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Butte group carries on Norwegian tradition of making lefse

LEFSE ROLLER
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BUTTE - This is lefse, some people like to call it the Norwegian tortilla, and Butte’s Norwegian community has been making this tasty treat ever since they first started pulling copper from the ground in the Mining City more than a century ago.

Watch: Butte's Daughters of Norway continue century-old lefse tradition

Butte group carries on Norwegian tradition of making lefse

“Everyone loves tradition, and not everyone can make this, so we like to make it with love, because it is a labor of love and we love it,” Kristi O’Leary said.

The lefse love is a tradition that the Daughters of Norway in Butte have been doing for decades, just in time for the holiday season, which they will package and sell at their November 8 bake sale.

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Bev Becker’s parents were from Norway and moved to Butte before she was born.

“Our family made it every year for Thanksgiving and Christmas, so I was always a part of it since I could probably walk,” Bev Becker said.

They use more than 350 pounds of potatoes to make the dough. Once it’s flat enough, it’s cooked on a round skillet.

Then, it’s left to cool under a towel. And they taste great.

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Bev uses a lefse roller that was made by her grandfather more than 100 years ago.

The connection of making lefse and family is strong for her.

“It’s fun to think about them, all the fun times we had doing this – my aunts and uncles would all get together and we’d have a big party,” Becker said.