Making Lefse

I am not Norwegian.  Just so that is said upfront.  My family by marriage is and very proud of it.  

Lefse is a Norwegian traditional bread.  Don’t mistake Lefse (bread usually eaten with butter and sugar) for Lutifisk (fish dried in lye with a strong odor, and tastes just awful).

Here is our family matriarch at 95 years young making Lefse for Thanksgiving weekend this past year.

The process is absolutely LOTS of work but well worth it if you are a carb fan, love butter, and sugar!  We recently made this at home to celebrate Adelaide and her wonderful life.

Here is the recipe the family uses and the tools.

 First of all you need a rolling-pin covered in a cloth wrap and you need a lefse stick turner.  The long stick-like tool.  In addition, you need a special heavy cloth or a silicon pad to roll out the lefse.

 

 

 

If you want to make it from scratch you could go to this link:

http://www.lefsetime.com/how-to-make-lefse/

 

However,  you can use a mix and this one is fabulous:

 This is available at http://www.gotlefse.com or call 320-859-3382.

The directions are a bit different from the

 

 

The mix calls for 4 cups water.  However, the family uses 3 1/2 cups boiling water and 1/2 cup whipping cream with 1 stick of butter and the package 1 (potatoes).  This is mixed together in a mixer with 1 Tablespoon sugar and the entire mixture covered with plastic wrap (directly on the mixture in the bowl), is refrigerated overnight.

The NEXT day, the flour packet is added to the mixture and mixed thoroughly.  Allow to rest for about 15 minutes.  Small portions are formed into smooth balls and rolled very thin to about 12 inches on the covered pastry board.  It should be of a substance that it can be turned with the lefse stick.  Additional flour may need to be added so that the lefse is not too sticky.

Use the lefse stick to transfer the lefse to the preheated lefse grill or other grill that you may have.  the temperature should be 450 degrees.  Turn the lefse as it develops browning marks.

Stack the lefse using flour sack towels to separate, until cool.  The lefse can be folded in half, wrapped, and stored in plastic bags in the refrigerator or freezer.

This is a time intensive process, requiring lots of rolling and careful cooking.

Enjoy!  The warm lefse is delicious with butter and sugar sprinkled on the top, rolled, and eaten!