ABOVE: Heidi Koeritz demonstrates the first steps of making lefse, incorporating flour into a chilled potato mixture, to class attendants on Monday evening at the St. James Lutheran Church (SJL) Fellowship Hall’s kitchen. The class aimed to raise money towards the SJL School, a part of its Parable of the Talents fundraising event.
NORTHROP — Mother-daughter baking duo, Heidi Koeritz and Hayley Luther, shared a longstanding holiday tradition, lefse making, with the community to raise funds for St. James Lutheran (SJL) School in Northrop.
“This has just been an at-home thing. We are not experts, but we make it every year,” Luther said. “I’m only an eighth Norwegian, and also German. But my mom’s dad was Norwegian. My great uncle, they used to make it for holidays. My grandpa used to just buy it, so they grew up with it. My mom didn’t attempt it until right before I was born. But then she got all the right equipment because you need to have the right stuff to make it. It’s not like making a batch of cookies, and we’ve been making it every year for probably 25 years.”
Twenty individuals, which is what the class was capped at, were present alongside Koeritz and Luther on Monday evening at the SJL Church Fellowship Hall in Northrop to learn about lefse and hot to make it.
Lefse is a Norwegian flatbread consisting of potatoes, flour, butter, milk, sugar and salt. The ingredients are mixed to form a dough consistency, which is then divided into portions, rolled into a thin circle, cooked briefly on a griddle and chilled. Lefse is commonly enjoyed with butter and sugar, according to Luther.
“It’s very Minnesotan because it’s Norwegian,” Luther said with a laugh. “Most of it is a potato flatbread. So, the one we make is made with real potatoes. There are hundreds of different recipes. I’ve got relatives who make it with instant potatoes. Some recipes have no potatoes.
It’s essentially a Norwegian tortilla.”
This year, SJL School is hosting a Parable of the Talents fundraiser, in which families receive money and use it toward hosting a unique fundraiser for the school, simultaneously reflecting their own talents. After pondering ideas together, Koeritz and Luther decided to incorporate their 25-year-long lefse making tradition into a class as their contribution to the fundraiser. The proceeds from the lefse class fee will assist and bridge any gaps with private school tuition at SJL School, Luther explained.
“A lot of families have taken the reins on the fundraiser, and some kids have been getting involved, which is awesome. This [event] just happens to be our [fundraiser]. Every year when we say we’re making it, we always run into people who are like, ‘Oh, I’ve always wanted to.’ ‘I know someone who does, but I’ve never been able to,’” she explained.
Overall, Koeritz and Luther are happy to share the talent and knowledge of lefse making with the community, especially as it supports the local school.
“[The goal] is to have fun and share something that we do every year with people who have never done it. I feel like it’s a good mix. I know there are a few Norwegians who walked in the door. I feel like there are a few that are just coming to check it out, because when in Minnesota, why not? It’s fun,” Luther said.
When asked if the two will continue having classes for making lefse, now that their first official class has wrapped up, Luther explained that possibilities are in the air, and that there would be an interest in hosting more classes if there is notable demand.