Lefse (Norwegian Potato Flatbread)
My Grandma used to make this when I was growing up and it was one of my favorites, I liked it better than bread! It took a long time to figure out how to make it gluten-free, but I did it. If you like tortillas, you will love these!
5 cups of riced Potatoes (about 6 - 8 large potatoes)
Measure 5 cups of the riced potatoes, add the butter and mix well. Let this cool in the refrigerator for about 30 minutes before you add the rest of the ingredients. Once it has cooled a bit, add the cream, mix well, and sift together, 2 cups of the gluten-free flour with the xanthan gum, salt and sugar, I do this at least a couple of times. Add the flour mix to the potatoes and mix thoroughly. I used my Kitchen Aide stand mixer and it worked quite well.
Continue to add the remainder of the flour a little at a time while mixing until the dough is firm and smooth. It should be just firm enough to roll out, but not too thick. You might not have to use the entire 3 cups, you'll know when it is the right consistency. You may have to play around with it by adding 1 to 2 teaspoons more cream and a tablespoon of flour at a time until the dough seems to be the right consistency. You should be able to roll a ball without it sticking to your hands. Place this in the refrigerator for 30 minutes to an hour to cool and set.
When you are ready, heat up your ungreased griddle to 400 - 500 degrees, (I have a real Lefse griddle but a pancake griddle works also), get your area ready to roll out the dough and get your rolling pin ready.
1 teaspoon Salt
1/3 cup Cream or Half and Half
¼ cup Butter – softened to room temperature
1½ tablespoons Sugar
3 teaspoons Xanthan Gum
1 teaspoon Knox gelatin
3 cups Gluten-Free Flour Mix
Using unpeeled, whole, russet potatoes, boil in a large pot until they are cooked completely. Remove from heat, and run cold water into the pan to cool the potatoes. Remove the peels from the potatoes while they are still warm, then cut the potatoes in half and run them through your ricer into a large bowl.
Take a small piece of dough about 2 inches in diameter,(about the size of a ping pong ball), and roll it into a ball, place it on the floured area and smash it down with the palm of your hand, flip it over, smash it again, and then roll it out very thin on a well-floured board or cloth.
Potato starch or tapioca flour work very well to flour your area for rolling and also for your rolling pin cloth. Be sure to keep your dough covered after you take out the dough you are working with, as it dries out very quickly, it needs to remain moist. I had to re-flour my pastry cloth each time or it would start to stick.
Cook for about 1½ minutes on each side, don’t let them get too brown, you want the little brown spots but if you cook them too long, they get crispy. After you make a few, you will get the hang of it. I have a Lefse turner to flip them; you can use a large spatula also. Don’t get discouraged if they fall apart at first, it is an art to make Lefse, the thinner they are, the better.
Serve warm with lots of butter or jelly or whatever sounds good to you. You can refrigerate these and warm up on a griddle when you are ready to eat some more later. We also tried these lefse as a wrap. We put some meat and cheese in one, rolled it up and ate it. You can use whatever you want, they hold together very well.
