Lángos
Vegetarian
Puffy, chewy deep-fried yeast flatbreads rubbed with garlic and piled with sour cream and grated cheese — Hungary's favourite beach and market street food.
Lángos is a Hungarian bread from Hungary, ready in about 1 hour 40 minutes and made with all-purpose flour and sour cream. It serves 6 and is rated intermediate to cook.
- Prep
- 20 min
- Cook
- 20 min
- Rest
- 1 h
- Total
- 1 h 40 min
- Serves
- 6
- Level
- Intermediate
- Calories
- 601
Ingredients
Topping
Method
Step 1
Mix the flour, yeast, sugar (opens in a new tab) and salt. Add the milk (opens in a new tab) and water and knead into a soft, slightly sticky dough. Cover and leave to rise until doubled.
- 10 min
How it looks · Photo: Klaus Nielsen on Pexels Step 2
Divide into 6 pieces. With oiled hands, stretch each into a thin round about 18 cm across, leaving the edges slightly thicker.
- 5 min
Step 3
Heat the oil to 180 °C in a deep pot. Fry the dough one at a time until puffed and golden, about 1–2 minutes per side. Drain on kitchen paper.
Food safety: Never fill the pot more than a third with oil, lower dough away from you and keep a lid nearby.
Step 4
Brush each hot lángos with the garlic (opens in a new tab) water, spread with sour cream (opens in a new tab) and scatter generously with cheese. Eat immediately.
- 3 min
How it looks · Photo: Klaus Nielsen on Pexels
About this dish
- Origin
- Hungary · Well documentedAlso popular in Austria, CzechiaMore food from Hungary
- Dish
- Snack · Lunch · Breads & flatbreads · Street food
- Cooking method
- Deep-fried
- Taste
- savoury, garlicky, rich, creamy
- Diet
- Vegetarian (lacto-ovo) · No nut ingredientsWorked out from the ingredients. How labels work
All labels
Vegetarian (lacto-ovo) · Eggetarian · Lacto-vegetarian · Pescatarian · Flexitarian-friendly · Egg-free · No nut ingredients · Alcohol-free · Pork-free · Beef-free - Good for
- Street food · Festive & celebration
- Cook more with
- All-purpose flour · Sour cream · Dried yeast · Sugar · Milk · Garlic
- Techniques
- Deep-frying · Kneading · Fermentation
Allergens
- Contains: Milkfrom milk, sour cream, trappista cheese
- Contains: Wheatfrom all-purpose flour
- Contains: Glutenfrom all-purpose flour
Based on typical versions of these ingredients and not verified allergen-free. Brands differ and cross-contact happens, so always check labels. For severe allergies, follow your clinician’s advice.
Nutrition
601 kcal per serving
Estimated1 serving ≈ 219 g · recipe makes 6
Where the energy comes from
- Protein 11%
- Carbohydrate 46%
- Fat 43%
| Nutrient | Per serving | Per 100 g* |
|---|---|---|
| Energy | 601 kcal | 274 kcal |
| Protein | 17.1 g | 7.8 g |
| Carbohydrate | 68.8 g | 31.3 g |
| Net carbohydrate | 66.2 g | 30.1 g |
| Sugars | 3.9 g | 1.8 g |
| Added sugars | 0.7 g | 0.3 g |
| Fibre | 2.6 g | 1.2 g |
| Fat | 28.4 g | 12.9 g |
| Saturated fat | 9.8 g | 4.4 g |
| Trans fat | — | — |
| Cholesterol | 51 mg | 23 mg |
| Sodium | 812 mg | 370 mg |
| Salt equivalent | 2 g | 0.9 g |
Vitamins & minerals per serving
- Potassium
- 214 mg
- Calcium
- 258 mg
- Iron
- 4 mg
- Magnesium
- 33 mg
- Vitamin A (RAE)
- 94 µg
- Vitamin C
- 1 mg
- Vitamin D
- —
- Vitamin B12
- 0.6 µg
- Folate (DFE)
- 278 µg
How these numbers were made
- Calculated from USDA FoodData Central (SR Legacy) per-100 g values and the listed quantities.
- *Per 100 g of combined raw ingredients; the cooked dish may weigh more or less.
- Trappista cheese: Gouda used as a stand-in; trappista is a mild semi-hard Hungarian cheese of very similar composition.
- “—” means the value isn’t known for enough of the ingredients; it is never zero by default.
- Values are estimates for guidance, not for medical dosing. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. FoodData Central, 2019. fdc.nal.usda.gov.
Good to know
Tips
- Some cooks add a little mashed potato to the dough for an extra-soft crumb.
Common mistakes
- Oil that isn't hot enough makes greasy, heavy lángos.
Serve with
- Serve with a cold drink and pickles.
Food safety
- Let used frying oil cool completely before straining or discarding.
Storage
- Best eaten fresh and hot.
Original editorial recipe · FriendsPantry editorial · Not yet independently reviewed · Added · Updated
Recipe DNA
How this dish is built
Built from the recipe’s own sections. Each band’s width is its share of the dish by weight. Choose a component to see what it does.
What the dish is built around
Main ingredient
- All-purpose flour500 g
- Milk, lukewarm150 ml · 155 g
Baker’s notes
Customise in Bread & BakeryTimeline and readiness cues
Mix and knead · about 20 min
Weigh everything. Knead until smooth and elastic: a small piece stretches thin enough to see light through (the windowpane test).
First rise (bulk) · about 1 h
About doubled, domed, jiggly, with bubbles on the sides. A floured finger poked in leaves a dent that fills slowly.
Bake · about 15 min
Deep golden; bread sounds hollow when tapped underneath, or reads 93–96 °C inside (enriched breads 88–90 °C).
- Start to finish: about 1 h 35 min. Times are a guide — warmth changes everything; follow the cues.
The dough
| Ingredient | Role | Weight | Baker’s % |
|---|---|---|---|
| All-purpose flour | Flour | 500 g | 100% |
| Water | Water | 200 g | 40% |
| Milk | Other liquid | 155 g | 30.9% |
| Salt | Salt | 9 g | 1.8% |
| Dried yeast | Yeast | 7 g | 1.4% |
| Sugar | Sugar | 4 g | 0.8% |
- Total flour
- 500 g
- Hydration
- 40%
- With milk, eggs…
- 66.9%
- Wholegrain
- 0%
Hydration = water ÷ flour × 100. Milk is about 87% water and eggs about 75%, so they’re shown separately as “with milk, eggs…”.
- Soft, slightly sticky dough (65–75%) — open crumb; most rustic loaves.
- Milk, eggs and other liquids add about 27 points of extra water, so it handles like a 67% dough.
- Salt 1.8% — normal for bread.
If something goes wrong
Dense, heavy loaf
Likely causes
- Under-kneaded (weak gluten)
- Under-proofed
- Old or dead yeast/starter
- Too much wholegrain flour without extra water
What to do
- Knead to the windowpane stage
- Proof by the poke test, not the clock
- Test yeast in warm water with sugar; feed the starter and use it at its peak
- Add 5–10% more water for wholegrain flours and give them a rest
Pale crust
Likely causes
- Oven too cool
- Too little sugar or no milk/egg for browning
- Over-fermented (yeast ate the sugars)
What to do
- Check the oven with a thermometer
- Brush with egg wash or milk
- Shorten the fermentation
Burnt bottom
Likely causes
- Tray too close to the heat
- Dark tray absorbs more heat
- Too much sugar in the dough
What to do
- Bake on the middle shelf
- Double up trays or use a light-coloured one
- Lower the temperature 10–15 °C and bake a little longer
Dough didn't rise
Likely causes
- Dead yeast (expired or killed by hot liquid)
- Kitchen too cold
- Salt in direct contact with fresh yeast
- Starter not active
What to do
- Liquid should be lukewarm (no hotter than 40 °C)
- Proof somewhere warm (an oven with just the light on)
- Mix the salt into the flour, not onto the yeast
- Feed the starter until it doubles in 4–8 hours
Tough or chewy flatbread
Likely causes
- Dough too stiff
- Not rested
- Cooked too slowly on too cool a pan
What to do
- Add water until the dough is soft and slightly tacky
- Rest 20–30 minutes covered so the gluten relaxes
- Cook on a very hot tawa or pan — quickly
Reviews & corrections
Reviews come from signed-in cooks and appear after a moderator checks them. We never show made-up ratings.
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