Greek fried dough with cheese and honey (lalangia)

Somewhere between a pancake and a fritter, these golden puffs of fried dough have been a popular breakfast food in Greece since the 6th-century BCE. They are often topped with cinnamon, fruit, nuts, sheep’s milk cheese and honey.

Greek fried dough with cheese and honey (lalangia) Credit: Chris Chen

• makes

  8

• prep

  40 minutes

• cook

  20 minutes

• difficulty

  Mid

Ingredients

• ½ x 7 g yeast sachet
• 1½ tbsp caster sugar
• 500 g (3⅓ cups) bread flour ('00') or strong plain flour, plus extra, to dust
• 2 tbsp olive oil, plus extra, to shallow-fry
• ricotta and honey, to serve

Resting time 40 mins

You'll need to begin this recipe 1 day in advance.

Instructions

Dissolve yeast in 125 ml warm water in a bowl. Stir in sugar and set aside in a warm, draught-free place for 10 minutes or until mixture bubbles. Add 75 g flour to yeast mixture, stirring to form a thick paste. Cover with plastic wrap and set aside in a warm, draught-free place overnight.

Combine remaining 425 g flour and 1 tsp salt in a large bowl. Add yeast mixture, 2 tbsp oil and 185 ml water into bowl and stir to form a dough. Turn out dough onto a lightly floured work surface and knead for 4 minutes or until smooth.

Equally divide dough into 8 portions and flatten each into a 1cm-thick round. Place on a large tray lined with baking paper, spaced 5 cm apart, then cover with a clean tea towel and set aside in a warm, draught-free place for 30 minutes or until dough doubles in size.

Fill a large frying pan 2cm deep with extra oil and heat over medium heat. Working in batches, add dough rounds and cook for 3 minutes on each side or until golden. Drain on paper towel. Divide lalangia among serving plates. Top with ricotta and drizzle with honey. Serve immediately.

Photography by Chris Chen

As seen in Feast magazine, Mar 2014, Issue 29.

Cook's Notes

Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.