Lussekatter/ Saint-Lucia Buns (Swedish Saffron Buns)

These Swedish buns are made for December 13th, St Lucy’s Day. The recipe is from the book "Les Meilleures recettes de pain Autour du Monde". I have slightly modified mine to add orange zest. 
They are delicious served with coffee for breakfast any time of the year with jam or your favorite spread.
This recipe makes 12 good sized buns. 
I used a stand-up mixer but you can do it by hand.

Ingredients
1 cup (250 ml) whole milk

Pinch saffron threads (around 1/8 teaspoon) 

4 cups (500 g) all purpose flour

½ cup granulated sugar
½ teaspoon salt
Zest of 1 orange (optional)

2 teaspoons (7 g) instant yeast

½ cup (120 ml) plain yogurt

1 large egg slightly beaten
1/4 cup (50 g) butter softened, cut in small pieces

24 raisins for garnishing
Oil
Egg wash: 1 egg beaten with 1 teaspoon of milk for brushing

Directions

1. Heat the milk on medium heat until it simmers. Remove from heat and add the saffron crushing it between your fingers. Let the milk cool until just lukewarm. it will have a nice yellow color.
2. In the bowl of a stand-up mixer whisk together the flour, sugar, salt and orange zest (if using).
3. Add the yeast, the saffron milk, the yogurt and the beaten egg.
4. Knead on low speed for 3-4 minutes until the ingredients are well combined. 
5. Add the butter, few pieces at a time. At this point the dough is slightly sticky. Knead the dough on medium speed another 5 minutes until shiny, smooth and elastic.
6. Shape into a ball and place in a lightly oiled bowl (I use the mixer bowl). Cover with a plastic wrap (or a clean towel) and allow to rise in a warm place for about 60 to 90 minutes, until doubled in volume.
7. Turn it out on a slightly floured surface, gently deflate and divide in 12 equal size pieces. Roll each piece into a 8 inch (20 cm) strip, then twist it into an "S" shape. 
8. Place the shaped buns onto lined baking sheets, cover and let rise again 30 to 45 minutes.
9. Preheat the oven to 400°F (200°C) . Brush the rolls with the egg wash, insert one raisin in each end of the "S" (see picture) and bake for 15-20 minutes, until until golden brown on top. 

Serving ideas

1) Brush them with plain butter while they are still hot.

2) Brush with a mix of butter, honey and cinnamon.
3) Serve with jam or your favorite spread on the side.

Notes
Every oven is different and convection-ovens are even more different. The baking time provided here is for my conventional oven (not convection), which maybe longer or shorter than it would take in yours, so you will have to watch.