Fan request: German Apple Strudel Strudel takes some practice, so make it a time or two before planning to serve it to guests. This recipe came from a German grandmother, and she says: you can add to the apples whatever you like--nuts, dried cranberries, raisins - anything goes. You can simplify this recipe by purchasing ready-made dough. The key to making a successful German strudel is the stretching of the dough. It should be very thin, yet it should not break allowing the steam will evaporate and it will not be moist. If you are planning on serving this apple strudel next day, leave it on parchment paper and cover loosely with a clean kitchen towel. Do not reheat in the microwave as it will make the strudel gummy—warm on lowest oven setting for about 15 minutes. Traditional strudel dough: • 250 g flour (2 cups) • 3 tablespoons of oil • 125 ml water • Pinch of salt • Melted butter for brushing dough (almost a whole stick or 1/2 cup) • Powdered sugar for decoration Apple filling: • ½ cup of raisins or chopped almonds • 4 Tablespoons of rum or orange juice • 6 medium size baking apples (Granny Smith or Gala) • ¾ cup of sugar (150 g) • 1-2 teaspoon of lemon zest (use bio lemons) • 4 Tablespoons of lemon juice (juice from 1 lemon) • ¼ teaspoon cinnamon Prepare the apple filling: • Soak the raisins in the rum or orange juice. If you don’t like raisins in your cakes, then you can skip this step. • Peel, core and chop the apples into small pieces. Add sugar, lemon juice, lemon zest, raisins or almonds, cinnamon and mix well. If you like you can use less zest. I usually add only a little. How to make the strudel dough: • Knead the flour with oil; add SLOWLY water and pinch of salt to smooth dough. DO NOT add all the water at once. The dough cannot be sticky. It should be elastic but not stick to your hands. If in doubt, stick your finger in the dough and if you can easily take it out more or less clean, then the dough has the correct consistency. I recommend using the hook attachment on most mixers, but you could as well use your hands. If the dough is too sticky, add flour 1 teaspoon at a time. • Form the dough into 2 balls, smear with oil, cover with plastic foil and let it sit for 1/2 hour at room temperature. Roll out the strudel dough: • Roll out one of the dough balls on a floured board or parchment paper to about 7 inches by 10 inches. Use plenty of flour and make sure that the dough does not stick to the underground. • Flour a clean towel (again use plenty of flour so that the dough does not stick), place it over the dough, grab towel and dough and parchment paper or a board and flip over. • If needed, straighten the towel or dough. • Gently stretch the dough thinner on all sides using your hands, similar to like you would be making a pizza. Stretch it until it starts to look transparent in spots. The trick is to not over stretch since the dough can break while flipping onto the baking paper. You will end up with thick edges, but don’t worry, you’ll cut them later. • Brush the stretched dough with melted butter. • Repeat the process for the second ball. reheat the oven to 400°F Prepare the German apple strudel: • Drain the apple and sugar mixture from the juice and divide into two portions. • Spread one apple portion in the middle of the dough. • Cut off any thick edges of dough. • Using the towel, fold one side of the dough over the filling. • Brush exposed dough with melted butter. • Fold other side of dough over the filling to form a roll. • Fold in ends of dough like an envelope. • Brush the whole cake with melted butter. • Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and roll the strudel onto it so that the seam-side is down. • Brush the top of the cake with melted butter. • Repeat the process with the second dough. Bake at 400°F for 20 minutes and then at 350°F for 40-60 minutes longer. If you like, after 20 minutes of baking, you can brush the strudel with sugar dissolved in milk. It will give a nice crunchy note to the cake. Remove the German Apple Strudel from oven and immediately brush top with melted butter and sprinkle with powdered sugar. Cut into 2 inch wide slices with a bread knife and serve with whipped cream or vanilla sauce. ~
Posted on: Sun, 28 Jul 2013 00:03:26 +0000