Semolina
Semolina is a granular wheat milling product; in many markets it means durum, while some standards also use the name for other wheat. In sourdough English muffins, it is an optional surface coating, not the main flour.
Modern adaptation
Kling lefser
Soft Norwegian wheat and semolina flatbreads, cooked thin on a griddle and finished with butter and sugar.
Sweet lefse
Kling is a sweet lefse associated with Buskerud. This version cooks semolina in milk before mixing the dough, then griddles thin rounds and finishes them with butter and sugar.
Sources for this section
A Hallingdal name and bakery practice
Kling belongs to a broad Norwegian family of soft flatbreads, but the name on this page has a regional association: Visit Norway places sweet kling in Buskerud and Hallingdal. That association does not make every Norwegian lefse a kling, nor does it establish that potato-based versions use this milk-and-semolina dough.
Hallingdal Reiseliv’s listing for Leveld Lefsebakeri in Ål describes lefsekling as a local pastry with sugar and butter. It lists it alongside rummebrød and gommokaku, keeping the products distinct. The listing documents a contemporary regional bakery practice, rather than a dated first recipe for the bread.
Sources for this section
Alongside festive food
A 2023 Norsk Mat consultation document describes småmat as festive food in Hallingdal, still served at weddings and funerals, and commonly accompanied by lefsekling. The pairing places sweet bread alongside a savoury meal, rather than restricting it to a separate dessert.
The document concerns a proposed protected designation for småmat. It is evidence for the stated food custom; the draft’s regulatory wording is not presented here as current law or as protected status for kling. Dates mentioned for the name småmat also do not establish the age of lefsekling.
Sources for this section
One large-batch method
This Visit Norway recipe, credited to Matprat, divides its milk-and-semolina dough into twenty portions. The rounds are rolled thin, cooked, cooled in a cloth-separated stack, then moistened and spread. Those stages belong to this source-specific version, not a single national definition of lefse.
The choice between a large griddle and a dry pan affects working space and batch handling. The source supplies equipment-relative heat and visual cooking cues, so no exact temperature or duration has been added. Butter and sugar remain the recorded finish; other toppings do not change the formula here.
Sources for this section
History
Kling is documented as a sweet lefse in Buskerud; the first attestation is not established.
Ingredients
Yield 20 lefser · Scaling: source batch only
Milk
2 L
Butter
300 g
For dough, plus unmeasured soft butter to spreadSemolina
150 g
The source also gives 200 mlWheat flour
2 kg
Approximate; more if needed, plus flour for rollingSugar
Amount not stated
For sprinkling; amount not specifiedWater
Amount not stated
Cold, for lightly moistening the cooked breadsMethod
Risks and precautions · Standard risk
Contains wheat and milk.
Do not taste raw flour dough; wash hands and surfaces after handling it.
The cooked semolina mixture and griddle are hot; handle them carefully.
- Bring milk and butter to a boil. Add semolina, reduce the heat and simmer for 5–6 minutes until the grains are cooked. Cool for a few minutes and transfer to a large bowl.
- Stir in flour in batches until the dough holds together and is no longer sticky. Use a scraper when the mixture is still hot; use as little flour as needed to make a workable dough.
- Divide into 20 portions and cover with a cloth. On a floured surface, roll each portion as thinly as possible without tearing.
- Heat a griddle to its second-highest setting, or use a dry frying pan. Cook each round until small bubbles and brown spots appear underneath, then turn and cook the other side similarly.
- Stack the cooked breads with a cloth between each, press the stack gently and let cool completely.
- Lightly spray with cold water, spread thinly with soft butter and sprinkle with sugar. Fold twice and cut into pieces.
Conditions
Yield20 lefser
Places
Buskerud
Documented preparation · Region evidenceVisit Norway associates this sweet lefse with Buskerud and Hallingdal; it does not establish a birthplace.
Related
Made from
More from Norway
Flatbrød (Onsøy recipe attributed to Lisa Kjenne)
Thin, unleavened Norwegian flatbread made from sifted wheat and oat flours, fine whole rye, salt and water, then rolled with barley flour and cooked on a takke.
Potato lefse and lomper
Soft Norwegian potato flatbreads with wheat and sifted rye flour, rolled into rounds and cooked on a dry griddle.
Baccalà mantecato
A Venetian cicchetto of cooked unsalted stockfish beaten with oil until it turns into a pale, aerated cream, spooned onto grilled polenta in the city's wine bars.
Bidus (Sámi reindeer stew)
Ann-Kristine Bongo's four-serving bidus from Sami Siida in Alta is a contemporary, festive reindeer stew simmered with onion, carrots and potatoes.
Långfil and tettemelk
Långfil and tettemelk are traditional Swedish and Norwegian cultured milks with a mild sour taste and a stretchy texture produced by ropy lactic acid bacteria.
Norwegian pinnekjøtt
Norwegian Christmas lamb ribs, salted, matured and dried, then soaked and steamed over birch twigs. Smoked and unsmoked versions are both made.
Pinnekjøtt potato balls
Pinnekjøttboller are potato-and-pinnekjøtt balls coated in breadcrumbs, deep-fried and served with lemon-parsley sour-cream dip.
Poached stockfish with mustard butter
Rehydrated air-dried Norwegian cod simmered until it flakes, served with boiled potatoes and carrots under a wholegrain-mustard butter whisked from the fish's own poaching liquid.
Related in the family
Akki rotti (Karnataka rice-flour flatbread)
This Karnataka-style akki rotti mixes fine rice flour with vegetables, coconut, herbs and spices, then hand-pats and griddle-cooks the dough.
Arepa de choclo
A Colombian Andean griddle cake made from fresh sweet-corn batter, cooked in butter and served with white cheese.
Arepa made with precooked corn flour
This household version combines precooked corn flour, warm water and salt, then cooks thick rounds on a lightly oiled skillet or griddle. It is one source-specific arepa method, not a universal Colombian or Venezuelan formula.
Ari pathiri
Thin Malabar rice-flour rounds made from roasted rice flour cooked into salted boiling water, kneaded after cooling, and rolled to about 1 mm. They cook on a hot griddle without taking on colour.
Bajra roti
A pearl-millet flatbread shaped between sheets and cooked on a hot tawa. This home batch makes eight.
Bammy finished with coconut milk
A serving method for approved, prepared bammy rounds: soak them in coconut milk and refry until golden. It does not process raw cassava.
Bean and cheese pupusas
Salvadoran-style masa harina cakes filled with refried beans and cheese, sealed and cooked on an oiled skillet.
Bolani e kachaloo (potato and scallion)
A thin, unleavened Afghan flatbread filled with mashed potato, scallion and cilantro, folded and pan-browned. This version uses a dough made from scratch.
Community
No community contributions have been published for this entry yet.
Share what you made
Sign in to contribute. Published comments and photos are free to read.
Sources
Visit NorwayInspiration · Method · Geography
Kling lefserTwenty-piece milk and semolina method, butter-sugar finish and Buskerud association.
Cited in: Sweet lefse; A Hallingdal name and bakery practice; One large-batch method
Hallingdal Reiseliv via Visit NorwayContext
Leveld LefsebakeriLefsekling as a local sugar-and-butter pastry in Ål, alongside distinct regional baked foods.
Cited in: A Hallingdal name and bakery practice
Stiftelsen Norsk MatContext
Høringsbrev Småmat, November 2023Draft consultation appendix describes festive småmat with lefsekling; not current regulatory status for kling.
Cited in: Alongside festive food