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9 Comments It was literally the very first thing we were served during our food tour of Taste Hungary: a freshly fried crispy langos. Hungarian fried bread or Hungarian pizza are also commonly used names. And I was immediately sold. That crispy crust coated with garlic, sour cream and grated cheese. So incredibly delicious. You just want that over and over again. At the market where we ate our first langos, they sold this fried bread in all forms. With the sour cream as I mentioned but also topped as a whole pizza.
Table of contents
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Crispy outside, soft inside – that perfect chewy texture that makes Lángos so addictive.
- Authentic Hungarian flavor – with a simple dough and the classic garlic-sour-cream-cheese topping.
- Easy to adapt – try it with roasted veggies, whipped feta, or even sweet toppings!
- Perfect for sharing – ideal for cozy evenings, parties, or camper cooking adventures
What Is Lángos?
Lángos (pronounced LAHN-gosh) is a traditional Hungarian fried bread made from a simple yeasted dough. The word láng means “flame” in Hungarian, a nod to the original method of baking the bread over open fire in brick ovens.
Today, it’s one of the most beloved street foods in Hungary. You’ll find it everywhere – at markets, festivals, and roadside stands – usually served hot, with garlic, sour cream, and cheese.
How To Make Lángos At Home
Step 1: Make the dough
Place the warm potato in a bowl and mix with yeast, sugar, flour, oil, salt and milk. Knead until you have a smooth dough. Transfer to a clean bowl and cover with a tea towel.
Step 2: Let the dough rise
As with any yeasted dough, it now has to rise. Let it sit in a warms pot for around 1 hour or until double in size.
Step 3: Divide the dough
Divide the dough into four equal pieces. Roll each piece into a ball, place on a counter dusted with a bit of flour, cover and let it rise again for another 20 minutes.
Step 4: Fry
Now the last part is to heat the oil to 350˚F/180˚C and flatten each ball. Stretch it out and fry in the hot oil until golden brown.
Topping Ideas
The sky is the limit when thinking about what to put on top of the freshly baked Langos
- Classic Hungarian: garlic oil, sour cream, grated cheese
- Potato version: add 1 mashed potato to the dough for extra fluffiness
- Vegetable twist: top with roasted zucchini, eggplant (check tips for the perfect eggplant here), or Swiss chard and feta
- Spicy version: drizzle with crispy chili oil and sprinkle with smoked paprika
- Sweet version : brush with butter and dust with powdered sugar or cinnamon sugar
FAQ Langos Recipe
Yes! You can refrigerate the dough overnight. Let it come to room temperature before frying.
Traditionally it’s fried, but you can bake it at 220 °C (425 °F) until golden. The texture will be less crispy but still delicious. Keep in mind that I did not test baking it in the oven myself.
Absolutely! Replace milk with plant-based milk, skip the sour cream, and top with vegan cheese or roasted vegetables.
Storage and Reheating
Lángos are best eaten fresh, but you can store leftovers in an airtight container for 1 day. Reheat in the oven or air fryer to restore crispness.
The food tour we did in Budapest was by Taste Hungary. Absolutely a fun thing to do if you ever find yourself in Budapest.
Expert Tips
- Freeze un-topped Lángos for up to 2 months; reheat straight from frozen.
- Don’t over-knead – a slightly sticky dough makes the softest Lángos.
- The oil should stay around 175 °C / 350 °F for perfect golden results.
- To reheat, pop the Lángos into a 200 °C / 400 °F oven for 5 minutes to crisp it up again.
Hungarian langos
Ingredients
- 2 potatoes boiled and mashed. Keep warm
- 2 1/2 tsp instant yeast
- 1 tsp sugar
- 210 gr flour
- 1 tsp oil
- 3/4 tsp salt
- 120 ml milk
- sunflower oil for frying
- 2 cloves garlic halved
- sour cream
- grated cheese
How to make the langos
- Put the still warm mashed potato in a bowl along with the yeast, sugar, flour oil, salt and milk. You can make it in a machine or do it by hand. I made it in the Kitchen Aid and then did some kneading by hand.2 potatoes, 2 1/2 tsp instant yeast, 1 tsp sugar, 210 gr flour, 1 tsp oil, 3/4 tsp salt, 120 ml milk
- Knead the dough for about 5-7 minutes with the machine until it is a smooth dough. If you knead by hand you will probably need a little longer.
- If it’s too sticky keep kneading a little longer and add a little extra flour if necessary. Then transfer the dough to a clean bowl rubbed with oil and cover with a clean tea towel.
- Let the dough rise for an hour or until doubled in volume.
- Then divide the dough into four pieces. Then make balls of these and place them on a board dusted with flour, cover and let rise for another 20 minutes.
- Take a large frying pan and heat a generous layer of oil to 180˚C (350˚F)sunflower oil for frying
- Flatten each ball and stretch it a bit. Then fry golden brown in the oil. Once out of the oil, brush with the sliced garlic cloves, spread with the cream and sprinkle with the grated cheese.2 cloves garlic, sour cream, grated cheese
Nutrition Information per portion:
Disclaimer:
The nutritional values above are calculated per portion. The details are based on standard nutritional tables and do not constitute a professional nutritional advice.
Just made Hungarian Goulash.
Now I need the Langos. This should make my meal good for my friend Liz
I love the langos! Such a tasty thing. And it would go really well with the Hungarian goulash!
Why are potatoes added to the recipe?
He Karima, potatoes give some flavor to the langos plus they also make the dough smooth and pliable.
when those are fried do they have to “swim” in hot oil? do they need to be turned over half way? or fried just in generous amount of oil but more like you fry anything else?
He Donna, I would say like you fry anything else really. I tend to shallow fry them and I do turn them over half way through to make sure they brown evenly. Hope that helps!
Thank you, I am going to give them a try 🙂
This is something new for me and they look and sound really great, Simone.
Ah thanks Angie! Worth a try for sure!