the buns with pearl sugar after you have brushed them with milk before baking.

FAQ's:

More Festive Vegan Breads:

• Vegan stollen bars
• Orange and anise snowflake bread
• Vegan banana monkey bread
• Vegan garlic dough balls
• Vegan stollen wreath
• Gingerbread cinnamon rolls

If you tried this recipe let me know how it went! Rate it, leave a comment or tag @domestic_gothess on Instagram and hashtag it #domesticgothess

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