Lángos

Ingredients

Dough

• 400 gstrong white flour
• 150 gfloury potato, boiled, riced and cooled
• 7 gdried yeast
• 1 tspcaster sugar
• 250 mllukewarm milk
• 1.5 tspfine salt
• 1 tbspsunflower oil

To fry and top

• 1 litresunflower oil, for deep-frying
• 4garlic cloves, crushed with 1 tsp salt and 4 tbsp warm water
• 250 mltejfol (sour cream)
• 200 gTrappista cheese, coarsely grated

Directions

1. Whisk the yeast and sugar into the lukewarm milk and leave 10 minutes until foaming.
2. Mix the flour, riced potato and salt, pour in the yeast milk and the oil, and knead 8 minutes to a soft, sticky dough that just clears the bowl.
3. Cover and prove in a warm place for 1 hour to 1 hour 30 minutes, until doubled and full of air. A slack, well-risen dough is what gives langos its holey, chewy interior.
4. Knock back gently and divide into 6 pieces. Oil your hands and, without a rolling pin, stretch each piece into a rough 20 cm disc, thinner in the middle than at the rim, as you would a small pizza.
5. Heat the oil in a wide pan to 175°C (350°F), tested with a scrap of dough that should rise and sizzle immediately.
6. Slide in one langos at a time, pressing the centre under the oil with a spider for the first few seconds so it puffs evenly. Fry 60–90 seconds a side until deep gold and blistered.
7. Drain on a rack for a few seconds only, then brush the hot surface generously with the salted garlic water so it soaks in.
8. Spread thickly with sour cream, bury under grated cheese and eat straight away with your hands, while the base is still crackling.

Technique

• The name comes from lang, flame: langos was originally baked at the mouth of the bread oven from a scrap of bread dough. Deep-frying is the twentieth-century market and lakeside version.
• Riced potato in the dough keeps the middle moist and slightly chewy rather than bready, and is standard at Lake Balaton stands.
• Garlic water goes on while the dough is still hot and porous. Rubbing a raw clove over the surface, as some do, is harsher and less even.

Substitutions

• No Trappista: young Gouda, Edam or a mild low-moisture mozzarella grate and melt similarly.
• Sour cream can be replaced by creme fraiche loosened with a spoon of milk, or thick Greek yoghurt salted lightly.

Variations

• Sajtos-tejfolos is the classic pairing above; fokhagymas langos is just the garlic water, salt and nothing else.
• Sweet versions exist at fairgrounds: dusted with icing sugar, or spread with jam.

History

Originally baked in the ashes at the mouth of the bread oven on baking day; now deep-fried and sold at markets and lidos.

Frequently asked questions

What is Lángos?

Lángos is a street food from Hungary: deep-fried dough slathered with garlic, sour cream, cheese. Originally baked in the ashes at the mouth of the bread oven on baking day; now deep-fried and sold at markets and lidos.

How long does Lángos take to make?

Lángos takes 20 min of preparation and 1 hr 30 min rising + 15 min frying of cooking. The recipe makes 6 langos. It is rated easy to make.

What can I substitute in Lángos?

Yes, within limits. No Trappista: young Gouda, Edam or a mild low-moisture mozzarella grate and melt similarly. Sour cream can be replaced by creme fraiche loosened with a spoon of milk, or thick Greek yoghurt salted lightly.

What is the most important thing to get right in Lángos?

Riced potato in the dough keeps the middle moist and slightly chewy rather than bready, and is standard at Lake Balaton stands.