Making Lefse {Buffalo Community Education Class}

Today I am so grateful for holiday traditions! My mother-in-law, Sharon, and I have been making lefse together since my husband I were first married, now 12 years strong. Lefse is a Norwegian flatbread made from potatoes, flour, buttermilk and butter. It's rolled flat on a special lefse rolling board, slapped unto a 500º griddle, then eaten slathered with butter and a dusting of sugar. At Sharon's chagrin, my lefse was sprinkled with a bit of cinnamon.  

Everyone has their own traditional holiday foods, events, places to visit, treats to make, people to see. What gets you most excited this holiday season? I'm madly in love with food, so cooking events really fill my happiness cup. Like this Community Education class I was privileged to teach at the local community kitchen. 

Take a look at the class snapshots! 

Learning Cooking Techniques. Your Hand is a 'Claw' as You Mix Dough.

Some tips for your next lefse making session…

Making lefse is a two day event, that should involve lots of kitchen helpers! After you peel, boil, and rice the potatoes, butter pats are dropped onto the dough, which you chill overnight. Some recipes recommend the refrigerator or freezer to speed up cooling, rather than an overnight chilling period.  But if you organize and prepare, I recommend taking the slow food route. 

Rushing your Christmas Tradition is too stressful. 

Make your food memories special for years to come! 

Women cooking as a tribe is something our fast-paced, stressed-out Western culture doesn't value enough!

Cooking together as a tribe is in our genes! 

Think of the women in the huts of third world countries...They cook together, all the time! 

So grateful our group of women enjoyed a laughter-filled evening of fellowship.

After the chilled, riced potato mixture has salt, sugar, buttermilk and flour added,  the dough is gently kneaded to form a ball. Portion out 1/3 cup measurements and form discs. Smooth the discs really well. Really smooth edges ensure even rolling out.

Making lefse can involve a lot of equipment….

Two Lefse Rolling Pins with Sleeves.

Making lefse can involve two separate types of rolling pins. One smooth to get the dough rolled out really thinly and evenly. And a textured pin. Giving the lefse a little ridges to collect butter and see-through thin! Sleeves can be put over the pin to prevent sticking. 

Roll out to each corner, in succession. 

Concentration using a flicking motion in my wrist, slapping the thinly rolled dough onto the lefse griddle.

Some of the first fruits of our labor. The flour was flying.

Use a pastry brush or paper towel to brush away excess flour. Burnt flour will give you a bitter taste. 

Is there any other butter other than Kerrygold? Time to slather the hot lefse with butter and sugar. And do the dishes. 

   

A lefse recipe we really like…  Click HERE

The above link doesn't double the recipe, but if you want to (yes, you do)…
Yield: approximately 24 rounds

5# russet potatoes
1/2 cup butter
1 cup heavy whipping cream
4 teaspoon sugar
2 teaspoon salt
3 cups all purpose flour

So grateful our group of women enjoyed a laughter-filled evening of fellowship.

A special 'Thank You' to Photographer Mary Sue Stevens 

I hope to connect with you, too! Send me a message about how we can connect. 

Tell me… how we can be a cooking tribe together?