Lángos
Lángos is a typical Hungarian food. Nowadays it is a deep fried flatbread, but in the past it was made of the last bits of the bread dough and baked at the front of a brick or clay oven, to be served hot as the breakfast of the bread-baking day.
Etymology and history
The name comes from láng, the Hungarian word for flame.Up to the mid 20th century, bread was baked once a week due to the cost of heating up the large oven and the lengthy process kneading up to of dough. Because the bread loaf, typical to Hungary, was each, traditionally they used to bake smaller "cipó" rolls for the evening and the next day. The name lángos comes from baking these flat breads in the morning while the oven was still heating up. "Lángos" were also used as a side to lunch.
Variations
The dough for lángos is made of water or milk, flour, yeast, and salt. The ingredients are worked together either by hand or a kneading machine. As the yeast starts metabolizing the carbohydrates in the flour, carbon dioxide is released which causes the dough to rise, creating the air bubbles in the lángos. Sour cream, yoghurt or mashed potatoes is sometimes added to the dough. When potatoes are added it is called potato lángos. The bread is eaten warm with or without toppings, sometimes rubbed with garlic or garlic butter, or doused with garlic water.In the early 2000s, some people built small, portable clay ovens and started to sell oven baked lángos, called "kenyérlángos" at festivals and fairs. Although reminiscent of the traditional lángos, it is more like a pizza with sour cream, onions and bacon.
Lángos is popular all year long. As it is a rather affordable and simple food, it is often sold around bus stations, fairs, local markets and all over Eastern European countries during local celebrations or sport events. It is sold at many fast-food restaurants not only in Hungary but also in Austria. In Austria, especially in Vienna, lángos is very popular as a fast food at fairs and amusement parks like the Prater. Lángos is known in the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Croatia as langoš, in Serbia as languš. In Slovenia it is known as Langaš and in Macedonia and Bulgaria as Mekitsa. It is also popular in Romania as langoși. It is also prevalent in Poland where it is known as "langosz" and in the UK where it is called "langos" or "Hungarian Fried Bread."