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Lefse in an hour

Marquard creates easy recipe

By Jane Myhra


Amy Marquard’s lefse in an hour recipe is available as a free download from her website at LefseLand.com. Jane Myhra Photo

A new recipe allows lefse lovers to create the delicacy perfect every time.

The entire process – from peeling potatoes to cooking the lefse– takes one hour.

“Life is busy and traditional lefse-making is not fast,” said lefse expert Amy Marquard.

She created the recipe while making lefse for a fundraiser.

“We made a lot of lefse,” she recalled. “We needed it to be top quality and taste the same every time.”

She felt the “traditional recipe” left a lot to chance.

“Recipe notes like ‘add enough flour until it feels right’ were all too common and not helpful at all,” she said. “My dough was too wet and sticky or it had so much flour that it didn’t taste right.”

Marquard’s recipe uses two potatoes to make 10 rounds (pieces) of lefse. The recipe provides exact measurements.

“Beginners and experts alike will enjoy lefse that is rounder, softer, thinner and easy to roll without the sticky mess – in just one hour,” she said.

The secret to her recipe is not to add cream and increase the butter.

“The more liquid you add, the more flour you need to roll it,” she said. “By leaving out the cream, my recipe has more of a potato flavor instead of a bread flavor.”

The recipe is free to download at LefseLand.com.

“I want people to have the recipe and enjoy lefse,” Marquard said. “My goal was to make it easy to make and give people the confidence to do it by themselves.”

Every detail and every tip she has learned is included in Marquard’s lefse in an hour recipe.

“It’s really easy to learn and it’s easy to make,” she said.

She also designed innovative lefse-making products to speed up the process. Her lefse-making equipment is sold on the website, plus there are links to other tools she recommends.

Her “Original Lefse Cuddler” replaces the layers of terry towels and dish towels used for cooling the lefse.

“I always had to peel through the layers of towels to find the middle to stack the lefse,” Marquard said. “The cuddler has three layers and it is easy to get to the center. It solved my problem.”

The cuddler is an important step in the process.

While in the cuddler, “steam from each piece enters into the lefse above and below it to tenderize it,” she said.

For optimum results, she recommends keeping the lefse slices in the cuddler for a total of four hours.

The dough is rolled on a “Rotate-a-Round.” This is a round piece of cloth with a rubber mat under it to keep the cloth from moving. It is designed for easy and quick rolling.

“I no longer need a full body massage after making lefse,” she said.

To store the equipment, Marquard offers a custom-made “Tradition in a Tote,” which includes a handy pouch for smaller items.

She also offers links to items not sold on her website, such as rolling pins, potato peelers and a pastry blender. She only provides links to products she has used and recommends.

“I created lefse in an hour because I was afraid the tradition of this nostalgic food would die,” Marquard said. “It would be sad if people didn’t make lefse anymore. There are a lot of emotions connected to lefse.”

Having grown up in a Norwegian/Scandinavian home, she said lefse is one of her family’s traditions.

“I love my lefse warm with butter and brown sugar,” she said.

She is married to Steve Marquard, who grew up in Iola. They lived in the area for several years before moving to Foley, Minnesota. They frequently visit friends and relatives in the area.

For more information, visit LefseLand.com.

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