Uff Da - Every good Norwegian knows that lefse is a staple in every household at Thanksgiving and Christmas time. Growing up, every year I would help my mom make it, she would mix it up and roll it out and I got to fry it on the griddle...and of course taste test it while it was still hot with lots of butter, cinnamon and sugar. When I got married my Hjelmeng aunts bought me my own set of lefse supplies so I could make my own and for the last three years at least one of my nieces has helped me by frying and rolling out a few pieces with me. I made a basket of treats for my Grandpa Swede this year and included lefse and we talked about how every year they were married him and Grandma Lois would make lefse together. Lefse is a family tradition for the Hjelmening and Gamm families and I'm happy to continue it and pass it on to the next generation.
There are lots of recipes out there and for the first few years I spent my time peeling, cooking and ricing about 10lbs of potatoes, then I followed my moms advice and wised up and started using an instant potato recipe...So. Much. Easier...I'll never go back to peeling my own. The link to this original recipe is listed at the bottom for reference.
Supplies
- Lefse rolling pin (Corrugated rolling pin, has little lines/indents running through it)
- Lefse rolling pin sleeve (optional but it does make rolling and cleanup easier)
- Pastry board
- Pastry cloth board cover
- Electric griddle
- Flour sifter (optional but I like it for sprinkling just the right amount of flour on the board)
- Lefse stick (spatula will work too but I've found it to not work as well)
- Wax paper
- Two large bath towels
- Apron (trust me you're going to want it)
Ingredients
- 4 cups potato flakes
- 4 tablespoons sugar
- 3 cups water
- 2 1/2 cups milk (I use whole for a richer flavor)
- 1 1/2 cups butter
- 3 teaspoons salt
- 2-3 cups flour (enough to make a sturdy, rolling dough but not too much to make it tough)
- 2-3 cups more flour for board and as you roll out
Directions
- In a large sauce pan or pot bring water to a boil
- Add milk, butter, sugar and salt.
- When butter has melted and liquid mixture has come to a boil add potato flakes and stir until smooth
- Pour potatoes into large bowl and refrigerate until cool
- When potatoes are cool and you are ready to roll out and fry, slowly mix potatoes and flour together 2 cups of potatoes and 1 cup of flour at a time until all potatoes are mixed in and your dough is at the right consistency. You may not use all of the flour and will have to use your best judgement
- Dough should not be sticky
- Don't forget you can always add more flour if you need it but you can't take it out if you put too much in
- Roll dough into about balls about the size of a racket ball or a small orange depending on how big you want your pieces to be when you roll it out
- Don't make them too large or you won't be able to roll them thin enough to fit on the board or griddle
- Place balls in a bowl or on a plate and refrigerate taking one out at a time when ready
- If they start to dry out int he fridge while you are flying remove from fridge
- If they start to get too soft or sticky place back in fridge
- Preheat your griddle to about 400 degrees
- You'll have to experiment with your heat as you go and figure out what works best for you
- Place one towel folded in half on table and one sheet of wax paper across
- Using sifter, flour your work space well so dough does not stick but don't add so much flour that you have piles of it
- Roll dough out evenly across board into as much of a circle as you can make it (mine is usually lopsided). Dough should be as thin as you can get it but still easily picked up with your lefse stick without tearing. A trick my mom always told me was that you should be able to see the lines of your pastry cloth under the dough but not so thin you can read what it says
- If dough sticks to board add more flour
- If dough tears when moving you rolled it too thin
- This is really a trial and error process and might take a little time to figure out what works for you and the temperature/humidity of your house. Don't get discouraged.
- Carefully slide lefse stick under the dough and lift
- Place one end of lefse on side of griddle and carefully unroll lefse to opposite side
- Grill until air bubbles start to form across the lefse and a couple may start to pop
- Depending on temperature this will take about 2 minutes
- You can carefully lift one corner of the lefse to check progress and
color. Color should be between a lightly and darkly toasted depending
on how you like it. (My husband teases me that I like mine anemic and as
lightly color as possible)
- Carefully slide the stick under the lefse and raise off of griddle and place one end of lefse on side of griddle and unroll lefse to fry the other side
- Remove lefse from griddle and fold in half and place on wax paper
- Cover lefse with another sheet of wax paper and the second towel
- Roll out and fry next piece
- Add more flour as needed to your board and rolling pin as needed so nothing sticks
- Once you are going and know your temperatures you can usually roll out the second piece while the first is frying
- Once you finish all of the lefse let cool under the towel
- Once cooled you can cut pieces in half, quarters or leave whole. Wrap a few pieces together in wax paper and put in a gallon baggie. You can leave out for a couple of days or fridge for up to a couple of weeks or freeze until you are ready to eat
How to eat
There are as many ways to eat lefse as Bubba says there is to eat shrimp. You can eat them...
- Buttered
- Plain
- Buttered
- Warmed and buttered
- Warmed and plain
- With butter, sugar and cinnamon
- With butter and brown sugar
- As a stuffing and turkey stuffed tortialla (yummmmmmmmy!)
- Dipped in gravy
- Dipped in cranberry sauce
- As a side with any dinner instead of bread or bisquits
- Dipped in beef stew
- With peanut butter and jelly (I don't like it but I've heard other people say they do)
- I saw one person use it to make ham and cream cheese pickle rolls (no thanks)
- With lutefisk (yuck)
- As a sandwich wrap
Here is the link to the original recipe:
http://www.food.com/recipe/instant-potato-norwegian-lefse-271124
Here is a video that shows how to make the lefse and if you forward to 14:27 you can skip the recipe part and she will show you how to roll out and fry the lefse. There are other videos out there that are shorter but this woman's name was Lois so I had to go with it thinking of Grandma Hjelmeng.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Omebwdscq2w
This is my 12-year-old niece helping me out this year. She started frying for me but then wanted to try rolling. The Norwegian is strong in this one, she was rolling like a pro after only 1 piece.
