Hungarian Fried Lángos

Written by
Barbara Rolek
Barbara Rolek is a former chef who became a cooking school instructor and award-winning food writer.
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Barbara Rolek
Updated 10/25/20
Lángos (Hungarian Fried Bread) on a plate
The Spruce
  • Total: 20 mins
  • Prep: 15 mins
  • Cook: 5 mins
  • Rise: 80 mins
  • Servings: 4 servings
Nutritional Guidelines (per serving)
329 Calories
5g Fat
62g Carbs
10g Protein
See Full Nutritional Guidelines Hide Full Nutritional Guidelines
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Nutrition Facts
Servings: 4
Amount per serving
Calories 329
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 5g 6%
Saturated Fat 1g 4%
Cholesterol 2mg 1%
Sodium 423mg 18%
Total Carbohydrate 62g 22%
Dietary Fiber 4g 14%
Total Sugars 2g
Protein 10g
Vitamin C 8mg 40%
Calcium 62mg 5%
Iron 3mg 19%
Potassium 538mg 11%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.
(Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate.)

Lángos is a classic Hungarian fried bread, sold everywhere by street carts and vendors. It can be topped with a variety of ingredients, but is usually eaten as is. Fluffy and light, this favorite fair food is made from yeasted dough and often with additional mashed potatoes to make krumplis lángos (potato lángos).

Traditionally, when Hungarian people used to bake bread in communal brick ovens, they'd save a piece of dough and bake it off in the morning for breakfast. This piece of breakfast bread gradually evolved into a deep-fried snack like those found in other countries that share cultural backgrounds with Hungary like Turkey, Serbia, Slovakia, Romania, the Czech Republic, and Austria.

These popular snacks are usually served rubbed with garlic, sprinkled with salt, and with some combination of sour cream, onions, kefir, sausage, eggs, yogurt, cheese, ham, or bacon. Our flavorful recipe uses the potato addition and serves it with garlic and salt. This wonderful bread is a great accompaniment to soups, like korhelyleves, and wonderful to enjoy on its own. Eat the lángos freshly made, as it will get mushy when cold; if you made too much dough and don't need to fry many discs, you can keep the dough in the refrigerator for up to a week.

Ingredients

  • 1 large potato (freshly mashed and kept warm)

  • 2 1/2 teaspoons instant yeast (rapid-rise or bread machine yeast)

  • 1 teaspoon sugar

  • 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour

  • 1 tablespoon vegetable oil

  • 3/4 teaspoon salt

  • 1/2 cup milk

  • Canola oil (for frying) 

  • 2 cloves garlic (halved)

  • Salt to taste

Steps to Make It

Make the Dough

  1. Gather the ingredients. 

    Lángos (Hungarian fried bread) ingredients
    The Spruce 

  2. Place the freshly mashed warm potato alongside the yeast, sugar, flour, oil, salt, and milk in a big mixing bowl or standing mixer.

    Warm mashed potatoes, yeast, sugar, flour, oil, salt, and milk combined in a medium mixing bowl
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  3. Using the paddle attachment, combine the ingredients until they are well moistened. If mixing by hand, start the process by mixing with a wooden spoon.

    Lángos ingredients combined to form a loose dough in a bowl
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  4. Switch to the dough hook and knead for 5 to 7 minutes or until smooth and elastic. If mixing by hand, give yourself an extra five minutes of working the dough until it's smooth and not sticking to your hands.

    Lángos ingredients kneaded to form a ball of dough
    The Spruce

  5. Transfer the dough to a greased bowl, cover, and let rise until doubled in size. Approximately 1 hour.

    Lángos dough in a bowl, doubled in size and partially covered in a kitchen towel
    The Spruce

  6. Divide dough into 4 equal portions. Shape each piece into a smooth ball and place it on a lightly floured board. Cover and let rest another 20 minutes.

    Lángos dough divided into four equal portions on a wooden board
    The Spruce

Fry the Dough

  1. In a large skillet, heat an inch of canola oil to 350 F.

  2. Flatten and stretch each dough ball to a disc of 8-inch diameter. Make 1 or more slits in the center of the stretched dough with a sharp knife. The slits are traditional but also keep the dough from puffing up in the middle.

    Flatten and stretch each dough ball for lángos
    The Spruce

  3. Fry one lángos at a time for about 2 minutes per side or until golden. Drain on paper towels. Serve hot, rubbed with a cut garlic clove and sprinkled with salt to taste.

    Hungarian fried brea lángos with a piece broken off and salt and garlic nearby
    The Spruce  

  4. Enjoy!

Where Is Lángos From?

The exact origins of this bread are uncertain. Some reports indicate the snack became part of the Hungarian cuisine many centuries ago when it was introduced by the Turks during their occupation. Others indicate that lángos has Roman roots because of its similarity to flatbread or focaccia.

Topping for Lángos

After rubbing each bread with garlic and sprinkling it with salt, a savory variation would include topping it with:

  • Sour cream and chopped dill
  • Shredded Emmentaler or Gruyère cheese
  • Sausage and mushroom
  • Fried cabbage and ham
  • Hungarian peppers
  • Hard-boiled eggs and braised vegetables
  • Roasted eggplants

For a sweet version of lángos, you can skip the garlic and salt and top it with:

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