Lefse might be the most iconic food we have in Norway (in addition tobrunost, brown cheese), and is enjoyed by Norwegians from the south to the north. However, how lefse is made and how it is consumed differs from one region to another.
Also read:Norwegian Christmas Food: Lefse with meat
What is Lefse?
Lefse is a traditional Norwegian soft bread. Similar to a tortilla, but there is no corn flour in lefse. Often it is made with milk or buttermilk, wheat flour, baking soda and butter, but there are many varieties to be found. Some types of lefse are also made with potatoes, and especially in the Norwegian diaspora in North America, this seems to be the most common ingredient.
How is Lefse made?
To make lefse you’ll need a large flat griddle to cook it on, a long wooden turning stick and a rolling pin. A rolling pin with deep grooves makes it easier to roll the lefse out.
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In the old times every farm would spend days making lefse. Resulting in large stacks that would be stored dry and eaten throughout the winter. The baking would take place during the fall, after the harvest, and a ready made lefse could be 1 meter (3 feet) in diameter.
Bakstekjerring. Photo: Nico Jungmann, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
It took a lot of skills to make fine and thin lefser, and the person who really knew how to do this would be called for a “bakstekjerring” (a woman that bakes) ,and they were women who were good at using the rolling pin. Sometimes they would go from farm to farm and offer their service as a baker of lefse and other baked goods. Be aware that “bakstekjerring” is an old word, and not much used today. You don’t want to call your wife or girlfriend for a bakstekjerring as it refers to the old days when women’s place was in the kitchen…
Now, to be honest, most Norwegians these days don’t make their own lefse anymore, and instead buy them pre made at the supermarket. However, the last years have seen an increased interest in making them at home.Here are some products that can get you started:
Lefse Rolling Pin Square Cut
A traditional rolling pin. The deep grooves makes it easier to roll out the lefse.
Lefse Turning Stick with Wood Handle
A turning stick is a great tool for flipping the lefse around and to remove it from the griddle.
伯大尼Housewares Heritage Griddle for Lefse
Lefse Grill with Aluminum Finish for baking lefse.
Different kinds of Lefse
A general distinction of different kinds of lefse:
Tynnlefse(thin lefse)
Often rolled up with sugar, cinnamon and butter inside. Before Christmas its popular with different kinds of meat or fish. This one is especially popular in the central parts of Norway.
Potetlefse(potato lefse)
This is basically the same as the thin lefse, but made with 100% potatoes or a mix of wheat flour and potatoes. Norwegians tend to eat this one with salty meat (or other kinds of meat), but all in all it’s a versatile lefse that can be served with butter and sugar. Buy onEtsy.
Tykklefse(thick lefse)
This one is often served with coffee as a cake. Sometimes they are served with brown cheese on them, and quite often some sweet mix of sugar and butter is smeared on. Especially in Vestlandet (the west of Norway) you can find many varieties of this one. They are also popular up north.
Some traditional lefse varieties in Norway:
Lefse from the west – add some moist, put on butter, sugar and cinnamon, and then wrap it up
Gnikkalefse– This lefse is fried with a “topcoat” called gnikk. Gnikk is made is made using skimmed milk, potato flour, wheat flour and salt of hartshorn.
Klenning– Sweet lefse with butter, cinnamon and sugar. Typical for the Trøndelag region.
Kling– A sweet lefse from Buskerud in Eastern Norway.
Krinalefse– Originates from Helgeland in Northern Norway. It’s a lefse with a nice pattern, and is served with butter, sugar and cinnamon. In the old days it was served with gomme, which is almost like a sweet cheese with cinnamon.
Lemse– A traditional lefse from the mining town of Røros.
Lomper– Similar to potetlefse but usually smaller, and often served with hot dogs.
Møsbrømlefse– From Salten in Northern Norway. This lefse is served with a brown cheese spread.
Pjalt– A round flat pastry from Røros in Trøndelag.
Potetlefse– Lefse made with potatoes.
Tykklefse– A thicker version of the sweet lefse with butter, cinnamon and sugar.
Vestlandslefse– From Fjord Norway. A sweet lefse with butter, sugar and cinnamon. (as seen on the photo above). Buy onEtsy
When do Norwegians eat Lefse?
Since Lefse is readily available in the supermarkets in Norway, it’s something we eat all year around. However, that goes mostly for the kind of lefse that has some kind of sweet filling or topping, such as the tykklefse (thick lefse) or potato lefse with sugar and butter.
Before and during Christmas many like to have some potetlefse with meat. For instance putting sylte (head cheese), julepølse (Christmas sausage) or medisterkake (pork patties) inside, often with some strong mustard. Fish also goes well on the lefse, and a popular choice is smoked salmon or trout together with a cream cheese.
Check out the article:Norwegian Christmas Food: Lefse with meat
I love lefse!
Ask Norwegians about Lefse and you’ll be sure to get many different answers. Lefse has been around for probably a couple of hundred years, and many different recipes and traditions have evolved since then. Personally I like eating the potetlefse during Christmas with some meat or fish. And the rest of the year I eat lefse as a snack with butter and sugar… But that’s just me
Make sure to try out some next time you travel to Norway!
Thanks for reading, and I’m grateful if you share this article with someone who like lefse, or who is curious about this Norwegian specialty.
Pål
You might also like:Rice Cream – A Norwegian Christmas Dessert
16 Responses
Thank you Pal! Great information about our favorite lefse and all the ways it is made in Norway!
You welcome Beth! I hope you’ll have a nice Jul
Tak, Pål! Here in Minnesota, lease is always made with potato, and it is so labor-intensive that it is a specialty during Christmas. Unless you find a good version premade…..
Yes I can understand it is very labor intensive. In Norway it’s not so hard to find a good premade one of 100% potatoes, but they are quite expensive, so people tend to prefer the ones that are a mix of flour and potatoes
我的祖母让最好的lefse !她给我买了the griddle, the stick, the griddle, and a potato ricer. I have tried but need to practice more. I usually buy it in the grocery store. I live in Evanston Illinois.
I bet she did! Cool to hear that you can get it in the grocery store
I so enjoy reading about traditional Norwegian foods.
Thanks, glad to hear that
My grandma (Aker) and her sisters would make potato lefse every year for Christmas and New Years celebrations. My brother, sister and I have gotten together to make it also. I have also made it with my children. Keeping traditions alive.
Hei Cheryl, it’s nice to hear that you are keeping traditions alive Thanks for checking out the article
This looks delicious. I need to see if I can find this at my local stores. They all look so tasty. Maybe some different t recipe links for the different t types? You know I like to make these things myself.
Thanks Dave! I will see what I can come up with. I did share one recipe here for Vestlandslefse:
https://www.facebook.com/norwaywithpal/photos/a.177995474474016/189449179995312
Thanks for reading the article!
My great aunt, Cernie, was famous in the small town of Benson, Minnesota for making lefse. Both my mother’s sides of family lived there and it was a predominantly Norwegian population, with a few Swedes mixed in (but they attended the Swedish church a few towns over).
Cernie was living in her assisted living apartment (accommodations for elderly living) and making her lefse one day when the power went out. The man in charge of maintenance went door-to-door asking residents to limit their power, no tv, no cooking, etc., because they were running on a generator. My aunt Cernie answered the door and told him that she was in the middle of making her lefse and he said, “Oh no Cernie, you keep making your lefse”. This is a favorite family story.
haha! That is a great story! Thanks for sharing, I would have loved to try Cernie’s lefse
你好,我从我的妈妈如何制作土豆lefse. I grew up in North Dakota. But when i was young I did not pay attention to how it was really made or how it should feel when its rolled out. So as I got older it was important to me to make this also. My 2 sisters were not as interested. I found a great website just a few years ago on how this Minnesota mother and daughter made theirs and it all made sense. I have the rolling pin, the griddle, the rolling board and the turner. We have a festival every year in North Dakota called Norsk Hostfest. Huge gathering of people from literally all over the world. I do believe even people from Norway including the King was there years ago. Its a big deal and you can try many foods. I also make Rommegrot…Krumkaka and potato/flour lefse. I didn’t realize there were other kinds of Lefse. Must come to Norway just to try the different kinds. thanks for this great site
Hei Laurie, cool that you are so into your Norwegian roots, and still cooking up so many Norwegian specialities. I’ve heard about the Norsk Høstfest and would love love to go there some day