Making Lefse

Today and tomorrow I will be making that great Norwegian specialty - lefse!  (pronounced leff-seh with the accent on the leff).  For those of you not familiar with this food, it is sort of like a tortilla, but very delicate in texture and usually eaten with butter and sugar, and also a lot softer because it is made with mashed potatoes.  Around the holidays this is eaten in great quantities by all Minnesotans (even if they aren't Norwegian!)  The potatoes are cooked and put through a ricer to remove all lumps.

Then cream and butter and a little salt and sugar are added, making smooth and tasty mashed potatoes for the base of the dough.

The next day, flour is added and the dough is rolled out on a cloth covered surface with a special grooved rolling pin, which is also covered in a stocking to prevent the dough from sticking in the grooves of the rolling pin.

A circle of lefse ready for cooking

 The thinly rolled out lefse is cooked on a dry griddle, and a special thin stick is used for turning the dough, and also for lifting it onto the griddle.

Turning the lefse with a stick

A properly baked lefse ready to come off the griddle

The lefse pieces are put between warm and slightly damp cloths to soften up a little, then they are served just a little bit warm, and spread with butter and sugar, and rolled up.   Some use white sugar, some use brown.   Here is what they should look like when eaten:

A yummy piece of lefse, cut in half

Here's a whole plateful:

A whole recipe's worth of homemade lefse for Christmas eating!

Making lefse does require a lot of practice to get it nice and thin.  Even though I am of Polish heritage, when I first tasted lefse here in Minnesota, I KNEW it was something I needed to learn to make!   Lefse is just plain yummy!  It has taken me several years to get the method down to a science (and I keep improving every year).   I'm not sure if lefse can be purchased in other states, but around Christmas time here in Minnesota, the grocery stores carry plenty of it.   Of course the best stuff is homemade, ya know....................