The Lost Art of Lefse Making (Step-By-Step)

Izzblizz's Note:

This is a very traditional (and labor intensive) Lefse recipe from my town's "Lefse Lady" who made her famous Lefse in our small Norwegian town in ND. It is by Mrs. Marcus Schmidt from our town's Centennial cookbook. This is the lefse everyone in town would covet around Holiday season. I have dragged out my lefse skillet and tried it a couple times before, but never got it quite as good as hers (and it is quite a production!). I am sure it takes decades of learning to perfect. I have rewritten and reorganized it to be easier to follow with her special tips. This makes about 25-30 Lefse rounds.

• Total Time: 50 hrs
• Prep Time: 48 hrs
• Cook Time: 2 hrs

Ingredients:

Yield: 25 Lefse r ...

• 8 cups riced potatoes , See instructions below (About 22-25 Medium Baking Potatoes)
• ¾ cup butter or ¾ cup margarine
• 3 tablespoons sugar
• 1 ½ teaspoons salt
• 1 ½ teaspoons vegetable oil
• 3 cups flour (less if you can, beginners will probably need to use more)

Directions:

1. SPECIAL EQUIPMENT.
2. Potato Ricer.
3. Electric Lefse Pan (or substitute electric griddle or nonstick griddle).
4. Lefse Stick (substitute long wooden handle of spoon or even better, an unused wooden paint can stirrer).
5. Grooved Lefse Rolling Pin (regular pin can work).
6. Canvas covering for your rolling pin is also desirable.
7. INSTRUCTIONS:.
8. Night before making lefse, peel, dice (1 inch pieces or so) and cook potatoes in boiling water until tender (about 20 minutes). Drain and return to still warm cooking pot over just turned off burner to allow potatoes to let off any extra steam so they don't have extra water.
9. Rice potatoes with potato ricer over butter/margarine until you have added 8 cups riced. Add sugar, salt, and vegetable oil. Stir until everything is melted.
10. Store mixture overnight in cool spot covered with paper towel.
11. Next morning, rice the mixture again through your potato ricer into a large bowl. Divide riced mixture into two batches.
12. Sift and mix one cup flour into one batch. Place the other in refrigerator until later.
13. Divide the batch you have added the flour to into 1/4 C to 1/3 C patties (smaller amount is easier for beginner). Keep two or three patties out for rolling. Refrigerate the remaining patties on a cookie sheet (keeping them cool helps with rolling with as little flour as possible, the key to really thin lefse).
14. Heat your Electric Lefse Pan or if using griddle to medium heat.
15. Flour rolling pin and board (if possible cover them with canvas and then flour). Roll each pattie as thin as possible, using flour as needed to prevent sticking, but as little as possible. Turn over once when rolling, lightly flouring board again.
16. Using your lefse stick, place stick on left end of lefse. Flip dough over stick and roll to right to roll up lefse on stick.
17. Place it on right side of Lefse pan or griddle and unroll. Lefse will begin bubbling and lightly browning. The more "bubbling " the more tender it will be. Use stick again to turn over and cook other side.
18. Remove lightly browned round from lefse pan or skillet with lefse stick, fold round into quarters and let cool on paper towels. Overlap each folded round slightly as you let cool to prevent edges from drying out.
19. Once finished with first batch, Mix one cup flour into remaining riced mix and repeat as above.
20. Let lefse cool completely before wrapping in plastic wrap and refrigerating or freezing in plastic bags.
21. Spread with butter, sprinkle with sugar, and warm slightly in microwave to eat in the traditional way.

Reviews

[Chef #987374]

This is a easy recipe. It handles great and taste excellent. I highly recommend this one.