Norwegian Lefse (Tjukklefse)

Lefse is a traditional flatbread made in Norway. It is mostly used as a coffee bread with different fillings. There are so many variations across the country and unique to regions and families. My mother had so many recipes and we used to bake Lefse of various kinds before Christmas. And we would make so much it would last throughout the year.

Lefse is not the easiest to make due to the rolling and also baking of it. Some should be very thin and big. So the technique takes some practice. In Norway we have these special electric grills, “Takke” to bake them on. On these you can bake the large one´s. My mother had one of those. I have not had that so I used to bake them in a frying pan which would limit the type and size. For many years I also had a special grill I could place on top of my stove which was a bit larger. Now I have an electric grill that I actually got in an Ethiopian store here in Stockholm. In Ethiopia and Eritrea they bake Injera, and what I got was an Injera grill. But they look like the Lefsegrill you can buy in the USA. So it works for Norwegian Lefse.

I was very little when starting to bake Lefse with my mom. This recipe for Tjukklefse from my mom is one of the easiest one´s to make, “Tjukklefse” (Thick Lefse). It is filled with a spread made from butter and icing sugar which is whisked fluffy. Tjukklefse is eaten as a coffee cake.

Lefse is very popular in Norway and this kind you can buy as a snack in small packages in gasstations in Norway as well as in bakeries and Café´s and restaurants. Homemade is of course the best.

My mom could make and roll any kind of Lefse or flatbread and I remember I was in wonder how she could get some kinds so thin and they would still hold together.

Ingredients:

4 eggs
1-1, 2 kg wheatflour
300 gr sugar
4 cups “soured” milk (buttermilk)
6 tsp bicarbonate salt
300 gr butter

Instructions:

Mix the wet ingredients

Melt the butter and cool off and add

Carefully stir in the flour and the bicarbonate

Mix with hand or a wooden spatula until smooth.

The dough should be loose and sticky.

Put the dough in plastic wrap and put in refrigerator for a couple hours.

Divide the dough into small balls and bake out each ball on the table and roll with a rolling pin until the dough is about 3 mm thick. Careful with adding flour. Just add enough for the dough not to stick to the table.

Fry the Lefse in a frying pan or on a “takke” specially made for Lefse. Just fry it until it turns a bit golden and bubbles start to pop on the upper side. Turn and fry on the other side. Take off and cool on a cooling rack.

Filling

Ingredients:

250 g butter
250 g icing sugar

Instructions:

When the Lefse is cooled off you make a filling with mixing 250 grams butter and 250 grams icing sugar. Whisk until it is all fluffy. Put the spread on one side of a Lefse and put another one on top. Than you cut the Lefse into triangles or the shapes you want to serve them. You can freeze them with the filling and take out when you want to serve them and they will taste just as great.