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Apple Strudel
Ingredients
| For the pastry: | |
| 300 g | plain flour |
| 1/4 tsp | salt |
| 30 ml | sunflower, corn or peanut oil |
| 200 ml | lukewarm water |
| For the first filling: | |
| 100 g | unsalted butter |
| 100 g | white breadcrumbs |
| For the fruit filling: | |
| 75 g | seedless raisins |
| 4 tbsp | rum, brandy or fresh orange juice |
| 5 large | dessert apples, eg Gala, Granny Smith, Golden Delicious, peeled, cored and chopped |
| 150 g | sugar |
| 2 tsp | lemon zest |
| 4 tbsp | fresh lemon juice |
| 1/4 tsp | ground cinnamon |
| 125 g | butter, melted, for glazing |
| icing sugar, for decoration |
Method
Preparation time: ca. 1 hr 30 min / Grade of difficulty: easy / Calories per portion: n/a
Pastry:
Mix flour and salt in a bowl and add the water followed by the oil. Start mixing together with a spoon and finish with your hands once it starts to come together. Knead for about 5 minutes until it becomes smooth and just tacky, without being sticky. If you need to add additional flour, do so only 1 level tsp at a time until you achieve the correct texture once kneaded until the flour is incorporated.
Form the dough into a ball, brush it lightly with oil and place it back in the bowl for about an hour, covered and at room temperature. Alternatively, wrap it in cling film and rest for the same period.
First filling:
Gently melt the butter in a saucepan and mix in the breadcrumbs. Allow the breadcrumbs to toast to mid-brown in the butter. Allow to cool and set aside.
Fruit filling:
Soak the raisins in the alcohol or orange juice for at least an hour. You may heat the bowl in the microwave for about 30 seconds if you wish.
Mix the apples with sugar, lemon juice and zest. Add the raisins and cinnamon and mix well.
The previous two procedures may be undertaken during the resting period for the dough.
Preheat the oven to Gas Mark 6, 400°F, 200°C.
Strudel:
Roll out the dough to a 9x13 inch (22x33 cm) rectangle. Lightly flour a lint-free kitchen towel and cover the dough with it. Holding the towel and dough together, flip them over so that the dough is now on top. Gently stretch the dough thinner by hand, a little at a time and one side at a time. Allow it to rest for 1-2 minutes and continue to stretch as before, until it starts to look almost transparent in places. Try to thin out some of the thicker spots, if possible. The thicker edges can be removed later with a sharp knife or kitchen shears.
Bear in mind that the strudel is going to be rolled from one long side towards the other. The fillings need also be arranged along the longer sides, as described below. Otherwise, when folded one end is going to have one filling and the other the second.
Brush the dough with melted butter and spread the breadcrumbs over about 2/3 of the surface and pat it down gently and evenly. Drain any juices from the apple mix and spread them over the other 1/3 of the pastry. Remove the thick edges of the dough.
Using the towel for assistance, fold one side of the dough over the fillings, leaving an almost equal amount of filling-covered pastry. Brush the newly exposed dough with more melted butter. Fold in the ends of the dough to close the open ends. Fold the other side of the dough as before, covering much of the recently folded dough to form a roll. Brush all exposed dough surfaces again with melted butter.
Using the towel again, transfer the strudel to a baking tray covered with baking parchment. Roll the strudel onto the parchment so that the seamed side is below. Brush the pastry with more melted butter.
Bake for 20 minutes. Reduce heat to Gas Mark 4, 350°F, 180°C and bake for 40-60 minutes more, until golden brown and the pastry is crisp. Immediately brush again with melted butter and sprinkle with icing sugar to decorate. Allow to cool for about 15-20 minutes before serving.
Transfer carefully to a serving platter with two large spatulas, cake slicers etc. Cut into slices with a sharp serrated knife or bread knife 1½ inches or about 35mm wide.
Serve warm, with whipped cream, vanilla sauce, or vanilla ice cream.
Note: when stretching the pastry, if you are uncertain, err on the side of caution. Get it as thin as you can, but not that thin that it tears. It is going to expand when it cooks so it will get thinner anyway. As long as it is quite thin, that will be good enough. Experience, as with all things, will allow you to stretch it just that little bit more the next time or the one after that.
About the recipe:
This uses the same style of pastry as used in Vienna, its origin. Many use filo, shortcrust, puff or even Danish pastry doughs but they are not truly strudels.
When the pastry is complete it should be paper thin. They have a saying in Vienna, 'If you cannot read a newspaper through it, roll it thinner!' Filo (fillo or philo) pastry is almost always machine rolled; the Viennese pride themselves in rolling strudel pastry at least as thin by hand. You won't need to do that!
Mix flour and salt in a bowl and add the water followed by the oil. Start mixing together with a spoon and finish with your hands once it starts to come together. Knead for about 5 minutes until it becomes smooth and just tacky, without being sticky. If you need to add additional flour, do so only 1 level tsp at a time until you achieve the correct texture once kneaded until the flour is incorporated.
Form the dough into a ball, brush it lightly with oil and place it back in the bowl for about an hour, covered and at room temperature. Alternatively, wrap it in cling film and rest for the same period.
First filling:
Gently melt the butter in a saucepan and mix in the breadcrumbs. Allow the breadcrumbs to toast to mid-brown in the butter. Allow to cool and set aside.
Fruit filling:
Soak the raisins in the alcohol or orange juice for at least an hour. You may heat the bowl in the microwave for about 30 seconds if you wish.
Mix the apples with sugar, lemon juice and zest. Add the raisins and cinnamon and mix well.
The previous two procedures may be undertaken during the resting period for the dough.
Preheat the oven to Gas Mark 6, 400°F, 200°C.
Strudel:
Roll out the dough to a 9x13 inch (22x33 cm) rectangle. Lightly flour a lint-free kitchen towel and cover the dough with it. Holding the towel and dough together, flip them over so that the dough is now on top. Gently stretch the dough thinner by hand, a little at a time and one side at a time. Allow it to rest for 1-2 minutes and continue to stretch as before, until it starts to look almost transparent in places. Try to thin out some of the thicker spots, if possible. The thicker edges can be removed later with a sharp knife or kitchen shears.
Bear in mind that the strudel is going to be rolled from one long side towards the other. The fillings need also be arranged along the longer sides, as described below. Otherwise, when folded one end is going to have one filling and the other the second.
Brush the dough with melted butter and spread the breadcrumbs over about 2/3 of the surface and pat it down gently and evenly. Drain any juices from the apple mix and spread them over the other 1/3 of the pastry. Remove the thick edges of the dough.
Using the towel for assistance, fold one side of the dough over the fillings, leaving an almost equal amount of filling-covered pastry. Brush the newly exposed dough with more melted butter. Fold in the ends of the dough to close the open ends. Fold the other side of the dough as before, covering much of the recently folded dough to form a roll. Brush all exposed dough surfaces again with melted butter.
Using the towel again, transfer the strudel to a baking tray covered with baking parchment. Roll the strudel onto the parchment so that the seamed side is below. Brush the pastry with more melted butter.
Bake for 20 minutes. Reduce heat to Gas Mark 4, 350°F, 180°C and bake for 40-60 minutes more, until golden brown and the pastry is crisp. Immediately brush again with melted butter and sprinkle with icing sugar to decorate. Allow to cool for about 15-20 minutes before serving.
Transfer carefully to a serving platter with two large spatulas, cake slicers etc. Cut into slices with a sharp serrated knife or bread knife 1½ inches or about 35mm wide.
Serve warm, with whipped cream, vanilla sauce, or vanilla ice cream.
Note: when stretching the pastry, if you are uncertain, err on the side of caution. Get it as thin as you can, but not that thin that it tears. It is going to expand when it cooks so it will get thinner anyway. As long as it is quite thin, that will be good enough. Experience, as with all things, will allow you to stretch it just that little bit more the next time or the one after that.
About the recipe:
This uses the same style of pastry as used in Vienna, its origin. Many use filo, shortcrust, puff or even Danish pastry doughs but they are not truly strudels.
When the pastry is complete it should be paper thin. They have a saying in Vienna, 'If you cannot read a newspaper through it, roll it thinner!' Filo (fillo or philo) pastry is almost always machine rolled; the Viennese pride themselves in rolling strudel pastry at least as thin by hand. You won't need to do that!
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