Crispy Hungarian fried bread – Langos recipe - topped with garlic sour cream and grated cheese or simply sprinkled with sugar.
I have been eating Hungarian langos or Romanian "scovergi" lots of times during my childhood, but until I moved to Germany, I didn't know that langos are actually a Hungarian recipe and not a Romanian one.
That has been the case with many of the dishes that my grandmother cooked all her life, things like the Hungarian Goulash or Pörkölt, which my grandma would call tocanita de porc, chicken paprikash with dumplings, which we ate at least once a month or Plum Dumplings – Galuste cu prune.
How to make langos?
Yeast dough
- Dissolve the fresh yeast in the lukewarm water. If you are using dry instant yeast mix it with the flour.
- Mix the flour, salt, and sugar in a large bowl. Add the yeast water to the flour, add the oil, and mix well with a wooden spoon. When the dough is well mixed, start kneading it until the dough is smooth and no longer sticks to the bowl.
- You can make the dough in a stand mixer as well.
- Place the flour, salt, and sugar in the mixer, add the yeast water, and knead for about 2-3 minutes until the dough is smooth and doesn't stick to the walls of the machine anymore.
- Transfer the dough into a bowl, cover with a clean towel and let rise in a warm place until doubled in size, about 40 minutes in a warm kitchen. Just check and leave it a bit longer if necessary.
Shape the langos
- Place the risen dough on the very lightly oiled working surface. Knead shortly and divide the dough into 8 equal parts. Form 8 balls.
- Take one ball, and with lightly oiled hands, start pressing and stretching it on the working surface to form a circle of about 15 cm/ 6 inches. You will not need a roll pin; press the dough with your hands and fingers.
Fry them
- Heat enough oil in a wok or deep frying pan so that the langos can swim. I fried only one langos at a time, they are so large you will not be able to fit two in a regular sized pan or wok.
- Make sure the oil is hot enough before you start frying your first langos. To check that, carefully insert a tooth pick in the oil, if you see little bubbles forming around it, you will know that the oil is hot enough.
- Carefully place one langos in the oil. Fry it for about 2-3 minutes on each side or until deeply golden.
- Take it out with a slotted spoon and place it on paper towels to absorb the fat. I also pat it dry on the other side with an extra paper towel.
Make the topping
- Grate the garlic and place it into a small bowl.
- Add mustard and oil, and stir well until the mixture emulsifies slightly.
- Add sour cream or smetana and stir well.
- Add about half of the grated cheese and stir again.
- Adjust the taste with salt.
How to serve?
Serve the langos immediately topped with the sour cream, the remaining grated cheese, a sprinkle of paprika or chili, and some chopped parsley. You could also replace the smetana or sour cream with crème fraiche or take yogurt, either Greek or plain, for a lighter version.
If you prefer to eat them sweet, you can sprinkle them with sugar or spread some jam or nutella on top of the langos.
At the fair, you have lots of other alternatives for the topping. These are some I remember:
- sour cream + cheese + ham
- sour cream + Alp cheese + green onions
- sour cream + bacon + cheese
- sour cream + feta + herbs
- nutella
- cinnamon sugar
- jam
And if you are interested in similar flatbreads (baked, not fried), have a look at these recipes:
Recipe
Hungarian Fried Bread – Langos Recipe
Hungarian fried bread – Langos recipe - topped with garlic sour cream and grated cheese or simply sprinkled with sugar.
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Servings: 8 pieces
Calories: 388kcal
Ingredients
- Langos dough:
- 25 g 0.9 oz fresh yeast or 1 sachet dry instant yeast (0.25 oz/ 7 g)
- 300 ml lukewarm water 10.1 fl.oz/ 1 ¼ cups
- 500 g all-purpose flour 17.6 oz/ 4 cups + 1 tablespoon
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 tablespoons oil
- vegetable oil for frying
- Topping:
- 3-4 garlic cloves to taste
- 1 teaspoon mustard
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
- 75 g grated cheese 2.6 oz/ ¾ cup, Gouda, more if you wish
- 250 g sour cream or smetana 8.8 oz/ about 1 cup
- sweet paprika powder or chili flakes
- fine sea salt
- chopped parsley
- Sweet topping:
- sugar jam or Nutella
Instructions
Langos dough:
- Dissolve the fresh yeast in the lukewarm water. If you are using dry instant yeast, mix it with the flour.
- Mix and knead: Mix the flour, salt, and sugar in a large bowl. Add the yeast water to the flour, add the oil and mix well with a wooden spoon. When the dough is well mixed, start kneading it until it is smooth and no longer sticks to the bowl.You can knead the dough in a stand mixer. Place the flour, salt, and sugar in the stand mixer, add the yeast water and knead for about 2-3 minutes until the dough is smooth and doesn't stick to the bowl's walls anymore.
- Let rise: Transfer the dough into a bowl, cover with a clean towel and let rise in a warm place until doubled in size, about 40 minutes or until doubled in size.
- Divide dough: Place the risen dough on the very lightly oiled working surface. Knead shortly and divide the dough into 8 equal parts. Form 8 balls.
- Form langos: Take one ball and start pressing and stretching it on the working surface to form a circle of about 15 cm/ 6 inches with lightly oiled hands. You will not need a rolling pin; press the dough with your hands and fingers.
- Heat oil: Heat enough oil in a wok or deep frying pan so that the langos can swim. Make sure the oil is hot enough before you start frying your first langos. To check that carefully, insert a toothpick in the oil; if you see tiny bubbles forming around it, then you will know that the oil is hot enough.
- Fry langos: Fry one langos at a time, as they are pretty large and should have enough place in the pan.Carefully place one langos to the oil. Fry it for about 2-3 minutes on each side or until deeply golden.
- Take it out with a slotted spoon and place it on paper towels to absorb the fat. Pat dry on the other side with an extra paper towel.
Topping:
- Grate the garlic cloves, place them into a small bowl. Add mustard and oil and stir well until the mixture emulsifies slightly. Add the sour cream or smetana and mix well. Add about half of the grated cheese and stir again. Salt to taste.
Serve:
- Serve the langos immediately topped with the sour cream, the remaining grated cheese, a sprinkle of paprika or chili, and some chopped parsley.If you prefer to eat them sweet, you can sprinkle them with sugar or spread some jam or Nutella on top of the langos.
Notes
Always use a digital kitchen scale; it ensures the best results (Amazon affiliate link).
Nutrition
Serving: 1langos | Calories: 388kcal | Carbohydrates: 52g | Protein: 11g | Fat: 15g | Saturated Fat: 5g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 8g | Cholesterol: 28mg | Sodium: 412mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 2g
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Allison says
Yum! Had these tonight, with the sour cream/garlic and cheese topping as a base, then sprinkled with chopped tomatoes, ham, a bit more cheese, and basil pesto. Very popular with the whole family. Will definitely make these again.
Adina says
Pesto sounds delicious, I will try it next time I make langos.
Sandra says
All of these recipes similar to what I had was a child. When we had the Hungarian Langos (we called them flippers) my mother made white bean soup and salt pork. Takes me back...I will have to make some soon!!
Adina says
Hi Sandra. I hope you make them and like them.
Anne says
I love langos sprinkled with powdered icing sugar. I usually get them at our Heritage Festival in the summer from the Hungarian tent. Now I want to try it myself. I note that some recipes add mashed potatoes. Is this common?
Adina says
Hi Anne. I've never used mashed potatoes.
hanna says
yum! we used to only have them from stalls in Vienna as an occasional treat, smothered in garlicky sauce. mmmm
Adina says
They are delicious, especially with garlic.
Dean says
These are a family favourite. We spread them with pesto and then top with chopped tomatoes and Feta cheese. Yummy.
Adina says
Pesto sounds great, have to try that next time.
Ruth says
Hi,
I remember a dish my grampa used to make.we thought it was Hungarian goulash but then he said it was paprikosh. It had drop dumplings added to a chicken stew, sort of, I remembver the onions and tomatoes but also the green peppers. I haven't found anything with peppers added. Of couse it had paprika and mom used the whole chicken whern she did it as we always had to watch out for bones.
Adina says
Hi Ruth,
Paprikash with flour dumplings is really delicious. I have a recipe on the blog, however I have never made it with green peppers. Maybe I should try it, I like the slightly bitter note they give a dish when used. My grandmother also mostly used the whole chicken when she made paprikash.
Marvellina|What To Cook Today says
This is so similar to a fried dough that I used to have when I was a kid. Same presentation too. It's my grandma's favorite too. Some version has sticky rice stuffed in the middle of the fried bread!! Wish I could eat some of your langos.
mjskitchen says
Here in New Mexico, we have an Indian fry bread created by local Navajo. I love drizzling it with honey. These fry bread look similar but I can tell have a different texture. I love the topping you use and the size of the breads.
Anca says
I wish there was a way to make these without deep-frying them. We both liked them. My husband would have scovergi with baked beans and I got a taste for the combination myself.
Adina says
Baked beans sound great, I imagine I would like that a lot!
Sissi says
I have never had langos, but they remind me also of some fried pancake-like sweet treats I used to eat as a child... The sour cream seasonings are the one I'd certainly love.
anna says
I love lángos! Lángos with sour cream, garlic and cheese is the best! Thanks for sharing this great recipe!
Thao @ In Good Flavor says
I don't like the lingering smell and the cleanup associated with frying either, but some things are just worth it like these langos. They look perfect and delicious! I have a weakness for all things fried dough!
Angie@Angie's Recipes says
Now this is really interesting! The fried stuff is always tasty and the topping makes it even more tempting.