St. Lucia Buns

These saffron sweet buns are a staple on St. Lucia Day celebrated in Sweden on December 13th. Learn how to make these St. Lucia Buns in this step by step photo tutorial! 

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When it comes to making homemade breads for the holidays I love making my classic monkey bread, cinnamon rolls with cinnamon roll icing, or whip up some fluffy Parker House rolls. But this Christmas season I decided to try something new.

These Swedish St Lucia buns, a sweet bread made with saffron. The saffron gives wonderful flavor, and the dough is tinted yellow with turmeric.

These buns are made with yeast, but I know with a few step by step photos you will be rocking these out in your own kitchen for Christmas morning.

These Santa Lucia buns as they are also called are sprinkled with pearl sugar and made into an s-shaped bun. The S shape is what gives them their name in Sweden – Lussekatter buns meaning “Lucia tail” for how they buns are shaped like a cat’s tail.

I added dried cranberries for a touch of sweetness but golden raisins are more traditional.

They were super fun to make and even tastier to make! So let me show you how to make these gorgeous soft Swedish saffron buns to celebrate St Lucia’s Day.

Let’s Break Down These Saffron Buns

• Delicious sweet bread for the holidays
• Sweet yeast dough made in your stand mixer
• Dough is made with saffron and turmeric (for color)
• Buns are made with golden raisins (I used dried cranberries!)
• Buns are shaped into an “S” shape after its risen
• Before they are baked they are egg washed and sprinkled with pearl sugar

See Also:

• Move over pumpkin! This butternut squash bread recipe is an easy loaf bread to make in the Fall.
• For more whole grain goodness, try my whole wheat blueberry muffins. These are the best breakfast treat!
• Sugar donuts are a fun breakfast treat to make with yeast! Dipped in sugar these donuts are light and fluffy.
• For a traditional Swedish breakfast treat during the holidays try making these St Lucia buns flavored with saffron!

​What is St. Lucia’s Day?

In Sweden, on December 13th they celebrate what is known as St. Lucia Day, or Saint Lucy day.  Lucia is known as the patron saint of light in Sweden. It is to be said that St. Lucia would bring foods to Christians in hiding, wearing candles on her head so her hands could be free. This tradition is upheld in Sweden to kick off Christmas season.

 It is tradition is that the eldest daughter would make these saffron S-shaped buns to serve to the parents for breakfast. The young girl would dress up as Saint Lucia, wearing a white dress, crown of candles and present these buns to her parents for breakfast in bed to celebrate Santa Lucia day.

Now I am the eldest daughter. However, I am not Swedish. And my parents live 6 hours away. Regardless of that I just had to make these and you know what. They are tasty for breakfast, with a cup of tea, and just really any time of day.

So whether you’re Swedish or not. Whether it’s December 13th or not. I think you need to make these. They are slightly sweet with a hint of saffron. I personally like them a bit warmed up with some butter. Don’t judge me.

Ingredients Needed

For the full recipe and amounts, refer to the recipe card 

• Boiling water
• Saffron threads – This is an expensive ingredient but is what gives the buns their flavor and color. If you can’t find any, or don’t want to splurge you could try swapping and use ground nutmeg.
• Turmeric – Does not add flavor but helps to achieve their signature yellow color.
• Flour – Be sure to measure your flour correctly for the best results. 
• Yeast – I used instant yeast, but if you use active dry yeast allow your bread dough longer to rise.
• Salt– Fine sea salt is best for flavor and blending easily into the dough.
• Milk – I recommend full fat milk for creating a soft, tender dough.
• Butter – I use unsalted butter. If using salted butter, then reduce the added salt.
• Granulated sugar
• Eggs
• Cranberries (or golden raisins) – Optional ingredient but lends great sweetness!
• Lemon zest – Optional. Can also replace and use vanilla extract.
• Egg wash – Used to brown the top of the buns. I combine one egg with a tablespoon of water and brush on before baking. Read my complete guide on what is an egg wash in baking.
• Pearled sugar – This is optional. You can also crush up sugar cubes and sprinkle on or leave off completely.

How To Make These St. Lucia Buns

To make these buns you want to start by first steeping the saffron threads, and turmeric into boiling water. This will really bring out the flavor of saffron. So be sure to steep for the full 15 minutes. And don’t worry, the turmeric doesn’t add flavor but just helps to add to the color!

After that you want to begin by making your dough. You want to combine your flour, yeast and salt together in your mixing bowl.

In a second bowl, combine the melted butter, granulated sugar, egg, milk, and the saffron mixture.

Stir this together until the sugar dissolves and then add this to flour mixture slowly while running your  mixer on low speed.

You want to knead the dough until it’s smooth and elastic.

Then add the cranberries and lemon zest. Ok if you’re a St. Lucia Bun purist, you will add holden raisins (or maybe even currants and no zest.

Me personally? I love dried cranberries. And I thought why not add a bit of zest? I think cranberries and zest always go together. I used lemon zest, but orange would also be fabulous.

Or omit altogether and keep them a traditional Swedish saffron bun!

Now it’s time to knead the dough! I personally love kneading dough.

There is something magical about working with dough. The kneading method is something we cover in my Ultimate Baking Bootcamp class. It’s an essential mixing method when making bread and working with yeast.

After the dough has been kneaded it’s time to let the dough rise in a warm spot. Place the dough into a greased bowl and let it rise until its doubled in size (about 2 hours).

Once risen, you want to roll out the dough into a 16 by 6 inch rectangle and cut into 16 strips (6×1 inch in size). 

You can also divide the dough into equal portions and then roll into ropes.

Now for the fun part! Time to shape those rolls. You want to start by rolling each strip into a long rope. Then rolling the rope in from the right one direction to the middle.

Then roll in from the left going the other direction to meet in the middle and form the traditional “S” shape of these buns. You want to coil ends of the rope in opposite directions to form tight S shape.

Arrange buns on prepared sheets, spaced about 2 1/2 inches apart. Cover loosely with greased plastic and let rise until puffy, 30 minutes to 1 hour. 

While the buns are rising a second time, preheat your oven to 350oF and adjust the racks to the upper middle and lower middle positions (to bake two at once). 

Gently brush buns with egg mixture and sprinkle with pearled sugar, if using.

Bake until golden brown 15 to 20 minutes, switching and rotating sheets halfway through baking. Transfer rolls to wire rack and let cool completely, about 1 hour before serving.

Recipe FAQs

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