Norwegian Potato Lefse. The pounding of the rolling pin onto the pastry-cloth-lined 25-foot long table was comforting. The eight grills all in a line warmed me yet scared me as I walked by. The “Lefse Ladies” as we lovingly referred to them were always there with the best gossip and glorious giggles as they flooded me with stories of their own to back up why I should listen to my mom’s advice. It took a village to raise a Deanna… and lots of hot-off-the-grill lefse coated in butter, cinnamon, and sugar helped too.
I recently shared a sweet conversation with the owner (and my first boss) of Scandia Bakery and Lefse Factory which was one of the most popular bakeries in the Seattle area for over 25 years. It is now closed, but I thanked him again because what he created was so special I have spent my entire life trying to recreate it in my own way all over again and give it away to others.
I’m not even talking about the recipes. I’m referring to the sense of community, laughter, tears that came while rolling lefse, baking Swedish Rye Bread, and selling pastries. I pray everyone has this much goodness in their lives…. and since freshly-rolled lefse helps too, here you go.
This is one of those recipes you will need to read all the way through ahead of time so you understand the steps well and can be sure you have all the tools you will need.
Norwegian Potato Lefse
- 5 pounds russet potatoes, peeled & cut into about 1-inch pieces
- 1/2 cup heavy cream
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
- 1 tablespoon + 2 teaspoons sea salt
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 2 3/4 cups flour (plus more for rolling dough)
Place peeled & cut potatoes into a large pot of water. Bring to a boil and cook for about 20-30 minutes or until a fork poked into a larger piece of potato slides out or breaks apart easily. Drain potatoes well.
Let potatoes sit on a tray for about 30 minutes so any excess steam can evaporate. This will help prevent too much moisture from ruining your lefse. Ya sure, you betcha.
Using a potato ricer or a food mill, rice all the potatoes into a large bowl. Add cream, butter, salt, and sugar. Stir well. Do NOT add the flour yet!
Cover and refrigerate the dough for at least a few hours or overnight – until it has chilled completely.
Place the chilled lefse dough into a mixing bowl and add the flour. Mix until combined.
If you’re new to making lefse, use a regular-sized ice cream scoop to scoop two level scoops to make each dough ball onto two half sheet pans. This will make about 22 small, round sheets of lefse which will be about 6-7 inches wide.
If you’re an experienced lefse maker, you can put three level ice cream scoops of dough to make a bigger ball of lefse. The large balls of dough create 11 large sheets of lefse which will be about 10-12 inches wide.
Be sure to use proper tools for lefse making. You’ll need a lefse rolling pin, cloth covers for your rolling pin, a lefse stick, a good, non-stick grill, and a fun friend who has a horrible Norwegian accent like you, and a steady hand.
To fry the lefse, preheat the grill to 500°F. Layout pastry board with a pastry cloth cover, a pastry cloth, or a silicone mat. Coat well with flour. Roll a dough ball out with cloth-covered lefse rolling pin. Roll the dough ball out. It should be quite thin. The more experienced you become, the thinner you will be able to make your lefse. Use lefse stick to pick up lefse. Gently push the lefse stick down as you put it under the lefse and slowly slide the stick back & forth once to make sure it didn’t stick to the pastry cloth. This will help prevent the stick from ripping the lefse. Uffda! Pick the lefse up in the middle and then place the end of the lefse on the grill. Slowly unroll the stick the rest of the way so the lefse comes off the stick completely.
Cook for about 1minute and 45 seconds on the first side and about 45-60 seconds on the second side. Lefse will steam and then bubble up a bit as it gets hot. The bubbling up is a good sign that the first side is finished cooking. Use the lefse stick to turn lefse over. It should have beautiful light golden brown spots on it. Use the lefse stick to remove the lefse from the grill.
It’s a good idea to have a clean brush that can handle the heat devoted to making lefse with. It’s great for brushing the grill off in between lefses because the excess flour will burn if it remains on the grill. The brush is also great for gently brushing any excess flour off the lefse after it’s done cooking.
Place fully cooked lefse on a clean dish towel and fold the dishtowel over the stack of lefse until all lefse is cooked. After the lefse cools, place in large Ziploc bags. It can sit on the counter but it’s a good idea to refrigerate or freeze if you won’t be finished it all within a couple of days.
To serve lefse, spread a thin layer of softened butter on one side then sprinkle with cinnamon & sugar. roll up the sheet of lefse with butter & cinnamon on the inside. Cut in halves or thirds and serve.
Scandia Bakery employees filled them filled with chicken salad, taco fillings, and more; and, we approve. May your heart be filled with joy and your tummy be filled with lefse.
