This post may contain affiliate links. For more information, please visit the disclosures and privacy policy page.
Dec 12, 2017

Whole Wheat Santa Lucia Buns

These Santa Lucia Buns are a whole wheat version of a traditional Swedish holiday bread.

Whole Wheat Santa Lucia Buns

This time last year, I posted a wonderful traditional Santa Lucia buns recipe, which included saffron, currants, and Swedish pearl sugar. Be sure to visit the post to find out more about the holiday.

This time, I decided to try a more "rustic" version with whole wheat flour. You could add saffron to these, but I think the flavor of the pricy spice would be overwhelmed by the hearty whole wheat flavor.

Whole Wheat Santa Lucia Buns

This version of the bread starts with both a soaker and a biga, prepared the day before mixing the final dough.

Note: You can make these buns with 100 percent whole wheat, or, if you'd like a slightly lighter flavor, use a 70/30 blend of whole wheat and bread flour.

I loved these buns fresh from the oven and slathered with melty butter. They were also excellent toasted like bagels and served with cream cheese and smoked salmon.

Whole Wheat Santa Lucia Buns

This month, the Bread Bakers group is baking whole grained holiday breads, a theme chosen by Kalyani of Sizzling Taste Buds. After the recipe, be sure and check out the rest of the Bread Bakers' recipes.

I adapted this recipe from the book Peter Reinhart's Whole Grain Breads: New Techniques, Extraordinary Flavor. If you want to learn how to bake artisan bread and pizza, get Peter's books.


Yield: 12 buns

Whole Wheat Santa Lucia Buns

ingredients:

Soaker
  • 227 grams (1 3/4 cups) whole wheat flour
  • 4 grams (1/2 teaspoon) salt
  • 170 grams (3/4 cup) unscalded buttermilk or scalded milk
Biga
  • 227 grams (1 3/4 cups) whole wheat flour
  • 1 gram (1/4 teaspoon) instant yeast
  • 142 grams (1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons) water
  • 1 large egg, beaten slighly
Final Dough
  • All of the soaker
  • All of the biga
  • 113 grams (3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons) whole wheat flour (see Note above)
  • 5 grams (5/8 teaspoon) salt
  • 7 grams (2 1/4 teaspoons) instant yeast
  • 71 grams (1/4 cup) honey or agave
  • 56 grams (1/4 cup) vegetable oil

instructions:

Soaker
  1. Mix the soaker ingredients in a bowl until everything is incorporated. 
  2. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let sit at room temperature for 12 to 24 hours. 
Biga
  1. Mix all of the biga ingredients in a bowl. Use your hands to knead the dough for 2 minutes. Let rest for 5 minutes, and then knead a second time for about a minute. 
  2. Place the dough into an oiled bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for 8 hours, and up to 3 days. 
  3. Remove the biga from the refrigerator about 2 hours before mixing the final dough. 
Final Dough
  1. Break the soaker and the biga up into small pieces and add them to the bowl of a stand mixer. 
  2. Add the rest of the ingredients and mix on low with the paddle attachment for one minute. Switch to the dough hook, and mix on medium low for about 4 minutes. Adjust the flour and/or water to achieve a smooth and slightly sticky dough. 
  3. Knead the dough by hand for another four minutes. Form it into a ball and let it rest for five minutes, and then knead by hand for another minute. Form the dough into a ball, and place it into an oiled bowl, and cover with plastic wrap. Let rise for 45 to 60 minutes. 
  4. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F and line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Divide the dough into 12 equal pieces. Form each piece into a ball, and let rest, covered, for about 10 minutes. 
  5. Roll each dough ball into a 10 inch log, and form the final rolls by rolling the ends toward the middle, like a snail (see photos). 
  6. Place the shaped rolls onto the baking sheets, about 1 1/2 inches apart. Spray lightly with spray oil, and cover with plastic wrap. Let rise for about an hour. 
  7. Place the buns into the oven, and lower the temperature to 350 degrees F. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, rotating the pans halfway through. The buns are done when the interior reaches 190 degrees F. Cool on a wire rack. 



#BreadBakers is a group of bread loving bakers who get together once a month to bake bread with a common ingredient or theme. Follow our Pinterest board right here. Links are also updated each month on this home page. We take turns hosting each month and choosing the theme/ingredient.

Check out everyone's whole grain holiday bread recipes!
Whole Wheat Santa Lucia Buns

Would you like to comment?

  1. Hello Karen, Your buns are rustic, delicious and beautiful. They would taste yum with butter and a drizzle of honey.I loved the whole wheat healthy version.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you so much Namita. Butter and honey sounds wonderful.

      Delete
  2. You are blogging up a storm! so productive these days, I love it!

    I've seen recipes for these and even bookmarked them to make at some point - just too many things tempting me....

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I know what you mean. You should see all of the little flags I have in cookbooks and magazines, not to mention all of the stuff I've pinned to make.

      Delete
    2. I hear you.... I really REALLY do!

      Delete
  3. These whole wheat Santa Luca buns looks so rustic and delicious. Pinned to try soon.

    ReplyDelete
  4. These are perfect for a Christmas morning breakfast.

    ReplyDelete
  5. These must be so delicious! And serving these with cream cheese and salmon sounds divine! Emmenthal and smoked turkey also comes in our minds for these hehehe:) Thank you so much for another fantastic post Karen!:)
    xoxo

    ReplyDelete
  6. whoa!!! thats all I can for the gorgeous looking bread you have brought us Karen ! so Chrismassy and perfect for the Xmas dinner party ! great pick !

    ReplyDelete
  7. I'm relieved that you didn't include saffron in your whole wheat Santa Lucia buns. I do love that occhi di Santa Lucia shape though. It's so satisfying, isn't it?

    ReplyDelete
  8. Perfect looking buns with wholewheat flour. Looks very tempting. Perfect for Christmas dinners.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Wonderful St Luica buns with wholewheat flour ........

    ReplyDelete

I would love to hear from you! If you comment anonymously, be sure to leave your name in your comment.