Theoretically the original flame baked flat bread was introduced during the Ottoman Turk occupation of Hungary in the 16th
century. An alternate theory is that they descend from the Roman hearth bread panis focacius, which is also an ancestor of the Italian focaccia, which I have written about elsewhere. Actually, both theories could be correct – since the Turks were Byzantine Christians until the Moslem conquest and Constantinople was the Eastern Rome. Things have changed a bit over the centuries. The bread is no longer cooked in front of an open flame, but has become deep fried. The basic version –lángos – is a standard bread kind of thing. These are the potato variety – called krumplis lángos. I’ll write up the plain lángos one of these days – they are good also.
| 340 | g | mashed potato (3/4 lb) |
| 1 | pkg | yeast |
| 5 | g | sugar (1 tsp) |
| 250 | g | all-purpose flour (1-3/4) |
| 15 | g | olive oil (1 Tbs) |
| 5 | g | salt (3/4 tsp) |
| 125 | g | milk (1/2 cup) |
| 2 | cloves garlic, cut in half |
You know the basic drill for a mashed spud: peel it, whack it into about 8 pieces, put into boiling salted water for about 15 minutes. The test is to stick a fork in it. When the spuds are tender all the way through drain them and then mash them up. Put the mashed spuds and everything else except the garlic into the mixing bowl. Mix with the flat beater for about one minute, just to get things together. Swap the beater for the dough hook. Mix 3 minutes on first speed. Mix 3 minutes on second speed.
You will notice that the dough starts off rather dry, but becomes pretty loose and wet by the second speed mixing. This behavior is pretty typical of potato breads. Put the dough into a lubed covered bowl and let rise until doubled. Don’t be fooled, this stuff rises pretty fast, as in about 20 minutes or less should see the volume double.
You will find this to be some of the smoothest, silkiest dough that you have ever felt. Anyway, cut into four pieces, flatten on a floured board and form into rounds. Cover with plastic or a floured cloth and let rest about 20 minutes.
In an electric skillet, or a large fry pan heat up about 1 inch of good oil to about 375°F. Peanut or canola come to mind.
Flatten and stretch each piece to an 8” round on the floured board. Fry them one at a time for about 2 minutes 30 seconds per side. You are looking for a rich golden brown. Drain on paper towels.
The most frequent way of serving these is to cut a piece of garlic in half and rub it over the round while it is still hot, then sprinkle with a good coarse salt. A good Atlantic sea salt or a Himalayan pink do very nicely. Himalayan pink is actually from Pakistan, which I’m not fond of enriching, but I won’t let that get in the way of the taste buds.
Other common toppings include sour cream and minced dill, shredded Emmanthaler and/or Gruyere (try mixing in 1/3 Parmigiano-Reggiano). For a nice desert cinnamon/sugar or powdered sugar work well. Really, you can top them with anything you like.
People have referred to lángos – pronounced lon-gosh – as Hungarian pizza. I disagree. These have got a whole lot going for themselves and don’t imitate anything. They are their own wonderful flavor.
I suppose I should mention that these have spread all over Eastern Europe, popular everywhere. Mostly served in fast food joints or by street vendors.
Once you’ve done these you can pretty well knock them out while preparing the rest of dinner. Be warned that these are addicting and filling – particularly the original garlic and salt variety. {{Herself Sez: Yummmm!}}
Rumblings of an Ol' Curmudgeon 