Lusse Bullar - Swedish Saffron Buns

Lusse Bullar - Swedish Saffron Buns

Ingredients:

50g söt jäst/ 2.5 tblsp dry yeast (1.8 oz. live yeast chunk)

150g smör/(2/3) of a cup butter

5 dcl 'röd' mjölk/2 cups whole milk

250g kvarg/ A little more than 1 cup of 'curd cheese' or "Quark cheese", a type of fresh cheese

1.5 dcl socker/ (2/3) of a cup sugar

2 packet saffran (1 g totalt)/ 1g of saffron (maybe 0.5 tsp saffron compacted)

0.5 tsk salt/0.5 tsp salt

18 dcl vetemjöl/ 7.75 cups flour

En handful av russin/A handful of raisins

1 eller 2 ägg för att pensla med/1 or 2 eggs for penciling

Instructions:

Melt the butter in a pot on the stove and add the milk. Warm this mixture to finger temperature (37C or 98.6F). Add the saffron to this mixture and stir in carefully until the mixtures takes on that gorgeous yellow/orange saffron color.

((Now, if you are using live yeast, break the yeast brick into small pieces in a large bowl. Add the sugar and salt and stir. Let that sit together until the yeast 'melts'. Then add the finger warm butter -milk-saffron mixture (be careful that it is not too hot, because then the yeast dies).))

((If you are using dry yeast, empty the contents of the yeast package into a large mixing bowl. Carefully add the finger warm butter-milk-saffron mixture to the bowl (be careful that it is not too hot, because the yeast dies). Stir and let the mixture sit for about 4 minutes while the yeast 'wakes up'. Add the salt and sugar and stir in; it should dissolve.))

Add the kvarg/quark fresh cheese to the mix. Then add the flour a little at a time. Blend everything until you have a smooth dough. Let this dough yeast in the bowl with a baking towel over it, in a warm place without drafts, for about 40 minutes.

Knead the dough and make into swirls (double opposite simple swirls). Put the forms onto baking sheets with parchment paper (bakplåts papper). Put a raisin on the middle of each swirl. Let these rise with a baking towel over them, while oven heats to 440F (225C). Pencil the swirls with whisked eggs before putting them in the oven until golden yellow (short amount of time, almost less than 10 minutes).

I didn't take a picture of our Lussebullar this year; above is a picture from:

http://lifeofnicolina.spotlife.se/2011/12/10/fredagsfis/