twisted SAFFRON buns FILLED WITH PISTACHIO BUTTER and orange zest
today we celebrate the day of santa lucia in sweden with Lussekatter and glögg. i prefer saffron buns with filling, and this is having my favourite flavour combination: orange zest and pistachios.
You might recognise this from previous posts and today I used the same recipe as for the saffron wreath, both for the dough and the filling. After trying many different recipes and ways of baking saffron buns, I have landed in this being my favourite.
I always start with marinating the saffron with rum at least one week before baking, or even more.
THE marinated SAFFRON
0,5 G SAFFRON PISTILS
0,5 G SAFFRON POWDER
10 G RAW SUGAR
10 G DARK RUM
THE DOUGH
THE STARTER / FÖRDEG
500 G FULL FAT MILK / 0,5 L standardmjölk
500 G FLOUR / 500 g vetemjöl
50 G YEAST / 50 G jäst
Warm the milk to 30 degrees, add the flour and the yeast and let it prove for 30 minutes.
THE DRY INGREDIENTS
330 G FLOUR (OR UP TO 400) / 330 G vetemjöl (eller UPP till 400 g)
200 G SUGAR / 200 g Socker
10 G SALT / 10 g salt
Add the dry ingredients and knead the dough for about 10 minutes. Use as little flour as possible, to not get dry saffron buns. For this dough I used Manitoba Cream, a flour with high amount of protein that needs to be kneaded well. If you use another kind of flour you might need to use more. If you use a kitchen machine, start at a quite low speed and increase when the dough comes together. At this point the dough might feel a bit hard, but it will soften a lot when you add the butter.
THE WET INGREDIENTS
200 G SOFTENED BUTTER / 200 g rumsvarmt smör
THE marinated SAFFRON / marinerad saffran
Add the marinated saffron and incorporate the butter bit by bit. Make sure that you use softened butter that has been standing in room temperature for a few hours.
Knead for another 10-15 minutes, until the dough releases from the bowl. Then let the dough rest for 30 minutes.
THE FILLING
150 G PISTACHIO / 150 G PISTAgenötter
150 G SUGAR / 150 G socker
300 G BUTTER / 300 g rumsvarmt smör
ZEST FROM 1 ORGANIC ORANGE / apelsin
SEEDS FROM 1 VANILLA BEAN / frön från 1 vaniljstång
1 TBSP FLOUR / 1 msk vetemjöl
A few hours before baking, soak the pistachio in water and later rub off the peel from them. Then you will get a nice green nut and a smooth paste. Weigh the soaked pistachio and mix 150 g of soaked pistachio in a blender together with an equal amount of sugar. Save the rest of the pistachio to use as a topping.
Then mix in butter, orange zest and vanilla seeds and a little bit of flour to keep the filling inside the bun.
THE bakING
Place the buns on a baking tray, brush with water and sprinkle chopped pistachios on top. Let them prove for about 1,5 hour under a towel. They should double in size.
Bake in the middle of the oven at 220 degrees, about 10 minutes.
Remember that the time can vary depending on your oven. Brush the buns with a simple sirup (50/50 water and sugar) straight out of the oven. This will keep the moisture inside the bun.
