A History of Lefse: From the Vikings to Now
Braudiskr, a traditional Viking bread plate made with varying types of flour depending on how one preferred their bread plate to taste or which kind they could get their hands on, was usually topped with meat, usually fish, to provide protein. This bread plate would be made as a cracker in order for it to be stored over the cold winter months. They would rehydrate the bread plate with water and rags in order to have fresh bread for the entire winter.
The Norwegians adopted this tradition of the bread plate and called it Lefse. They used potatoes as the main ingredient for this flatbread after potatoes had been introduced to Northern Europe. The traditions of making lefse is rich with community. Women would travel from house to house to make lefse that they would store for the entire winter season. They would also top their lefse with meat.
The tradition of lefse making has been passed down from one generation of women to the next generation.
Cooking lefse takes a whole team of people. One must prepare the lefse dough the night before by boiling and ricing potatoes and adding half and half cream. The dough is then refrigerated overnight and flour is added the next day. After the dough mixture has been thoroughly combined, the dough is rolled into golf ball-sized balls. The lefse dough is then rolled out on a heavily floured surface so that it doesn’t stick, with a special divet filled rolling pill that has also been heavily floured. The next person on the assembly line of lefse takes a long, thin wooden paddle of sorts and slips it carefully under the dough. They place it on the griddle or skillet next and wait for one side to cook completely before flipping it over. After, the lefse is placed on a pile of other cooked lefse. One can eat the lefse fresh, freeze it, or dehydrate it to be rehydrated later.