Anyone who has ever spent a holiday in a Norwegian household is familiar with the thin potato flatbread known as lefse. Traditionally served with butter and sugar, lefse has been a Scandinavian tradition for centuries. That doesn’t mean, however, that just anyone can make it. Successful lefse baking is nothing less than an art form.

Between 1825 and 1925, more than 800,000 Norwegians immigrated to North America, bringing their holiday traditions with them. According to a 2010 U.S. Census report, 1.6% of the total population in the United States is of Norwegian descent. This amounts to 4.5 million people, the majority of which are located in the Midwest. 30.8% of those who claim Norwegian heritage live in North Dakota, while 16.5% call Minnesota their home. It is no wonder that the majority of lefse is manufactured and consumed in the tri-state area.

The first lefse in Norway, however, didn’t contain potatoes. It was made from flour by women who traveled from village to village in the hopes of making enough lefse to last the harsh winter months. The flour lefse would cook up like a cracker, and was stored in wooden boxes covered in cloth or stacked on shelves. When one was ready for a piece of lefse, it was dipped in water and soaked between damp cloths until it softened. Eventually the abundant and easy to grow potato was incorporated into many Norwegian foods, including lefse.

Darlene Sabo Ellefson has been making lefse since receiving a lefse griddle for a wedding gift fifty-seven years ago. Since then, she has perfected her craft to the point of feeling obliged to share it with others. Step-by-Step Illustrated Instructions and Recipes for Making Lefse is now in its second edition, the first of which resides in the National Museum of Norway in Oslo. The book is a detailed guide to making soft potato lefse, complete with four distinct recipes.

Ellefson wrote the book after she realized that many people who grew up watching mothers or grandmothers make lefse could not replicate the process in their own homes. “This began to weigh on me,” Darlene said, “and I realized there were so many families that had lost the art of lefse making in these later generations.” By writing this book, she hopes to combat that loss of tradition. Ellefson’s step-by-step instructions and illustrations can turn even first-time bakers into lefse artists. Who better to model oneself after than the 2007 National Lefse Bake-Off Champion?

A section of the book is designed for recording one’s experiences. Ellefson believes very strongly in the need for creating family tradition, believing that they can be “a bonding tool for families.” Her goal is to provide an avenue for such bonding, hoping that “sharing in the making of lefse and the enjoyment of having it for holiday meals can be such an agent.” Darlene has been adamant about having her own family learn the art. In fact, her five great grandchildren are on the cover of the second edition.

There are many variations on traditional potato lefse, but the main ingredients are usually the same: potatoes, sugar, flour, salt, milk, and cream or shortening. The dough is rolled out using a corrugated rolling pin designed to alleviate air pockets. Most people use a griddle specifically designed for lefse to assist in producing a finished product that is as circularly symmetrical as it is impressively thin. Special lefse making tools, such as long wooden turning sticks or rolling pins with deep grooves, can be purchased from most culinary specialty stores to aid in production. After adorning the lefse with the desired toppings, typically butter and sugar, most people roll it into a cone before eating. Although usually prominent during holiday meals, lefse is the perfect side dish to any meal.

Although initially introduced to mainstream society by the Norwegians, lefse has begun to enjoy similar popularity in other cultures as well. “Lefse is no longer just a Norwegian delicacy,” Ellefson shared. “Throughout the last several decades persons of other nationalities have been introduced to lefse and wish to have it with their holiday meals or throughout the year.” Family traditions can begin at any point on the family tree. Even those that did not grow up with lefse can incorporate it into their personal traditions and pass it along to future generations.

As life continues to become more and more fast paced, family traditions like making lefse may continue to find themselves pushed to the back burner. “It seems there are so many avenues that occupy our time,” Ellefson remarked, “and everything is fast paced. Lefse is known to take time and I feel some postpone it to another time which, most often does not occur.” Modern technology often takes the place of slow, and sometimes tedious, homemade cooking experiences. People frequently adopt the perception that faster and bigger is better. In the case of lefse, however, that perception is inaccurate.

Step-by-Step Illustrated Instructions and Recipes for Making Lefse can be purchased directly from Darlene by calling 218-287-6678. It is also available at Sanford Health, Creative Kitchen and Stabo at the West Acres Mall, Zandbroz, and the Hector International Airport gift shop. This book would be of great benefit to anyone who is interested in learning the art of lefse making, as well as those merely wanting to revisit the magic of youthful memories. Although it is a delicate process, making lefse need not be as impossible as some fear. “Somehow people have gotten the wrong perception of making lefse,” Darlene said. “They convince themselves to an ‘I can’t do it’ attitude. Remember your teacher telling you ‘there isn’t such a thing as can’t?’”