Ingredients
The dough and the preparation are similar to the classic (carnival) donuts. They remind me, above all, of undressed donuts, which are popular in my original homeland of Franconia. But there is neither jam nor powdered sugar. Instead, the typical lángos topping consists of sour garlic cream, spring onions, and cheese. Not a "light" affair - but sooo good 😉. The foundation of the lángos recipe: a slightly salty yeast dough, for which I took my cue from the herbed pull apart bread. I bake the lángos with dry yeast, although fresh yeast works as well, of course. After rising, I make a bun formed into patties with a higher edge.
How to make the Hungarian Lángos
First of all, put the dry yeast and sugar in a cup with the lukewarm (not hot) milk and stir. Put all the remaining ingredients for the dough in a large bowl and knead together with the yeast milk for about 5 minutes. If the dough is too firm, use a little more water. Let the dough rise, covered, in a warm place for about 1 hour.
Then, divide into eight equal portions on a floured work surface or a baking mat with lightly greased hands. Form each into a roll (round or form a smooth ball). Carefully pull these into patties with your hands. Leave the edge a little higher, so don't make a flat disk, but keep a bead on the outside. Spread the dough pieces on 1-2 baking sheets covered with baking paper and let them rise, covered in a warm place, for another 15 minutes.
Towards the end of the rising time, prepare the topping. For this, press the garlic clove. Mix sour cream with garlic and season with salt and pepper. Remove the outer sheath leaf and the root of the spring onion. Wash and cut into fine rings. Briefly fry bacon cubes in a bit of oil or butter.
After that, heat oil or clarified butter in a small pan or pot to about 340°F/170°C for frying. The fat should be a few inches high so the langos can float. Once tiny bubbles form on a wooden cooking spoon held in the fat, the fat is hot enough. Alternatively, measure with a kitchen thermometer. Carefully place the dough portions one by one into the fat and fry for about 2 minutes until golden brown, then turn them with a wooden spoon, grill tongs, or similar, and fry the other side until golden brown. The dough must be cooked through, of course, but not too dark on the outside.
Remove the langos from the fat and let them drain on a grid with kitchen paper. Either keep warm in the oven at 100 or serve directly. Do the same with the remaining dough. To serve, spread some garlic sour cream in the center of the lángos. If desired, top with scallion rolls, grated cheese, and bacon, and best eaten immediately.
Top Tip
You don't need a deep fryer if you want to make your own lángos. A pan or pot will do just as well. The most important thing for the success of the langosh is that the fat has the right temperature. This is the only way to ensure that the deep-fried, topped Hungarian dough patties (like lard pastries in general) have the right consistency.
Recipe Card
Hungarian Lángos
Ingredients
For the yeast dough
- 7 grams (1 ⅘ tablespoons) dry yeast, 1 sachet
- ½ teaspoon (0.5 teaspoon) sugar
- 100 milliliters (0.4 cups) milk, lukewarm
- 150 milliliters (⅔ cup) water, lukewarm
- 450 grams (3.6 cups) all-purpose flour
- 2 egg yolks, medium
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 30 grams (2 tablespoons) butter, soft
For baking and topping
- 700 grams (4 cups) clarified butter, or oil
- 200 grams (0.9 cups) sour cream
- 1 clove garlic
- salt and pepper
- 100 grams (0.9 cups) grated cheese
- 70 grams (⅓ cup) bacon, optional
- 1 piece spring onion, optional
Instructions
- Put the dry yeast and sugar in a cup with the lukewarm (not hot) milk and stir. Put all the remaining ingredients for the dough in a large bowl and knead together with the yeast milk for about 5 minutes. If the dough is too firm, use a little more water. Let the dough rise, covered, in a warm place for about 1 hour.
- Then divide into 8 equal portions on a floured work surface or a baking mat with lightly greased hands. Form each into a roll (round or form a smooth ball). Carefully pull these into patties with your hands. Leave the edge a little higher, so don't make a flat disk, but keep a bead on the outside.
- Spread the dough pieces on 1-2 baking sheets covered with baking paper and let them rise, covered in a warm place, for another 15 minutes. Towards the end of the rising time, prepare the topping.
- For this, press the garlic clove. Mix sour cream with garlic and season with salt and pepper. Remove the outer sheath leaf and the root of the spring onion. Wash and cut into fine rings. Briefly fry bacon cubes in a bit of oil or butter.
- Heat oil or clarified butter in a small pan or pot to about 340°F/170°C for frying. The fat should be a few inches high so the langos can float. Once tiny bubbles form on a wooden cooking spoon held in the fat, the fat is hot enough. Alternatively, measure with a kitchen thermometer.
- Carefully place the dough portions one by one into the fat and fry for about 2 minutes until golden brown, then turn them with a wooden spoon, grill tongs, or similar, and fry the other side until golden brown. The dough must be cooked through, of course, but not too dark on the outside.
- Remove the langos from the fat and let them drain on a grid with kitchen paper. Either keep warm in the oven at 100 or serve directly. Do the same with the remaining dough.
- To serve, spread some garlic sour cream in the center of the lángos. If desired, top with scallion rolls, grated cheese, and bacon, and best eaten immediately.
Notes
- To make this recipe successful, have some things in mind. Among other things, the fat must be at the right temperature. Otherwise, the dough will just soak up fat or become way too dark on the outside but remain raw on the inside.
- There's a trick to get the raw dough pieces into the fat without losing their shape: for the second rising time (about 15 minutes), place each dough piece on a small cut piece of baking paper. Then carefully put the lángos in the hot fat with the paper underneath, then pull the paper out with grill tongs or the like.
- The quantities for the toppings, e.g. the cheese, are only rough and can be changed as you like. Vegetarian lángos taste just as good as with bacon cubes.
Ingredient substitutions
Variations
You'll need a little time to make the original lángos recipe. But it should remain something special - after all, you don't go to the Christmas market or fair every day 😉 . Among my snack recipes, you will find many other savory treats from around the world, such as borek or naan. And if you're more in the mood for bread, try the pan bread without yeast or the pesto flower in addition to the Hungarian lángos!
About Kathrin & Jan
It's like a little miracle to me every time. Seemingly simple ingredients are made into something that can brighten up your life. Butter, sugar, eggs, and flour melt into an airy biscuit, a fine tart, a juicy cake, or a crispy biscuit. Baking simply makes you happy. Welcome and enjoy our blog!
Kathrin & Jan
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