Langos is a popular street food in Hungary. It’s so popular that we can’t get our hands off these, worldwide. Langos is fried flatbread that was born into this world centuries back. It was originally baked in its first form but then people discovered that deep-frying bread in a lot of fat makes it even tastier. Pronounced as “lang-gosh”, these babies have traveled Europe down to Turkey and have won the hearts of locals and travelers from all over the world.
What toppings can I use for Langos?
Langos is basically a blank piece of bread. It’s incredibly tasty on its own and it is actually mostly eaten on its own. However, because it is a blank piece of bread, there’s so much that would be done with it! The traditional langos widely eaten in the streets of Budapest and the rest of Hungary are eaten in the street, by hand.
Some street vendors serve it with a dollop of sour cream and grated cheese – this is our personal favorite. Why not add more fat to the already fat-drenched piece of bread, right? Some people add meat such as bacon and sausage. Some add more spices such as paprika and chili powder and vegetables such as onion, garlic and chives.
You might be thinking, this awfully sounds familiar. A blank piece of bread topped with cheese, meat and vegetables. If you’re thinking and we’re thinking, yes, it is sort of like their version of pizza!
How to make Langos
Making langos is like making pizza dough. The procedure is similar. However, some langos recipes require adding liquid fat such as yogurt or milk instead of water. Also, mashed potato is a popular addition to the langos dough before frying. It’s literally potato pizza dough.
Assemble your dough ingredients: mashed potato, yeast, milk (water or yogurt), salt, sugar, all-purpose flour, vegetable oil and garlic. In a mixing bowl, throw in the freshly mashed warm potato together with the flour, yeast, sugar, oil, salt and milk. Start mixing with a wooden spoon until it forms a dough.
Knead the dough until it turns elastic for 5 minutes. You’ll know it’s ready when the dough isn’t sticking to your hands. Just like pizza dough, transfer the dough to a greased bowl and cover it with cling film.
Let it rest at room temp until it doubles in size. This will roughly take an hour. Knead the dough a little and then divide the huge chunk into 10 pieces. Roll each piece into a circle and let rest for another 10 minutes.
Fill up a deep pot with oil up to 3-4”. Gently flatten each dough and then fry into the warm oil. Fry the dough one at a time, 3-4 minutes each or until each side is golden brown in color. Let rest on a cooling rack with kitchen paper underneath to absorb the oil.
Can I do langos without potato?
You can definitely make langos without potatoes. Potato is a really good addition to langos. It creates more flavor and texture for the langos making it richer and the experience better. However, you can opt not to add the potato in. Traditional langos are made only with yeast, water, sugar, flour and salt. The difference won’t be great and there’s less to prepare. This recipe calls for freshly mashed potatoes for the maximum langos experience!
Tips for making langos flatbread at home
Making langos flatbread at home is very easy. There are certain tips to follow to make the process easier for you and to enjoy the product when it’s cooked.
- Sift the flour before mixing it with the other ingredients.
Sifted flour will eliminate clumps of flour that you don’t need in your life. Clumps of flour can ruin the overall baking method when it is not kneaded properly. This is the first step into ensuring your langos is perfect!
- Rest the dough before frying!
Since we’re working with bread here, it’s important for the gluten to rest in between takes. Rested bread means a soft bread. The first time to rest the dough will take up to 60 minutes. The second time you’ll rest the dough would be just right before frying. For best results, rest the dough up to 30 minutes before frying, if you can.
- Use a relatively deep saucepot for frying.
Using a deep pot for frying will allow the heat to equally circulate to cook the dough evenly. If you use a shallow pan, the bread might just end up being pan-fried and that’s not the effect we want for the fried bread.
- Fry in medium heat.
Frying in medium heat will not burn the oil. It is important not to burn the oil because if you do, it will translate in the flavor of the bread. You want it slow, steady and controlled.
- Use a slotted spoon or spider while frying.
Using a slotted spoon or spider while frying will avoid oil splatters and burns. Put the dough on the spoon and gently lower the spoon into the oil.
- Serve with any topping you want.
I know there are traditional toppings for langos but seriously, if you’re craving for Nutella, you can even slather that on your langos!
Langos Recipe (Hungarian Fried Bread)
Ingredients
Langos
- 1 ounce yeast
- 1.3 cup water
- 1 big cooked potato mashed
- 3 cup flour
- 1 tsp salt
- 2 cup oil for frying
Garlic Oil
- 4 cloves garlic pressed or grated
- 0.5 cup olive oil
Topping
- 1 cup sour cream or crème fraiche
- 1-3 cloves garlic pressed or grated
- 1 red onion chopped
- 1 cup your favorite cheese grated
- 1 pinch Salt
- 1-2 packages bacon
Instructions
Langos
- Mix the yeast with lukewarm water, add the mashed potato, salt and flour. Knead the dough but not to much, it's supposed too have a soft consistency. Let the dough rest for 35-40 min.
- Put some flour on your working table. Knead in a little bit more flour and cut the dough in 10 pieces. Roll the dough into circles. Let them rest for 10 minutes on a baking sheet with flour.
- Pour 3-4 cm oil into a pan or pot, heat the oil to 360F (180C). Test fry a little bit of dough.
- Fry the langos one at the time for 3-4 minutes on each side until it has a golden brown color. Let them rest on a grid with paper underneath. (You can add the cheese now if you want it to melt on the langos)
Garlic oil
- Mix the grated/pressed garlic with olive oil. Brush the langos with the oil.
Topping
- Add garlic and salt the sour cream or crème fraiche, then add it on top of the langos.
- Cook some bacon and chop it up together with the red onion. Add it on top of the langos along with your favorite cheese!
- Enjoy!
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