Making Norwegian Flatbread

A few weekends ago I went to my grandparents to learn how to make Norwegian flatbread. The Norwegian flatbread my grandparents make is very thin, like a cracker. We usually top it with butter, but I usually think it is perfect plain. Every year around Christmastime, I would have this snack, but never knew how it was made. I was determined to figure out how it was done, and the process ended up being much simpler than I imagined!

First, my grandma gave me her original hand-written recipe.

It reads:

2 cups quick oatmeal
1 cup white flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 tsp. salt
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 cup butter or margarine
1 cup buttermilk

Mix all together and roll out on floured board. Bake on lefse grill at 375° or in the oven on cookie sheets until lightly browned. 

With the batter ready to go, we started the process of rolling the dough flat. My grandpa showed me how it was done, and also showed off his supreme rolling skills. We used lots of flour so it wouldn’t stick to either the table or the rolling pin. When it was my turn, I flattened and rolled and flattened and rolled until the dough was as thin as I could make it. Some of my family likes it super crisp, while others like it a bit thicker. A few of my tries turned out better than others, but because we used a textured lefse roller, all the rolling made the flat bread even more beautiful.

After the dough was perfectly flat, we cut it into many pieces. You could cut the pieces more perfectly square to get a more appealing look, but we usually just cut the dough in every direction. My grandma laughed at some of my weirdly shaped ones, but they all ended up tasting pretty great no matter the thinness or shape they ended up.

Once the pieces were cut, we transferred some onto a heating plate, and the rest into the oven to bake. We flipped them after a few minutes so the other side could get golden. After both sides were golden and crisp, we transferred them into a bowl to cool. Soon after, we started snacking!

Now that I understand how to make this flatbread, I know that I can make it on my own, or at anytime during the year. It really was very easy to make, and a great activity to do with someone! I think the oatmeal makes it so tasty and unique. I would like to try making a cinnamon butter to put on top. A nice spreadable cheese would also be a great topping.