Norwegian Potato Lefse
Norwegian potato lefse is a simple and delicious flatbread made with riced potatoes, butter, and flour! This is by far the easiest lefse inspired by my grandma's original recipe. Make it with friends and family for a fun little winter tradition!
Ingredients
- 4 pounds russet potatoes (1,850 grams)
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter, preferably European (113 grams)
- 3 3/4 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for rolling (450 grams)
- 1 1/4 teaspoons Kosher salt, plus more as needed
- 2 1/2 Tablespoons sugar (32 grams)
- 1 1/4 cups heavy whipping cream (300 milliliters)
Instructions
- Start by peeling the potatoes and cutting them into quarters. Meanwhile, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Once the water comes to a boil, add the potatoes and boil them until they are fork tender, about 15-18 minutes.
- Rice the potatoes into a pot or large mixing bowl. You should have about 10 cups (1,040 grams) of riced potatoes. While the potatoes are still hot, add the butter and stir the mixture until the butter is melted and incorporated. Evenly spread the potatoes into a 9x13 pan and refrigerate the potatoes, uncovered, overnight.
- The next day, add the chilled potatoes, flour, salt, sugar, and heavy whipping cream to the bowl of a stand mixer. (Depending on the size of your mixer, you may have to do this in 2 batches.) Using a dough hook, mix everything together until a thick dough forms.
- Heat a griddle to 350°F (177°C). Then, using a cupcake scoop, form the dough into 3-4 Tablespoon balls. Using clean hands, flatten each ball into a smooth disc. Place the discs on a parchment-lined sheet pan, cover with a tea towel, and refrigerate.
- Dust a pastry board or wood board with a generous dusting of flour. Using a corrugated rolling pin, roll each dough disc, turning it a quarter after every 2-3 rolls, until you have a thin, round flatbread.
- Use a lefse stick to carefully transfer the lefse to the hot griddle. Cook the lefse for 1-2 minutes on each side until it's thoroughly cooked through and has small golden spots. Don't overcook the lefse or it will end up brittle. Let the lefse cool completely for a couple of minutes. Repeat with the remaining dough.
- Once the lefse is completely cooled, stack the lefse and wrap them in a tea towel to keep them from drying out. Place the stack of lefse in a zipper bag or airtight container and refrigerate for up to 5 days.
- Serve the lefse warm or at room temperature with butter, sugar, cinnamon, cardamom, jam, meatballs, deli meat, and anything else you like. Enjoy!
Notes
Keep in mind that this recipe will take 2 days to make! The potatoes need to be prepped the night before for the best results.
For the best results, I recommend using a kitchen scale! It's the best way to make sure the lefse comes out perfect every time. If you don't have a kitchen scale, make sure you're measuring the flour properly. Whisk the flour until it's fluffy and spoon the fluffed flour into a measuring cup. Then, level the flour without packing it in.
You can also mash the potatoes, but make sure to mash them until they are very smooth! You want the potatoes to be nice and creamy for a smooth dough.
If you don't have a stand mixer, you can also make the dough by hand. Just use clean hands to knead everything together. You may need to make the dough in 2 batches.
If the dough is too dry, add more cream 1 Tablespoon at a time. If it's too wet, add flour 1 Tablespoon at a time. It should be the consistency of Play-Doh.
If you don't have a corrugated rolling pin, you can use a regular rolling pin. If you don't have a lefse stick, you can use an offset spatula instead.
This dough is very delicate so be careful when you're rolling it. Keep the rolling gentle so the dough doesn't pull apart or stick to the rolling surface.
Keep the dough chilled. I work with 2-3 dough discs at a time and leave the rest covered in the fridge. It's so much easier to roll out chilled dough! If it warms up, it will stick.
Don't let the dough discs dry out. You want the dough to be rollable but still moist.
Serving: 1lefse, Calories: 97kcal, Carbohydrates: 12.7g, Protein: 1.7g, Fat: 4.3g, Saturated Fat: 2.6g, Cholesterol: 14mg, Sodium: 93mg, Potassium: 66mg, Fiber: 0.6g, Sugar: 1g, Calcium: 9mg, Iron: 1mg
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