Okay, so I totally meant to write this post on Lefse 101 before Christmas. Oops!
I have been trying for several years to find a time for my mom to teach me how to make lefse, a Norwegian tortilla or flat bread of sorts, that is a tradition in my family during the holiday season.
You would think this wouldn’t be so difficult, but December (as I am sure you can relate) is always busy, busy, busy and before we know it, the holidays are over and the lefse has been made and devoured.
Finally – FINALLY! – we pinpointed a Saturday in December, right before Joe’s piano recital, for my parents to visit and my Mom to commence with Lefse 101!
If you are regular reader of my blog, then you may remember last December I wrote about my family having both Jewish and Lutheran traditions in Christmas Tree and a Menorah.
What? How does that work?
Easy, actually – my mom, a Lutheran farm girl from southern Minnesota (you betcha!) married a Jewish farmer (oy vey!) from a few hours north. Three kids and 46 years later, my family enjoys both lefse and potato latkes. True story.
Now back to the lefse.
First things first: if you are looking for details on making potato lefse, you are in the wrong place.
What, you ask? Lefse made without potatoes? Most Scandinavians I know don’t realize this is possible, but I am here to tell you that, yes indeed, it’s not only possible but my family has been making flour lefse for generations!
I’ve done a little (albeit pretty basic) research on flour lefse and it seems that the original lefse made in Norway was actually made from flour – and not from potatoes. It wasn’t until potatoes were introduced in Norway about 250 years ago, that people started adding them to lefse. (Source: http://www.lefsetime.com/lefse-history/).
Flour lefse looks similar to potato lefse, but the taste is (as you would expect) a little different. The flour lefse we make is also thinner (my mom says her lefse can hardly be too thin!) and has a slightly different consistency.
And so, without further ado … my “Lefse 101” tutorial with the lefse master in our family:
First things first – my Grandma Anderson’s lefse recipe! The ingredients are basic – lard (yes, lard!), flour, salt and hot milk. That’s it. The right equipment is also necessary – including a pastry board (I like this one) for rolling out the lefse, a lefse electric griddle for the cooking process, and a flat or offset spatula.
Full disclosure: I had to ask my mom where you might find lard in the grocery store. (I mean, do you buy lard regularly? I really don’t!) Turns out, it’s in the meat department, on the shelf above all the turkey products.
Once the flour, lard and salt are measured out, it’s time to combine the ingredients finely by hand (yes, by hand works best!) so there are no big chunks of lard in the mixture.
Then add the hot milk to the mixture. My mom heated the milk in the microwave, watching it closely so that it didn’t boil. She mixed this in with a fork.
Then the mixture is kneaded together and shaped into an oblong roll.
The roll is cut into approximately 24 pieces, depending on the size of lefse you want.
The pieces are then rolled in flour (in a separate small bowl – not pictured) and placed into a large mixing bowl coated with flour so the pieces don’t stick together or stick to the bowl. Now we’re ready to roll and bake!
I’m rolling out a piece of lefse on a fabric-covered pastry board that’s been lightly floured. These pieces are rolled out very, very thin but not too thin that they tear.
Seriously thin.
The thin piece of lefse is then transferred to a lefse griddle that has been preheating to about 475 degrees so it’s nice and hot. (The griddle takes a few minutes to heat full up so plan for that.) After a few seconds (you’ll see some bubbles forming), the piece is flipped to the other side for a few seconds. It doesn’t take long at all to bake!
And behold – a piece of heaven!
Continue until all these luscious pieces of lefse are grilled up to perfection! We like to store lefse in foil in 2-gallon freezer bags in the freezer until we are ready to serve them. (We just take a few pieces of lefse out of the freezer and microwave them for a few seconds to warm them right up.)
And of course, celebrate a successful Lefse 101 tutorial with a toast to my mom, the lefse queen in our family!
My favorite way to enjoy lefse is by making what my mom calls a “lefse cling”. Slather the lefse with butter (this is a crucial component – you can’t overindulge with too much butter here. More butter is better. Soooo much better), top with mashed potatoes (you can also use boiled potatoes and mash them up with a fork), ground beef and peas. Fold up the lefse like a burrito and enjoy!
Seriously. This is pure deliciousness. My family has also been known to swap out the ground beef for prime rib or ham or just about any other meat you want. Oh, and lutefisk for those who dare, of course. 🙂
My mom also makes an amazing “breakfast lefse cling” with scrambled eggs, hash browns, bacon and shredded cheese.
Okay, I’m hungry now.
I can’t tell you how excited I am to learn this Lefse 101 whole process so that I can carry on the family tradition. (Thanks, Mom!) What family traditions do you have during the holidays? I’d love to hear about them!
Can I freeze lefse?
Yes! I do this all the time. Be sure to wrap the lefse in aluminum foil and then put the foil packet into a 2-gallon plastic freezer storage bag (like these).
Grandma Anderson’s Flour Lefse
Equipment
- Lefse grill
- Pastry board covered with a fabric cloth
- Rolling pin I also use a 'sock' to put on my rolling pin
- Flat spatula for flipping the lefse on the grill
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup + 1 Tablespoon Lard
Room temperature - 4 cups all-purpose flour I use King Arthur's brand
- 1 teaspoon salt regular iodized salt is what I use
- 2 cups milk Hot (but not boiling – I use skim but whole or 2% works too)
Instructions
- Add the lard to the flour and salt, mixing in finely with your hands.
- Gradually add enough of the milk to make a dough that you can roll out thinly. Watch this closely – don't put in all the milk at once; I typically use just under 2 cups.
- Knead together (this doesn't take much time) and shape into an oblong roll (this doesn't need to look pretty) and cut into approximately 24 pieces, depending on the size you want.
- Roll each piece in flour into a ball (again, this doesn't need to be perfect) with your hands and place in a flour-lined bowl.
- Using a pastry cloth on a pastry board, sprinkled with flour, roll out each piece with a rolling pin. (You can add extra flour to the pastry cloth to prevent the dough from sticking.) The key is to roll out as thinly as possible but not tear.
- Bake on a lefse grill, watching closely – this process goes fast! If the lefse gets too brown, the edges will be too crisp.
- Lift lefse off the grill and onto a sheet of aluminum foil or a paper towel to cool.
Notes
If you like this recipe, Pin this graphic:
35 Comments on Lefse 101
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What a fun blog to read! I can just picture Inez making this lefse – – it seems like a similar recipe my mother made. However, when I moved to Preston, I learned to make lefse from potatoes from our “church basement ladies” and I taught my mother that method. The recipe is in a cookbook I recently sent to your mother. Give it a try! I think you might like it! Your lefse clings are also very interesting! I have always done that with lutefisk (probably go disguise the taste) but just just might have to try some of your combinations. This year my 2 daughters and I had a lefse bake with my 3 granddaughters – – ages 6, 8,and 10 – – it was so much fun and the little girls did great! Pretty sure it is a new tradition in our family.
Thanks Mary – my mom showed me your cookbook and it’s amazing! What a wonderful project! I will definitely check out the lefse recipe with potatoes, too. 🙂 And I would highly recommend making “clings” with other ingredients. My entire family loves them – very much a hearty, comfort food type of meal! Happy New Year!
I need to find where I can order lefse from.
Never ate it but my Grandmother is Norwegian and she said it her favorite dessert. I was like … what’s that? I don’t dare make it because if I make it I will eat it and gain weight 😳 I tried to find it online to order but everywhere I looked it has potatoes in it and she said no I don’t like it with potatoes.
Hi Laura,
You definitely do need to try lefse! 🙂 If I think of a place you can order the flour lefse that I make — and that your grandmother is referring to – I will let you know.
Lara
My grandmother, who was from Norway made her lefse with stone ground flour and regular flour. After baking , she did a corn starch wash to it. The final touch was putting primrose goat cheese, brown sugar, of course lots of butter , it was folded into wedge shapes. These were our Christmas treats.
Hi Gary – Thank you for sharing! I love to hear about other Norwegian families who have made lefse from flour … and your grandmother’s Christmas treats sound amazing!
Lara
I should have proofed my comments before posting! I see I have a couple errors! Sorry about that!
Thanks for this great tutorial, I’m going to try to make lefse for Easter. One of my biggest regrets is I never learned from my grandma how to make it before she had her stroke. I believe she and her sister make flour lefse too. We just butter and sugar ours and roll it up!
Sarah – I love the delicious simplicity of lefse, butter and sugar – yum! You are such a great cook/baker that I’m sure your lefse making will be fabulous! Merry Christmas!
– Lara
I grew up with the same lefse recipe. Everyone I know uses potatoes so it was good to find out my family recipe isn’t crazy. Great holiday tradition!
Thanks, Connie! People always seem to be shocked when I tell them our family lefse tradition is flour – and no potatoes. 🙂 Glad to hear other families are like mine too! Merry Christmas!
Lara
I have always made potato lefse – delicious but an all-day affair. Yours sounds like a very useful shortcut!
We’ve only ever made flour lefse so it’s what we know (and love)! 🙂
Lara
Lefsa in Norway is made of flour, but the lefsa is thick. so good!!
Sounds wonderful, Jodi! I love flour lefse – and I’m glad to hear more evidence that yes, flour lefse does exist in Norway! 🙂 Scandinavians in Minnesota often make potato lefse, which I’m guessing must be more Swedish?
Lara 🙂
Great post! I finished our family’s Christmas lefse last night…and yes…flour lefse☺ Potato lefse just doesn’t cut it here. I’m grooming my youngest daughter in the fine art of lefse making. I was NOT going to be the one to drop the ball on thousand years of tradition. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you and your’s
Oh I love it! Flour lefse makers unite! 🙂 And I hear you on the tradition … we all need to keep this going generation to generation! Merry Christmas to you and yours as well!
My grandma esthers recipe for “Milk Lefse” is one of my families absolute favorites. 2.5+ Cups Flour. 1 tsp salt. 3 cups milk, 6 Tbsp butter, 1/2 cup sugar brought slowly and carefully to a boil, then pour over flour and salt mixture. Then made the same way!
I love to hear other flour (and milk) based lefse recipes as so many people have no idea idea they exist! 🙂 Thank you for sharing! (It’s a rainy chilly day in Minnesota right now and I was literally just thinking that it would be great to make lefse this week!)
My Grandmother’s recipe from Norway (she came to America in the early 1880’s) uses NO creams. Just lard and I make a 10 pound potato batch once a year and people rave over it. I have never found this recipe anywhere on the internet. I am 78 and Love making it. It is a two day project and a great house warming job, That 400 degree griddle sure puts out the heat and that’s why I do it between Thanksgiving and Christmas.
Gordy
Loved to read your story, Gordy – thanks for sharing! I find it so fascinating that the focus always seems to be on potato lefse but clearly at least a few of our families made lefse like my grandmother and her family did. 🙂 I agree on the griddle — it really heats up the house so winter is the time to make it around here!
Lara
My family always had flour lefse for Christmas dinner . We ate it with hamburger, boiled potatoes, corn or peas, sweet potatoes, lutefisk ( only for grandpa) and pulsa. Sadly after my grandparents passed we no longer have this tradition but for at least 40 years of my life we looked forward to lefse every year. Flour lefse is definitely my favorite!
Hi Robin! I love to hear this — it was definitely the same in my family and it seems rare to hear of another family that made flour lefse. It is our favorite too for sure! I need to look up what ‘pulsa’ is, though — that is not familiar to me. 🙂 Thanks for stopping by and sharing your family story!
Lara
I am so glad to find your blog post. My family was having a discussion today about this and I said that real lefse is made without potatoes. Then we tried to find a youtube video of someone making it that way and could find none! My family’s and my community’s tradition is flour lefse so it is nice to see it made that way here. Where I came from (in Illinois, near Norway, IL) my parents made it and kept it dry until they wanted to serve it. Then they put it between damp dishtowels to “soak” it and would butter and sugar it then cut it into smaller rolled up pieces to serve. Kind of like a butter and sugar wrap. Glad to find this connection to my home area’s Norwegian staple.
Hi Linda! I am so glad you shared your family’s story / history about flour lefse. I can relate – very few seem to believe flour lefse exists but it most definitely does! My grandma rolled it with butter and sugar for a sweet treat – and we also enjoy a savory version with ground beef, boiled potatoes, peas and butter. Flour lefse is definitely my favorite and I’m determined to share the love! ☺️
Lara
My mother was 100% Norwegian and always made flour lease. If she had left over mashed potatoes she would make what she called potato cakes which looked like what most people call lefse. My mother never left me her recipe and it died with her, I looked for hours on the internet before I found your recipe. Mom used to make lefse on the top of our old cook stove and she would store them in a cold store room under a towel. If you dropped one it would shatter. She would rehidrate them and we would spread them with butter and sugar and roll them up. I made some this year but mine are a bit more chewy than I remember. What might have caused that? Thx.
Hi Bob – Thanks for sharing your story and I’m so glad you found my recipe! It’s amazing how little seems to be known about flour lefse, at least here in the U.S. I’m sorry you never found your mother’s recipe — I know that would been special to have.
As for why your lefse seemed more chewy … I wonder if it was related to thickness? I roll mine super, super, super thin … as thin as I can get it without tearing. Or maybe it was simply overmixed a little initially? Sometimes that can affect consistency. I’m checking in with my mom, too, on this — she is my go-to lefse expert so if she has any other ideas, I will definitely let you know!
Happy New Year!
Lara
Hei Lara, I am so Excited that I found your flour lefse recipe. I’ve been seaching all over the internet and only found potatoe lefse which I have made many times. I am a member of the Nordkap Lodge in Michigan and I teach Norwegian baking to members of the lodge. We have so much fun! When I was in Oslo a couple of years ago, I remember eating flour lefse. That brought back my favorite memories. I like it much better than potato. So, going forward, I will be making and teaching Flour Lefse. Thank you so much for your family recipe. Tusen takk. Ha det. Mary
Hi Mary! It’s wonderful to hear from you and I’m so glad you found this post! My family has always made flour lefse – we like it much better than potato as well. ☺️ Your classes sound fun – I wish I lived closer!
Lara
Hi!!!! They look like flour tortillas!!!! I make flour tortillas and the only difference is you add milk instead of water. Im going to try this and see. Im excited to taste the difference! I add anything and everything to my flour tortillas.
I’ve often thought that too — these definitely resemble flour tortillas! Let me know what you think – I’d love to hear the differences you find between your tortilla recipe and my lefse recipe. 🙂
Lara
I read that the reason they turned to potatoes is because of the cost or shortish of flour back then.
Hi Ann,
That would make a ton of sense – thank you for sharing! 🙂 One of these days, I’m going to really do some research on the history. Have a great holiday season!
Lara
This is the Lefsa I grew up with in Northern MN.
My paternal Grandmother made it and taught my mom how to make it and she taught me. This year I bought myself a pastry board, Lefsa rolling pin and griddle.
When we prepare it to eat we soften the hard lefsa between damp towels then layer it on a plate with lots of butter between each layer and warm it in oven for a few minutes.
My southern MN Norwegian neighbors had never heard of this. Happy to know there are others out here that know of the original Norwegian Lefsa.
Hi Anita – I’m so glad you found my blog and this recipe. I just love hearing about others who make this kind of lefse too — it’s not too often! I’m also happy to hear you are carrying on the tradition. Happy New Year!
Lara