Best Hungarian Country Bread Recipes

HUNGARIAN POTATO BREAD

Steps:

• 1. Peel and cut up the potatoes in water. She says to use 1 1/2 cups of water and save the water! You simmer the potatoes until soft. Use the cooking water for the bread. I usually use a little more water to have on hand, just in case. This recipe calls for a lot of flour so I usually end up using a bit more water than called for.
• 2. While the potatoes cool, put about 5 cups of flour and the salt in a large bowl. And the caraway seeds if using. "Take 3 Tablespoons of flour, mix with 1/2 cup of warm water and the yeast. Set aside 20-30 minutes in a warm place covered with a cloth". Thats not how I usually mix in my yeast, but today we are Hungarians! We do this the Hungarian way!
• 3. Rice the potatoes (with a potato ricer, that I picked up just for this recipe) into the bowl with the flour and salt and add the water from the pot. (If you have no ricer, just mash the potatoes up with a fork or potato masher real good).
• 4. Mix the flour, potatoes, potato water and salt with a wooden spoon or dough hook in a mixer. Add the additional flour as needed to make a soft dough, tacky, not too sticky. Knead for at least 10 minutes. Put dough in oiled bowl, oil the top, cover and let rise about 1 hour or until double.
• 5. Punch down dough and form into 1 or 2 round or oval loaves. Place on baking sheets, put into the cold oven and let rise again, about 20-30 minutes before you turn on oven to 400 degrees. Bake about 45 minutes or until golden in color. (this is if you are making 1 large loaf, as she usually does. If making 2 smaller loaves they will be done sooner.) "Bon appetite!!!". ***NOTE: I usually let the dough rise on the baking sheet while the oven preheats BEFORE putting it in. Ms. Charlotte actually lets the dough rise IN the oven, then after 20-30 minutes turns on the oven with the dough already STILL IN it. The dough warms up as the oven heats and starts baking as it preheats. Its your call which way you want to do it. I sometimes like to bake this bread in a dutch oven for a crustier loaf. (if letting rise on the counter, be sure to oil tops and cover with plastic. Remove of course, before baking.)

HUNGARIAN FRIED LáNGOS

Steps:

• Gather the ingredients.
• Place the freshly mashed warm potato alongside the yeast, sugar, flour, oil, 3/4 teaspoon salt, and milk in a big mixing bowl or stand mixer.
• 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.
• 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 5 minutes of working the dough, until it's smooth and not sticking to your hands.
• Transfer the dough to a greased bowl, cover, and let rise until doubled in size, approximately 1 hour.
• 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.
• In a large skillet, heat an inch of canola oil to 350 F.
• Flatten and stretch each dough ball to a disc 8 inches in 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.
• 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 COUNTRY BREAD

Steps:

• Dissolve yeast in water (if using dry yeast, follow instructions).
• Add most of the flour and the salt.
• Knead vigorously by hand for 5-10 minutes.
• Let rise, covered, to double size (1-2 hours).
• Heat the oven to 450 deg F/ 230 deg C.
• Knead again, vigorously, for 5 minutes.
• Shape one big, round loaf and put on a greased baking tray.
• Cover and let rise for another 45 minutes.
• Make a few cuts in the loaf with a razorblade.
• Bake in the oven for 10 minutes.
• Reduce heat to 400/200 deg and bake another one hour.
• The crust should become quite brown.
• Turn off the oven, take out the bread, and brush the bread with water.
• Put it back in the oven for 15 minutes.
• Let cool uncovered.

HUNGARIAN NUT ROLLS

Steps:

• In a large bowl, dissolve yeast in warm milk. Add the sugar, salt, butter, sour cream, eggs and 3 cups flour. Beat on medium speed for until smooth, 3 minutes. Stir in enough remaining flour to form a soft dough (dough will be sticky). , Turn onto a floured surface; knead until smooth and elastic, 6-8 minutes. Place in a greased bowl, turning once to grease top. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 hour., Meanwhile, in a large saucepan, combine the sugar, butter, egg and cinnamon. Cook and stir over medium heat until mixture is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon. Remove from the heat; gently stir in walnuts and apple. Cool completely., Punch dough down. Turn onto a lightly floured surface; divide into 4 portions. Roll each into a 12x10-in. rectangle. Spread filling to within 1/2 in. of edges. Roll up jelly-roll style, starting with a long side; pinch seams to seal. Place seam side down on greased baking sheets. Cover and let rise until doubled, about 30 minutes., Bake at 350° for 30-40 minutes or until lightly browned. Remove from pans to wire racks to cool. Combine icing ingredients; drizzle over loaves.

KALACS (HUNGARIAN CINNAMON SWIRL BREAD)

Steps:

• Place flour, white sugar, salt, and yeast into the bowl of a stand mixer. In a bowl, whisk together egg, melted butter, warm milk, and vanilla extract; pour into the flour mixture. Using dough hook attachment, mix on low until the flour is moistened and a dough forms, then increase speed to medium, and continue kneading until smooth and elastic, 4 to 5 minutes.
• Place dough into a greased bowl, cover, and allow to rise in a warm place until doubled in bulk, about 1 1/2 hours.
• Punch down dough, turn out onto a floured work surface, and divide into 2 equal pieces. Roll each piece into a 1/3 inch thick rectangle. Brush each square with melted butter. Mix together cinnamon and brown sugar in a small bowl, then sprinkle evenly over the two rectangles.
• Roll each firmly into a log, pinch the ends closed, and tuck them underneath. Place each into a greased, glass loaf pan. Cover, and allow to rise in a warm place until doubled in bulk, about 45 minutes.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
• Brush the tops of the loaves with melted butter, then bake in preheated oven until loaves are golden brown, and sound hollow when tapped, about 30 minutes.