Pam's Norwegian Lefse

I grew up making lefse. I had a Norwegian father and a German Mother. My German mother was always on a quest to find the perfect lefse recipe so every year she kept trying a different one which led to a lot of failures. But she kept going till she got it right for my Dad. She used to rice the potatoes which is a big tiring messy job. She and I made lefse for all my married life, together. Since she passed away,  I have been making mine the same way and trying to perfect it. Some people think the thinner the better but I like mine a little moister and thats the way my family likes it so this is my own recipe from all our failures. 

Ingredients:

10 lbs russet potatoes

1/2 cup of salted butter 

1 cup cream (more or less)

2 tbsp sugar

2 teas salt 

5 cups of flour + more to roll out.... used the next day! 

I start my lefse by cooking ten pounds of potatoes, in salted water in the crockpot overnight on low two nights before I plan to make lefse.  In the morning I mash the potatoes with my stand mixer in two batches using the above ingredients( so half of everything) They should be a little saltier that you would do your mashed potatoes. Then I dump the batches together in a big bowl and chill the mashed potatoes in the refrigerator that day and that next night.

On lefse day,  plug in your grill and turn it to high to heat. Lay out towels to cool the lefse on after  cooking them. I cover my round lefse board with either the cover or a flour sack dishtowel, masking taped tight to the board on the backside. I know fancy!  Then I measure 6 cups of chilled potatoes into the mixer bowl and add 2.5 cups of flour and mix together, just until mixed. See how it feels, it cant be real sticky but a little sticky is ok cuz you are going to use more flour when you roll. Then using a 1/4 measuring cup I make balls of dough and put them on a plate covered with a towel so as not to dry out. To roll out, I flour my rolling pin with all the little crevices ( I do this after almost every one I bake). Then I flour the towel or cover on the lefse board and kind or work it into the material. Next I plop a ball on the center of my rolling board and sprinkle it with little flour on top and bottom. Roll it out the thickness of a tortilla and as round as you can, about the size of a plate. Don't use any more flour than you have to as it makes it dry and tough. 

Bake until it has nice brown spots on it then and flip over to bake the other side. cool on a towel for a few min and then fold it up in quarters and move it to another set of towels you are cooling them in. This recipe makes about 30 rounds. After completely cooled place in a baggie and  refrigerate (they dont last long in the refrigerator before they mold so I freeze in quart baggies. Share with friends and family, which is the most fun part. It's a lot of work but quite the tradition in my life with my mother, kids and now with my grown kids.