There are no potatoes. How can it be a true lefse recipe without the potatoes?
This is lefsa. The reviewer that stated it isn't is probably a Swede. The Hardanger region is not the only region that has a tradition of lefsa without potatoes. My grandmothers family came from Suldal in Rogaland near Stavanger. She made a lefsa without potatoes. We called it Stavanger Lefsa. Some people refer to it as West Coast Lefsa. Vestlands Lefsa has a lefsa that comes in a box and you rehydrate the sheets of lefsa that does not contain potatoes.
I have been looking for this recipe for a long time my mother-in-law lost it over the years.My husband just loved it said it tasted like his grandmothers they called it flat bread though. Very simple to make.Although I cooked it at a higher temperature and it turned out fine.
When I went to Norway to my wonderful surprise I found that really GREAT Lefse was made with flour! It all depend where you were raised and who made it. Great recipe! Yes REAL Lefse is made with flour too. Thanks for sharing!
FYI: This is commonly referred to as Nordland's or Hardanger Lefse (as in Hardanger Fjord)... my paternal Grandparents are Norwegian & my grandmother taught me a variation of this recipe many years ago. We enjoy this every Christmas morning as part of our traditional Norwegian Christmas Breakfast which consists of lots of breads meats cheeses & spreads. This is not a "traditional" potato lefse as other reviewers stated but it is indeed a lefse. It is thicker than potato lefse & inteded to be served as more of a flat bread for spread meat & / or cheese... my favorite is simply a little butter & Norwegian goat cheese (geitost). Also if you don't have time to stand over the stove you can bake it in the oven... just watch it carefully - very lightly golden is all you need (I occasionally roll these out on a pizza stone for baking). Enjoy!
I ate my weight in lefse while living as a nanny in Norway. I've been searching for a recipe for a few months and I was starting to think I had the wrong name for it. All the recipes called for potato. This must be a Norwegian-American thing? Or maybe they do that in a different part of Norway. At any rate this recipe is EXACTLY what I tasted in Norway and it's delicious if you place the lefse between damp towels until it's soft then layer it with butter and sugar and cut into manageable strips. It's odd and delicious freezes well and is quintessentially Norsk!
This recipe is very close to the one our family has used for over 80 years brought from Norway by both my Grandmothers who by the way were not from the Hardanger region. It is the only lefse I have ever known until recently when it seems like everyone else in the world is making their lefse with potatos. Thank you for sharing this recipe. We always cook it in a 400 oven until it begins to brown. Its best if it does not brown just lightly brown on the bubbly parts. After the sheets are softened we spread butter/cinnamon/sugar mix add another sheet and cut into diamond shapes. Served as a sweet cookie.
Great to find a true Norwegian lefse recipe! Potato lefse is what we American Norwegians probably grew up with but in Norway you will not find that! Potatoes were only used when families could not afford to purchase flour so this recipe really is what is made in Norway today - and in the past is what our ancestors would have made before immigrating.
I have to admit I haven't made this recipe but it is NOT lefse! Lefse is potatoes butter flour and a little milk and sugar. This just isn't it. No Scandinavian would ever confuse this.
