Storing lefse, lompe and flatbrød: how to keep them soft

Lefse is a thin, soft Norwegian flatbread. Lompe is the small potato version of it, and flatbrød is the crisp, dry one. The soft ones are only a few millimetres thick, so they dry out fast. With the right stacking and a wrapping that breathes, they stay soft for several days. Here is the routine that works.

Why lefse dries out faster than a loaf

A lefse is a few millimetres thick and has a large surface area for its weight. The moisture has a short way out, and it leaves from both sides at once. A loaf has a crust that slows things down. A lefse has nothing to hide behind.

Potato lefse and lompe also carry a lot of starch from the potato. The starch holds on to the water while the bake is warm, but lets go as it cools. It is the same process that turns a loaf hard, only much faster, and it is explained in the guide on why bread goes hard.

Flatbrød is the opposite story. It is dried on purpose and is meant to snap. There, moisture is the enemy.

The damp tea towel, a trick that still works

If the rounds are being eaten the same day, a clean tea towel is the best tool you have. Wet it in cold water and wring it out well, so it is clammy and not wet. Lay the rounds in a stack and fold the towel around them.

The towel gives off just enough vapour to stop the edges drying in. But this is a same-day solution: leave the rounds in a damp towel overnight and the surface turns sticky, and mould gets an easier foothold.

How to stack lefse and lompe

1. 1
   Let them cool completely

   Warm rounds steam. Stack them while they are still lukewarm and the moisture gathers between the layers.

2. 2
   Lay them flat, not folded

   A fold turns into a crack as soon as the edge has dried.

3. 3
   Put something between each round

   Baking paper or a beeswax wrap stops the rounds sticking together, so you can take out one at a time.

4. 4
   Keep the stack even

   Largest round at the bottom, edges above each other. A lopsided stack dries at the corners first.

5. 5
   Wrap it in something that breathes

   A tea towel, a cotton bag or a beeswax bread bag. Sealed plastic gives you a damp underside and dry edges.

The stack is perfectly happy out on the worktop. The fridge is worse: at fridge temperature the starch crystallises fastest, and the round goes stiff quicker than it would on the worktop. The same is true of bread, see the article on bread in the fridge.

Room temperature or freezer

The freezer is the honest solution. Frozen right after cooling, the rounds come out again much as they went in. The layer between them decides it: without it the stack freezes into one lump, and then everything has to be thawed. The principles are the same as when you freeze bread properly.

Thawing without them turning rubbery

Rubberiness nearly always comes from thawing too fast. A microwave on full power boils the water in the starch. The round is warm and soft straight away, and rubbery as soon as it cools down again.

Take out the whole stack instead and let it thaw together, still in its wrapping, at room temperature. A couple of hours is enough. The moisture then spreads evenly instead of settling as condensation on the outside.

If you are short of time, put a single round in a dry frying pan on medium heat for a few seconds per side. If the edges are dry, brush on a thin layer of water first. There are more tricks in the guide on reviving dry bread.

Where a breathable bag does the work

A beeswax bread bag is sewn in cotton and linen and coated with beeswax, jojoba oil and tree resin. The fabric lets vapour out but holds on to the moisture that should stay in the food. That is exactly the balance lefse needs: not sealed like plastic, not open like a bread basket. The bag closes with a clip, so the stack is held together without being pressed flat.

Beeswax wraps are the other half. The sheets are cotton with beeswax and tree resin, and they work both as a layer between the rounds and as a wrapping around half a rolled lefse in the fridge. How to use them is covered in the guide to using beeswax wraps.

The wax copes with cold, but not with heat. It softens as early as 35 to 40 °C and melts at around 62 to 65 °C, so wait until the rounds are completely cold before you wrap them. In the freezer it goes the other way: the wax layer stiffens, and an ice-cold sheet should not be folded until it is back at room temperature. There is more about that in the guide on beeswax wraps in the freezer.

Frequently asked questions