St Lucias Wreath Recipes

SAINT LUCIA CROWN

Steps:

• Stir saffron into warm milk. In large bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water. Stir in saffron-milk mixture, granulated sugar, salt, eggs, butter and 2 1/2 cups of the flour. Beat with spoon until smooth. Stir in citron, almonds, lemon peel and enough remaining flour to make dough easy to handle.
• Place dough on lightly floured surface. Knead about 10 minutes or until smooth and springy. Grease large bowl with shortening. Place dough in bowl, turning dough to grease all sides. Cover; let rise in warm place about 1 hour 30 minutes or until double in size. (Dough is ready if indentation remains when touched.)
• Grease 2 cookie sheets with shortening or cooking spray. Gently push fist into dough to deflate. Cut off one-third of dough for top braid and reserve. Divide remaining dough into 3 equal parts; roll each part into 25-inch rope. Place ropes close together on cookie sheet. Braid ropes loosely; shape into circle and pinch ends to seal.
• Divide reserved dough into 3 equal parts; roll each part into 16-inch rope. Place ropes close together on second cookie sheet. Braid ropes loosely; shape into circle and pinch ends to seal. Cover both braids; let rise in warm place about 45 minutes or until double in size.
• Heat oven to 375°F. Bake 20 to 25 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from cookie sheets to wire rack. Cool completely, about 1 hour.
• In small bowl, mix glaze ingredients with spoon until smooth and thin enough to drizzle. Drizzle glaze over both braids. Make holes for 5 candles in small braid. Place small braid on large braid. Garnish with cherries. Insert candles.

SCANDINAVIAN SAINT LUCIA WREATH AND BUNS (SAHRAMILEIPA, SAFFRANS

Steps:

• In large bowl, dissolve the yeast in the warm water. Scald the milk and add the butter to it; cool until the butter is melted and the mixture is lukewarm.
• Preheat oven to 250°F Lay the saffron threads on a piece of foil and place in the oven until toasted, about 5 minutes. Pulverize the toasted saffron with 1 teaspoon of the sugar, using a mortar and pestle or with the back of a spoon in a cup. Add 1 Tablespoon of the milk and butter mixture.
• Add the saffron mixture, milk and butter mixture, sugar, salt, raisins and eggs to the yeast. Beat until blended. Stir in half the flour and beat until smooth and satiny. Add the remaining flour gradually to make a stiff dough. Let stand for 15 minutes.
• Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured board. Knead for 10 minutes or until the dough is smooth and satiny. Place the dough in a clean, lightly oiled bowl. Turn the dough over to lightly oil the top. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled in size, about 1 hour.
• SAINT LUCIA BRAIDED WREATH: Punch the dough down and divide into three parts. Shape each part into a ropelike stand about 36 inches long. Braid the strands by aligning them vertically and alternately crossing each outer strand over the center strand.
• Shape the braid into a circle and place on a greased or parchment covered baking sheet. Pinch the ends together where they meet to seal the strands and to conceal the beginning and end of the braid. Brush with the beaten egg. Let rise for about 45 minutes or just until puffy. Preheat oven to 375°F Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until lightly browned, or until a wooden skewer inserted into the center of the dough comes out clean and dry. Cool on a rack. 1 large wreath.
• SAINT LUCIA BUNS: Cover two baking sheets with parchment paper.
• Punch the dough down and divide it into 32 parts. Shape each part into a rope about 8 inches long. Place two ropes side by side so they are parallel and touching each other. Curl all four ends toward the center to form a square with rounded corners. Place the buns on the parchment covered baking sheets. Let rise until puffy, about 30 minutes. Brush with beaten egg. Bake at 450°F for about 10 minutes, until golden. Cool on rack. 16 buns.
• Scandinavian Feasts Beatrice Ojakangas.