Lefse is a traditional Norwegian soft flatbread. It's one of the traditional foods that has been preserved in its homemade form by immigrants to the United States even after people in Norway stopped making it and started buying mass-produced lefse instead. Interestingly, for the most part, the kind of lefse that has been preserved as a tradition in the United States is a particular style of potato based flatbread, rolled thin as a crepe and served usually spread with butter and cinnamon-sugar and served as a dessert. However, historically in Norway, there were as many different styles of lefse as there were municipalities in Norway (ie. a lot): some potato based, some rye, some oat, some wheat, some paper thin, some thicker and fluffier. These lefse are based on the same dough as the potato lefse we learned to make from our neighbors in Minnesota, but then I made them smaller and thicker, more like a style of lefse called lompe, which has traditionally eaten around hot dogs or sausages (instead of a bun). You can make them without any special equipment, and while they're excellent around a hot dog, they're also really fantastic to use as a breakfast flat bread. I love them with scrambled eggs and smoked salmon or with butter and gjetost (a Norwegian brown goat cheese).

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