Lángos
Lángos is Hungary's national street snack — a deep-fried leavened flatbread, puffy and golden, smeared with sour cream and sprinkled with shredded cheese. The word comes from Magyar láng (flame), referring to the tradition of baking leftover dough near the bread oven fire. Today it is deep-fried in oil. Lángos is sold at all markets, thermal lakes, and Hungarian festivals. Variants include rubbed garlic, bacon, sausage, or even Nutella. At Balaton — Hungary's holiday lake — lángos is the quintessential beach food, the smell of hot oil mixing with the breeze off the water. Hungarians consider it the quintessential end-of-market reward.
Yeasted dough
Light and airy inside
Quick-fried
In hot oil, just minutes
Crispy outside
Golden and crisp
Hungarian street food
A market and fair classic
Ingredients 4 servings
- 500 g all-purpose or T550 bread flour
- 7 g instant dry yeast (or 21 g fresh yeast)
- 1 tsp granulated sugar (to feed yeast)
- 1.5 tsp fine salt for the dough
- 300 ml warm whole milk (or water, traditional) at 38 °C
- 100 g boiled mashed potato (the secret to the fluffy texture)
- 2 tbsp neutral oil for the dough
- 1 L sunflower or neutral oil for deep-frying
- For garlic rub: 4 garlic cloves crushed with 1 tsp salt + 1 tbsp water into a paste
- 200 g Hungarian sour cream (tejföl)
- 200 g sharp grated cheese (cheddar/gouda/edam-style)
- 1 small bunch fresh chives, finely chopped (optional)
- Salt for finishing
- Equipment: wide heavy pot for frying + slotted spoon + wire rack
How to make it
- 1PROOF THE YEAST: warm 100 ml of the milk to 38 °C, add 7 g yeast and 1 tsp sugar, stir and let stand 10 minutes until foamy; no foam = dead yeast, start over.
- 2MAKE THE DOUGH: in a large bowl combine 500 g flour with 1.5 tsp salt; make a well, add the foamed yeast-milk, the remaining 200 ml warm milk, 100 g smooth mashed potato (no lumps), and 2 tbsp oil; knead by hand or stand mixer 10 minutes until smooth, soft and slightly sticky — softer than bread dough.
- 3FIRST PROOF: cover with a clean towel and rise in a warm place 1.5–2 hours until doubled.
- 4SHAPE: lightly oil hands and work surface; divide into 4 equal portions (~225 g each); roll into balls, rest 10 minutes covered; with oiled hands stretch each ball into a 25 cm disc about 1 cm thick, slightly thinner at the edges.
- 5SECOND PROOF: place shaped discs on an oiled tray, cover loosely and let rise 20 minutes until puffy.
- 6HEAT THE OIL: pour 1 L oil into a wide heavy pot to a 5 cm depth; heat to 175 °C (medium-high) — a small piece of dough should sizzle and rise within 5 seconds.
- 7FRY THE LÁNGOS: carefully slide one lángos into the hot oil; after 30 seconds, gently push under with a slotted spoon — it puffs dramatically; fry 60–90 seconds per side until deeply golden brown; drain on a wire rack (NOT paper towels which steam the base soft).
- 8TOPPING & SERVE: brush the still-hot top with garlic paste (4 garlic crushed with 1 tsp salt + 1 tbsp water); smear with 50 g sour cream, scatter 50 g grated cheese, sprinkle chopped chives and a pinch of salt; serve in hand or on a plate, eaten within 5 minutes while bread is crisp outside and pillowy inside.
Nutritional info
per serving (~350 g)
Estimated nutritional values.
Pairs perfectly with
