Keeping The Lefse Tradition Alive

As the holiday season begins, many Midwestern tables feature lefse, a soft Norwegian flatbread. This cherished staple, traditionally made with potatoes and flour, represents a generations-old tradition. However, its creation is an art. It’s one that commercial makers like Marshall Olson, owner of Countryside Lefse in Blair, Wisconsin, are working to preserve.

Lefse’s roots in the U.S. trace back to Norwegian and Swedish immigrants who brought the recipe as a way to feel at home, Olson says. He describes the final product as looking like a tortilla, but its dominant flavor is the potato.

The labor of making authentic lefse is significant, beginning with cooking and ricing real potatoes. This is a crucial step, and Olson warns against replacing it with instant flakes. The delicate process requires constant adjustment because the water content of potatoes varies.

Beyond the ingredients, technique is everything. Olson stresses the importance of precision in every stage.

“The rolling is important because you want to get it so it’s not super thick, but you don’t want it super thin either, or it’ll just dry out on the grill,” he explains, adding the dough must be perfectly mixed to avoid tearing as the thin circle is lifted onto the griddle.

Looking ahead, the main challenge for the industry is not customer demand, but finding labor. Since the product is so tender, it often requires manual rolling and handling. Olson noted that the future of the tradition may rely on finding new solutions or shifts in the workforce.

Despite the difficulties, Olson, whose family started the business 65 years ago, continues to find satisfaction in keeping the heritage alive.

“You want to keep it alive. I’ve seen with Norwegian foods, there’s a lot of them that are just not being made anymore in the homes,” he says, highlighting the value of commercial production in sustaining the food culture.