The Lost Art of Lefse Making (Step-By-Step) Recipe - Food.com (2024)

FAQs

How was lefse traditionally made? ›

Lefse is a soft Norwegian flatbread, made using traditional recipes and baking methods. Lefse is usually made with potatoes, flour, butter, and milk, cream, or lard. Traditionally, lefse is cooked on a flat griddle, with particular wooden utensils used in the process. Lefse has its roots in Viking food traditions.

Lefse is a Norwegian treat that is especially popular around the Christmas holidays. Many Scandinavian-Americans eat lefse primarily around Thanksgiving and Christmas.

If you plan to eat your lefse within the next week it can be refrigerated. If it will be longer than a week, put it in the freezer.

Lefse Stick (substitute long wooden handle of spoon or even better, an unused wooden paint can stirrer). Grooved Lefse Rolling Pin (regular pin can work).

ˈlefsə plural lefsen. -sən. or lefses. : a large thin potato pancake served buttered and folded.

Lefse is a type of Norwegian flatbread that is often (but not always) made with potatoes, flour, butter, and milk. It has a similar texture to a thin pancake and is often eaten with butter, sugar, cinnamon or brown cheese on.

Serve lefse warm or at room temperature, spread with softened butter and rolled into a cylinder or folded into quarters. Add sugar or cinnamon sugar for a sweet treat.

The tradition dates back to the Vikings and their brauðiskr (bread plate), and flatbrød consists of water, whole-wheat flour and a pinch of salt. Lefse is a soft version of flatbrød, often made with a few more ingredients, like milk and butter. We use it to wrap all the goodies together – just like a tortilla.

Lefse is a Norwegian flatbread that is a lot like a tortilla, but more delicate. After from intense research (Wikipedia), I found out that lefse is traditionally served with lutefisk, whitefish meat (often cod) and lye.

Rubbery lefse is due to too much flour and overworked dough. If you find that your lefse dough is a bit sticky try placing it in the fridge to cool before you decide to add more flour. And be careful not to overwork your lefse dough, this will break down the gluten and make your lefse very tough.

How to serve lefse for dinner? ›

Fill small bowls or ramekins with whatever jams, jellies and spreads you already have. Simply roll up a lefse and dip into whichever topping you want! Lefse is slightly savory - combining it with something sweet makes a delicious contrasting-flavor pairing. Cream butter and sugar in your mixer.

A: Crispy edges are almost always the result of the edges of the lefse being rolled to thin. You want to roll a uniformly thick sheet of lefse, right to the edges. The tip? Pick up your rolling pin when you get to the edge, don't roll past.

You can even use a tortilla press instead of a rolling pin if you're somewhat intimidated in the kitchen. I won't judge! Although lefse is a classic Christmastime dish loved throughout Norway, I think you could make it for a variety of occasions.

The grooves help press air out of the dough, while at the same time making it harder for the dough to stick to the rolling pin. When you flour the rolling pin, the grooves allow the pin to pick up flour, making it more non-stick.

Lomper (also known as potetkaker) are considered to be a small variety of potato-based lefse. Today, lomper are widely served with savory or sweet fillings. In particular, you'll find pølse i lompe or “a hot dog wrapped in a lompe” all throughout the country.

The most obvious difference is the shape; lefse are normally rectangular and folded, while potetkake are small and round (like small crepes). In potetkake the main ingredient is potatoes, with just a little flour. While lefse is mainly flour, sometimes with potatoes like I mentioned.

The story of lefse is intertwined with Norwegian history. Just as the Norwegian flatbread was developed as a way to store food over the harsh winter months, lefse served a similar purpose. During the 19th century, the lefse was a popular way to store wheat or potato, which would otherwise be unusable.