Saffronsbröd - Swedish Saffron Batter Bread

My first culinary experiment with saffron was this weekend - I made saffron bread, from a traditional Swedish recipe. This was my contribution to my friend's Midsommar potluck, a Swedish holiday celebrated on the longest day of summer. Excellent food and excellent company - I look forward to it every year! 

(I had to borrow the pan from her - it's a kugelhopf pan. Similar to a bundt pan, but a different pattern/shape to the ridges. And now you've learned something today!)

Saffronsbröd in a kugelhopf pan. Say three times fast.

The recipe is as follows:

Swedish Saffron Batter Bread (Saffronsbröd)
Originally from The Great Scandinavian Baking Book by Beatrice Ojakangas

Ingredients
1 package active dry yeast
¼ cup warm water (105ºF to 115ºF)
½ cup butter, room temperature
½ cup sugar
3 eggs
¼ teaspoon salt
½ cup milk, scalded and cooled to lukewarm
¼ teaspoon powdered saffron
3 cups all purpose flour
¾ cup golden raisins
powdered sugar

Instructions
1.  In a small bowl, dissolve the yeast in the ¼ cup warm water.
2.  In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar.
3.  Add eggs and salt; beat until smooth.
4.  Stir in milk, saffron, and yeast mixture.
5.  Gradually beat in the flour.  When all the flour has been added, beat with electric mixer at medium speed for five minutes, scraping down the sides of the bowl occasionally.
6.  Mix in the raisins.
7.  Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 ½ to 2 hours.
8.  Meanwhile, generously butter a 10 cup kugelhopf or bundt pan.  Dust lightly with flour.
9.  Stir down the dough and pour into the prepared pan.  Cover and let rise in a warm place until dough almost reaches the top of the pan (about one hour).
10.  Preheat oven to 350ºF.
11.  Bake 40 to 45 minutes or until loaf is well-browned and sounds hollow when tapped.  Let cool in pan 15 minutes, and invert onto rack to cool.  Dust with powdered sugar.

Delicious!

The bread was a hit, and is gone already.

I also made a marinated flank steak with fresh green beans and lentils cooked in duck stock for dinner this evening, so all in all the weekend has been fantastic from the culinary standpoint!