Lefse with the Lutheran Ladies

Grant heads to Cambridge to learn about lefse.

Recently, I was invited by my good friend, Dale Dunlap, to tag along as she volunteered at her church to help make lefse. The ladies of the Nazareth Lutheran Church in Cambridge, Iowa, make about 30 dozen of the Scandanavian treats every November. They sell the lefse at the Cambridge Christmas Bazaar that is held on December 1st at the Dorcas Hall in Cambridge.

A large number of Norwegian immigrants settled in central Iowa communities such as Cambridge, Huxley, Kelley, and Slater in the late 1800's, and the traditions and food have been passed down through the generations. Marcia Kisner, Pastor at Nazareth Lutheran, said the church has revived the lefse tradition since she took over as pastor 14 years ago. It is their main fundraising event each year; they sell the bread for $15 per dozen, and they are snatched up quickly.

Along with Pastor Marcia and Dale, Nancy Weatherman and Sandy Durby were there to help on this particular day. They make about 6 dozen per session, and have several get togethers before the festival.

This is the recipe they use.

The dough is mixed by hand.

Then rolled into balls and allowed to rest.

After resting, the dough is rolled out with a textured rolling pin on a special floured board to a 12 inch diameter.

The dough is then picked up with a special stick.

Then baked on a lefsa grill until brown and blistered on each side.

It is removed from the grill, folded in half and allowed to cool.

The lefse is packed into paper bags and ready for sale. The bread will store at room temperature for weeks. When it is time to eat it, it is soaked in water and topped with butter and sugar or any multitude of sweet or savory fillings, and rolled up.

The ladies have quite the assembly line and work quickly with practiced hands. They make the process look more simple than it really is. All of the specialized tools are sold at Quick's Hardware Hank store in Huxley.

I was also able to purchase a copy of the church's cookbook that was put together earlier this year. It is filled with good home-style recipes from the church members. I always enjoy reading these, and get a lot of great ideas and wisdom from people that have years of home cooking experience, along with some great recipes that have been passed down through generations of families.

Is lefse a tradition in your family? Let us know in the comments how you like to eat lefse.

A special thank you to the ladies of Nazareth Lutheran Church in Cambridge for letting Iowa Foodie tag along!