Hungarian Potato Bread Food

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 LANGOS

Steps:

• Peel the potatoes and cut into 1-inch cubes. Measure out 580 grams (1 1/4 pounds) of the peeled and cubed pieces and transfer to a medium saucepan. (Save any remaining pieces for another use.) Cover with 1 inch of water and bring to a boil over medium-high heat, then reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer until potatoes are soft, 10 to 12 minutes.
• While the potatoes are boiling, deposit the flour, milk, 1 tablespoon of the oil, yeast, salt, and sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment.
• Drain the potatoes very well, then return them to the saucepan over medium heat and cook, stirring and breaking up large pieces, until the potatoes are dry and crumbly, about 3 minutes.
• Transfer the potatoes to the stand mixer bowl and mix on low speed until the dough begins to come together, about 30 seconds. Swap out the paddle for the dough hook and knead on medium speed until somewhat smooth, about 4 minutes. Inspect the dough. If it's very sticky, tearing, and smearing around the bottom of the bowl, add 1 tablespoon of flour and mix on low speed until the dough no longer sticks to the bowl. Keep checking the dough; you may have to add up to 4 tablespoons of flour depending on the moisture level of the potatoes. Return to medium speed and continue kneading until the dough is smooth, another 3 minutes. Transfer to a lightly floured counter and knead by hand for a final minute. If the dough sticks heavily to your hands, work in a bit more flour. The dough should be soft, but not overly tacky.
• Shape the dough into a ball and move to a tall 2- to 4-quart container or 8-cup liquid measuring cup. Add about 1 teaspoon of oil and rotate the dough in the oil to coat it evenly. Press down to flatten the top of the dough, then mark the dough height on the outside of the bowl with tape or a rubber band. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and leave to rise at room temperature until the dough has doubled in size, 20 to 40 minutes.
• Once risen, punch down the dough to work out any large gas bubbles. Transfer to a lightly floured counter and divide into eight 175- to 180-gram pieces. Form each into a smooth ball, then transfer to a parchment-lined baking sheet. Cover with a towel and rest for 10 minutes.
• When 5 minutes remain, heat 1 inch of the oil in a wide Dutch oven over medium-high heat to 350 degrees F and line a baking sheet with a wire rack. (See Cook's Note.)
• One at a time, flatten each dough ball into a circle, then stretch or roll it into an 8- to 10-inch disc. Cut three slits across the center of the disc to help prevent large bubbles from forming during cooking. Transfer to a parchment-lined baking sheet and top with a second sheet of parchment. Repeat with the remaining dough balls.
• When the oil is ready, fry the discs, one at a time, until puffed and golden brown, 1 to 1 1/2 minutes per side. (Although a spider or slotted spoon can be used for flipping, I manage much better with wooden chopsticks.) Transfer the golden-brown beauties to the wire rack as they come out of the oil to drain. Keep an eye on the oil temperature and adjust the heat as needed to maintain 350 degrees F. Continue to stretch out the remaining dough discs while frying.
• Consume the breads warm, if possible. (When it's still hot, I always toss one in a zip-top bag with some sugar and cinnamon...the best doughnut ever.) Leftovers freeze well: cool to room temperature, wrap tightly in plastic wrap, and seal in a gallon-size zip-top bag. Freeze for up to 6 months. Reheat straight from the freezer in a toaster oven or directly on an oven rack at 425 degrees F for 10 minutes.

HUNGARIAN POTATO AND EGG CASSEROLE

Steps:

• Do not peel or slice the potatoes.
• You will be cooking them whole.
• Heat salted water (1/2 teaspoons salt to 1 cup water) to boiling.
• Add potatoes.
• Heat to boiling.
• Reduce heat.
• Cover and cook until tender.
• Test with a fork or a knife for tenderness.
• Drain and cool slightly.
• Cook onion in oil until tender.
• Mix onion, oil, sour cream, salt and pepper.
• Peel potatoes and cut into 1/4 inch slices.
• Gently mix potatoes and sour cream mixture.
• Arange half the potatoes in greased 10 x 6 x 1 1/2 inch baking dish or 1 1/2 quart casserole.
• Arrange eggs on top and add remaining potatoes.
• Sprinkle with bread crumbs and paprika.
• Bake, uncovered, at 325 degrees until light brown, 30 to 40 minutes.
• Garnish with snipped parsley if desired.

HUNGARIAN POTATOES

Steps:

• Pour melted butter in a casserole.
• In a medium bowl, combine eggs, sour cream, salt and pepper and mix well.
• Layer in casserole half of the potatoes, green onions, sour cream mixture and bread crumbs.
• Repeat a second layer of each.
• Sprinkle with paprika.
• Bake in 350 F for 30 minutes.