Grandma's Lefse Recipe: A Scandinavian Holiday Tradition - Awake at the Whisk (2024)

I’m a proud Scandinavian. Eating lefse, a potato-based flatbread, for the holidays is one of my favorite traditions. This week, I finally had time to sit down with my grandma and learn her recipe and technique.

Lefse served for the holiday on Grandma's Scandinavian dishes from Norway.

My grandfather on my mother’s side (or as they say in Norway, my “morfar”) was full-blooded Norwegian. I spent a year of high school as a Rotary Exchange Student in Denmark learning the language and culture. Of the many Scandinavian recipes I’ve learned (including aebleskiver), lefse is an all-time holiday “must.”

Lefse is a simple bread made from potatoes and flour. It looks a lot like a flour tortilla. In fact, the first time my grandma Betty saw a Mexican tortilla, she asked, “Where did you get the lefse?”

The bread itself is unsophisticated, and the way it’s served is equally rustic. Simply smear one side of the lefse bread with good quality butter (I use Kerrygold), sprinkle sugar over the top, roll and eat. My mom insists this be eaten with coffee. As a little girl, I ate mine with a tall glass of milk.

In Norway, I was served a thick version of lefse alongside a hearty winter stew. We spread it with butter, but not with sugar, as a savory side to sop up the soup’s juices.

When I recently spent the afternoon making lefse with my grandma, I gleaned some critical tips:

1) Fold the flour into the potato mixture—don’t stir it. These aren’t mashed potatoes after all.

2) When rolling the dough for each piece of lefse, be careful to make the outer edges as thin as the rest of the dough.

3) If too much flour builds up on the hot lefse griddle, it takes longer for the lefse to cook. Be sure to keep the surface of the griddle clean.

Making lefse requires lots of special equipment, which I was surprised to find online through Target. I don’t own my own equipment, but that’s part of the fun. Every time I make it, I’ll have to do it with Grandma!

Butter and sugar spread on top of lefse makes the perfect treat!

Lefse Recipe
4-5 large baking potatoes, peeled and cut into wedges
½ cup cream
3 Tablespoons butter
1 cup all-purpose flour
Pinch of salt

Farmers’ Market Ingredients: potatoes, cream, butter
Supermarket Ingredients: flour, salt

Boil potatoes in a large pot of water until tender. Drain.

In a large mixing bowl, use an electric beater to mix the potatoes, butter, cream, and salt until well blended and creamy.

Using a large mixing spoon, fold the flour a third at a time into the potato mixture until it forms a firm, unsticky dough. The dough will be soft, but not sticky. You may need a little extra or a little less flour depending on the moisture in your potatoes.

Preheat lefse griddle to 375 degrees.

Break off a piece of dough about the size of a golf ball. Roll in the palm of your hand to form a ball. Place this on a generously floured board (preferably one covered with rolling cloth designed for making lefse), and gently pat the top with your hand to flatten slightly. Using a rolling pin designed for lefse, roll the dough until it’s quite thin, about ¼-inch thick, and almost translucent.

Gently slide a lefse stick under the rolled dough to loosen all the way around. Now, slide the stick under the middle of the dough and raise it off the floured board. Carry the dough on the stick to the heated lefse griddle (or a cast iron skillet) and place one side of the dough onto the surface of the griddle. Roll the stick to one side to lower the remaining dough onto the griddle.

Bake for about 3 minutes, or until golden brown spots begin to form. Flip over using the lefse stick and cook an additional 3 minutes, or until the lefse has formed golden air bubbles. Use the lefse stick to remove the finished piece of lefse from the griddle and place it on a towel to cool.

Repeat until all the dough has been used.

The lefse is wonderful eaten immediately, warm or at room temperature. Once cooled, store it in an air tight container in a cool place (Grandma set hers on the front porch or in the garage) for about a week.

Yield: 24 pieces

Grandma's Lefse Recipe: A Scandinavian Holiday Tradition - Awake at the Whisk (2024)

FAQs

Is lefse Norwegian or Scandinavian? ›

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

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.

Did Vikings eat lefse? ›

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.

What is the difference between lefse and Lompe? ›

Lompe is only used about the potato leaf you wrap around a hot-dog, while lefse is, well, your definition. I have seen lefse that are thin, like lompe, which you're supposed to butter and put something (like salmon) in, though.

What does lefse mean in Norwegian? ›

noun. a round Norwegian flatbread resembling a tortilla, made with mashed potatoes and flour.

Do Scandinavians still eat lutefisk? ›

Lutefisk, or lutfisk in Swedish, is a traditional dish in Norway, Sweden, and parts of Finland. But today, Scandinavians rarely eat lutefisk. Far more lutefisk is consumed in the United States, much of it in church and lodge basements.

What is the traditional way to eat lefse? ›

Spead softened butter over a lefse (be generous with the butter). Sprinkle with cinnamon-sugar and roll lefse to eat. This is the traditional Norwegian way to serve and enjoy lefse.

What is the best way to eat lefse? ›

Spread with butter and sprinkle with brown sugar. This is a traditional way to eat lefse. Spread with mustard and wrap around Polish sausage, brats, or hot dogs.

Do people in Norway eat lefse? ›

How do Norwegians eat lefse? Parts of western, eastern and central Norway, lefser are used as an alternative to bread. They are eaten with savoury, salty foods or with sweet foods. ... Common sweet fillings are sugar and cinnamon.

Do they eat lefse in Sweden? ›

Her family is Swedish, and many Scandinavian foods are enjoyed by our family each year, including søtsuppe (Scandinavian sweet soup), lutfisk (a dried fish), köttbullar (Swedish meatballs) and of course lefse. Lefse is a flatbread made from flour and potatoes, and is a little thicker than a tortilla.

Is lefse just a tortilla? ›

It looks like a flour tortilla. It rolls like a flour tortilla. It folds like a flour tortilla. But it's lefse (pronounced LEF-sah), a Norwegian flatbread often made with mashed potatoes.

What do Norwegians eat on lefse? ›

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. Norwegian-American variations may add peanut butter, corn syrup or ham and eggs.

Do you put lefse in the fridge? ›

Lefse should be refrigerated or frozen. Our lefse is made with no preservatives, so it can take a week or so in the fridge. In the refrigerator, it needs to stay in its sealed package or it will dry out. If you don't plan on eating it right away, toss it in the freezer.

How do you serve lefse for dinner? ›

Lefse is delicious when served hot. Some of the more popular ways to eat lefse include slathering the bread with butter, packing it with fillings, or coating the flatbread with syrup or sugar.

Where did lefse originate from? ›

What is Lefse? Lefse is a Norwegian original. Colorful stories carry it back to the time of the Vikings, but history shows potatoes first appearing in Norway some 250 years ago. On the traditional Norwegian homestead, enough lefse would be made at one time to last for up to a year.

What is Scandinavian bread called? ›

Danish Pumpernickel is a thinly sliced coarse heavy bread made from dark rye flour. Swedish Limpa Bread is sweet rye dough flavored with anise oil. Very popular during the Christmas holiday Limpa Bread with its soft thin crust is often served with creamy butter and Lingonberry Jam.

Top Articles
Latest Posts
Recommended Articles
Article information

Author: Mrs. Angelic Larkin

Last Updated:

Views: 5970

Rating: 4.7 / 5 (67 voted)

Reviews: 90% of readers found this page helpful

Author information

Name: Mrs. Angelic Larkin

Birthday: 1992-06-28

Address: Apt. 413 8275 Mueller Overpass, South Magnolia, IA 99527-6023

Phone: +6824704719725

Job: District Real-Estate Facilitator

Hobby: Letterboxing, Vacation, Poi, Homebrewing, Mountain biking, Slacklining, Cabaret

Introduction: My name is Mrs. Angelic Larkin, I am a cute, charming, funny, determined, inexpensive, joyous, cheerful person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.