Lussekatter

As the weather turns bad again, our thoughts are transposed back to...christmas, and Saint Lucy, and here a wonderful (in all seasons) traditional swedish pastry.



Ingredients :

First dough

• 50g butter
• 5 dL milk
• 50g yeast
• 1 tea spoon salt
• 1,5 L of flour
• 2 tea spoon of sugar

Second dough

• 25g of Safran
• 125g butter
• 1 egg
• 1 dL sugar

+ eggs and milk to brush the pastries before they are cooked (to make them golden)
+ raisins to decorate


Preparation:

first dough

1. Melt the butter in the milk, until it is around 37°c (more would kill the bacterias in the yeast, and the lyssekatter with it!)
2. Add the yeast
3. In a separate pot, put most of the flour (keep one cup aside, for when you mix the two doughs) with the sugar and salt. Mix with the butter and co.
4. cover with a cloth, and let rest for around an hour.

second dough

When the hour is almost up, prepare the second dough.

1. mix (with a hand mixer) butter and almost all sugar. Keep a little sugar to crush the safran if need be.
2. add the egg
3. add the crushed safran to the second dough

mixing the doughs (the fun part)

1. mix both doughs. Dont worry, it will be ugly, but you will succeed in the end. Incorporate the flour that you kept for that purpose.
2. form the lussekattar, in braids, snails, what ever you feel like. It will make a lot of it. Decorate with raisins.
3. brush them with egg and/or milk.
4. bake them on cooking paper, for 8 to 10 minutes, at 250°C regular oven, or 200 if rotating heat. You will need to do it in a few (3, 4, 5) times, as there is a lot of them...