Lángos

Even though you wouldn’t typically call it like that, lángos (Hungarian pronunciation: [ˈlaːŋɡoʃ] ) is one of the most beloved Hungarian fast foods. Today you can find it at markets and at beach or lakeshore
snack bars, where everybody can enjoy this delicious street food. Whether you like it plain, with
cheese or with sour cream and cheese, you can make your own lángos quite easily at home!

Lángos is basically a yeast dough prepared with milk (sometimes with potatoes) that is deep fried in
oil and served with your preferred topping. Preparing it is not a complicated process, although it does
require some skills, it being a yeast dough after all. Plus, if you want a soft lángos, you cannot avoid
getting your hands at least a little bit sticky and oily, but the experience of eating an authentic, fresh,homemade lángos is definitely worth the hassle!

In this recipe, I will explain how to prepare a “plain” lángos. If you are looking for a lángos recipe with potatoes, please follow this link.

Lángos Recipe

1. 1. The first step in making an authentic lángos is proofing the yeast . Mix half a teaspoon of sugar
      and one tablespoon of all purpose with 100 ml / 2/5 cup lukewarm milk and add yeast. (If
      you’re using instant yeast or active dry yeast, you don’t need to proof it. Simply add it to your
      flour.)
   2. Meanwhile, sift the remainder flour and salt into a big bowl.
   3. Once the yeast is done proofing, pour it over the flour, add the oil and the remainder milk and
      water. The milk and water must be lukewarm in order to have a nice lángos dough.
   4. Beat vigorously with a wooden spoon or use the dough hook of your mixer. For the dough to
      be smooth, you must knead it for 5-10 minutes. Lángos dough should be soft and sticky
      enough that you can’t form little balls of dough from it.

1. 1. Cover it and let it proof for one hour.

1. 1. Take a larger tray and oil it generously. Oil your hands as well and divide the dough into 4-6
      equal portions. Form balls and place them on the tray. At this point the dough is still not done
      proofing, so you don’t have to worry about the shape too much.
      You can make 4 normal-sized lángos or 6 smaller lángos from half a kilogram of flour.

1. 1. Let it proof on the tray for another 10-15 minutes.
   2. In the meantime, heat some oil in a frying pan. The wider the frying pan and the more oil you
      have, the better it is for the lángos. That is why I suggest using roughly 1 liter or 1 quart of oil
      for this recipe.
   3. Once your oil is hot, shape the lángos on the greased tray. Use your hands to pull on the sides
      and flatten them into circles, 15-20 centimeters or 6-8 inches in diameter. The middle can be
      quite thin and the sides much thicker.
   4. Place it into the frying pan with a quick movement. Be careful though not to burn yourself! At
      this point you have about 5 seconds to make some final adjustments to its shape with two
      wooden spoons before the lángos takes its final form in the hot oil.

1. 1. Fry it over medium heat for about 1 to 2 minutes on both sides. You know that the lángos is
      ready when it has a golden color around the edges, but still a few white spots in the middle.

1. 1. Serve your lángos it fresh. Season it with salt and some crushed garlic mixed in water (yes,
      you’ve read it right. That’s the way everybody eats their lángos in Hungary). Finish it off with
      the topping of your choice. Cheese and sour cream are the most popular ones in Hungary.

What to use in lángos, milk or water?

Considering the ingredients in lángos, one of the first questions that come up is whether you should
use potatoes in the dough or not. In my opinion, the true lángos is made with potatoes and you can
find that recipe by clicking on the following link: potato lángos recipe.

However, when it comes to the ingredients in a potato-less lángos, the softness and crispiness of the
end result are determined by the milk to water ratio. I personally prefer a softer lángos, and I think
that the only reason why the ones that are sold at markets are crispy is because they use too little
milk in the dough (they are stingy, let’s put it straight). The recipe I gave you is for a soft lángos, one that tears apart easily.

That said, if you like the inside crispier, just add more water to the dough. The important thing is to keep the ratio of 450 ml of liquid – milk and water combined – to half a kilogram of flour (90%). That’s about 1.875 cups liquid to 4 cups of flour.

Lángos

Balazs

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Prep Time 15 minutes mins

Cook Time 10 minutes mins

Total Time 25 minutes mins

Course Appetizer, Main Course

Cuisine Hungarian

Servings 4 servings

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x

• 4 cups (500 g) flour
• 1 ½ tsp active dry yeast or 25 g fresh yeast
• 1 ½ cup (350 ml) lukewarm milk
• 2/5 cup (100 ml) lukewarm water
• 1 tsp salt
• ½ tsp sugar
• 2 tbsp oil + more to shape the dough

Instructions

 

• The first step in making an authentic lángos is proofing the yeast. Mix half a teaspoon of sugar and one tablespoon of all purpose with 100 ml / 2/5 cup lukewarm milk and add yeast. (If you’re using instant yeast or active dry yeast, you don’t need to proof it. Simply add it to your flour.)
• Meanwhile, sift the remainder flour and salt into a big bowl.
• Once the yeast is done proofing, pour it over the flour, add the oil and the remainder milk and water. The milk and water must be lukewarm in order to have a nice lángos dough.
• Beat vigorously with a wooden spoon or use the dough hook of your mixer. For the dough to be smooth, you must knead it for 5-10 minutes. Lángos dough should be soft and sticky enough that you can’t form little balls of dough from it.
• Cover it and let it proof for one hour.
• Take a larger tray and oil it generously. Oil your hands as well and divide the dough into 4-6 equal portions. Form balls and place them on the tray. At this point the dough is still not done proofing, so you don’t have to worry about the shape too much. You can make 4 normal-sized lángos or 6 smaller lángos from half a kilogram of flour.
• Let it proof on the tray for another 10-15 minutes.
• In the meantime, heat some oil in a frying pan. The wider the frying pan and the more oil you have, the better it is for the lángos. That is why I suggest using roughly 1 liter or 1 quart of oil for this recipe.
• Once your oil is hot, shape the lángos on the greased tray. Use your hands to pull on the sides and flatten them into circles, 15-20 centimeters or 6-8 inches in diameter. The middle can be quite thin and the sides much thicker.
• Place it into the frying pan with a quick movement. Be careful though not to burn yourself! At this point you have about 5 seconds to make some final adjustments to its shape with two wooden spoons before the lángos takes its final form in the hot oil.
• Fry it over medium heat for about 1 to 2 minutes on both sides. You know that the lángos is ready when it has a golden color around the edges, but still a few white spots in the middle.
• Serve your lángos it fresh. Season it with salt and some crushed garlic mixed in water (yes, you’ve read it right. That’s the way everybody eats their lángos in Hungary). Finish it off with the topping of your choice. Cheese and sour cream are the most popular ones in Hungary.