Lussekatter

Tags

Baking, Christmas traditions, Dough, Food, Lussekatter, Norway, Recipe, Yeast

I am rarely able to bake and display in one day, but today will be an exception to that rule; today is the night before Lussi (the day of Saint Lucia). Living in a country that is predominantly protestant, there has never been much focus on saints. There is also very little focus (if any) on religion in the celebration of Lussi.  For me, Lussi has meant school or kindergarten celebrations (I’ll elaborate in a bit) and the baking of Lussekatter.

In kindergartens or school (the lower grades) Lussi is celebrated by kids dressing in white and parading through the school or kindergarten or through a care home to entertain the elderly. Every kid is dressed in white and holding a white candle. One girl, often with long blond hair, is crowned Lucia and leads the parade. She wears a crown holding candles.

It is a celebration of light in the darkest time of the year. The Christian traditions have mixed with old heathen traditions resulting in a tradition now that I believe most Norwegians would not be able to connect to any religion or faith. What is obvious though is the symbolic white and bright in a time of darknes, where there is a bit christianity mixed in with the mentioning of St. Lucia, and the devil through the lussekatter (lussi cats – referring to Lucifer the cat), and the lighting of candle and dressing in white to bring light in order to scare off the heathen creatures of the underworld lurking in the night.

Anyway, the reason why we bake these lussekatter might not be interesting at all (especially not with such an inadequate introduction), but the main reason is the tradition itself (at least it is to me). And the fact that the lussekatter are bright, ocher-y yellow also adds to the fun.

Today Son and I have spent some good, quality time together, dancing along to christmas songs while kneading a bright, yellow dough. I think I had more fun than him! I’ll give you the recipe in case you want to try it yourself:

• 2,5 dl of milk (the more fat the better)
• 25 grams of fresh yeast
• 75 grams of butter
• 0,5 grams of saffron or 1 teaspoon of turmeric
• 1 teaspoon of cardamom
• 1 egg
• about 6 dl of flour

Cook for 5-8 mins at 250 degrees celsius.

This year I made one batch with saffron and one with turmeric. I have never tried saffron before, for reasons unknown to me. The saffron was a nice change, it gave a better colour, better smell, but is still a little new to me. The turmeric smell and taste is what I’m used to. But I think saffron might win in the long run…

The bread project – the rules of the game

Tags

Baking, Bread, Food, Yeast

I started a bread project sometime in a previous life (or so it seems). I have now made it! I can no bake bread. And they’re good too 😀 I had a few criteria that needed to be fulfilled before I could call the project successful:

• it had to be easy
• baking couldn’t be time consuming and fit well into a busy schedule
• the bread would have taste good
• and be healthier than most shop-bought breads
• and without additives and stuff I’m unable to pronounce

I now bake about two times each week. I spend 30 minutes all together in the evening making the dough, and another 30 minutes in the morning. During those 30 minutes I multitask, as they consist of no more than 10 minutes actual work while the rest is spent waiting. To do this I need some kind of kitchen appliance that kneads dough. I am very happy with my now tired and weary Kenwood. Now, before starting on the recipes there are a few tips and tricks I’ve picked up along the way (I have now been baking for about a year, and have tried and failed a lot).

• the yeast should be fresh as it is easier to work with
• yeast packed in plastic foil will last for weeks in the fridge, and work perfectly fine no matter what the date says
• you never need more than a few grams of yeast, I use a piece the size of my pinky fingernail
• always use cold water with fresh yeast

Then onto making the dough, which really is very simple.

• preferably let your machine knead the dough for 10 minutes
• the dough has the right consistency if it lets go of the bowl (it forms like a ball while kneading)
• let the dough rise twice, first in its bowl, then shape it before placing it in a bread form
• don’t add sugar, honey or syrup if you plan to let the dough rise overnight
• always add a pinch of salt

I make the dough in the evening. Then leave on the counter overnight. In the morning I knead it a bit more, adding more flour until it no longer sticks to my fingers. I make two bread and place them in their forms, turn on the oven and hit the shower. The breads don’t need to rise for a long time, and by the time I’m dressed (20 mins later) the oven is warm and I bake them for about an hour.