Apple Strudel

How to prepare apple strudel

1. Filling: cover the raisins with rum and warm water. Let them soak.
2. Toast the breadcrumbs in a dry pan without any fat until lightly golden. Toast the walnuts in the oven. Grind half of the walnuts and mix with the breadcrumbs. Chop the rest of the walnuts with a knife.
3. Cut the apples into 1/2 cm cubes. Here's how I did it: I removed the apple cores with this tool. I peeled them, cut them in half; I placed each half cut-side down and sliced it at 1/2 cm. Then I cut the slices into cubes. I sprinkled lemon juice over the cubes to prevent oxidation.
4. In a wide pan, heat the butter and add the apple cubes. Sauté for 5 minutes with the lid on. During this time, lift the lid and stir once, halfway through. Add the sugar and cinnamon and sauté for another 10 minutes, also with the lid on, stirring again halfway through.
   * filling texture: these sautéing times are for firm apples cooked medium. You have complete flexibility here: after adding the sugar, check the filling often and stop sautéing when the apples are exactly to your liking. For example, if using juicy apples and you want them medium cooked, the sautéing time will certainly be shorter than mine. Also (very important!!!!): keep in mind that they WILL NOT cook further in the oven. So however you sauté them now, that's how they'll be in the strudel.
   ** filling juiciness: while sautéing the apples, you'll see syrup collecting at the bottom of the pan; don't let this syrup reduce completely (that's why we sauté the apples with the lid on). Depending on the type of apples, you'll obviously have more or less syrup, but we only need about 5 tablespoons at the end; so if you see there's more and the apples are swimming in syrup when you're done sautéing, simply drain it, leaving about 5 tablespoons by eye; with the apples I used, the syrup left at the end was just right, I didn't drain any
   *** sweetness: after adding the sugar, while sautéing the apples, taste them; you can add sugar anytime; I used 80 g for slightly tart apples and the filling wasn't very sweet at the end
5. When you've finished the filling, transfer it to another container. Add the raisins and knife-chopped walnuts (if desired). Let the filling cool and then refrigerate for a few hours (minimum 3). Important! The filling must be refrigerated until thoroughly cold.
6. Dough: beat one large egg as for an omelette; you'll use half for the dough and half for brushing the strudel.
8. Put the flour in a bowl and make a well in the center. Add the salt, half of the beaten egg, the oil, and the milk. Gradually pull the flour into the liquids, mixing with your fingers until the dough comes together.
9. Knead the dough by hand until smooth. I kneaded it by hand for about 2-3 minutes and then in the bread machine on the kneading program for 13 minutes. By hand exclusively, knead it for at least 10 minutes.
10. Place the dough on a floured work surface and cover with a bowl. Let it rest for 1 to 5 hours (the longer, the better; I left it for 2 hours).
11. Shaping: place a large tablecloth on the table and dust it with a little flour.
12. Place the piece of dough in the center and first roll it out with a rolling pin as much as you can. Then continue stretching with your hands: place your fist under the dough sheet (starting from the center) and pull toward the edge. Go around the sheet this way until you get a large sheet (about 70 cm x 60 cm) that's very thin, so thin it's transparent. Drizzle the entire sheet with melted butter.
14. Cut off the thick edges with scissors or a knife.
15. Take the filling out of the refrigerator and stir gently so the syrup from the bottom is evenly distributed.
16. Sprinkle the breadcrumb-walnut mixture at one of the narrow ends of the dough sheet, making sure to sprinkle over a length of maximum 45 cm. Place the filling over the breadcrumbs (see photo 9).
    * why 45 cm? because that's the diagonal of my oven tray; I wanted the strudel not to be longer so I wouldn't have to bend it; not only does it not look nice bent, but there's also a risk of it cracking at that spot and the filling bursting out
    ** this time I chose to sprinkle the breadcrumbs on the sheet and put the apples on top; you have the option to mix the breadcrumbs into the filling and only then put it on the sheet; experiment with both variants, I like them equally; the difference is in texture: with breadcrumbs mixed into the filling, the strudel won't be as juicy, but it will have a more interesting taste.
17. Roll the sheet starting from the side with the filling, using the tablecloth to help.
18. Twist the ends and tear off the excess dough. Tuck the ends under the roll. Transfer the strudel to a tray lined with parchment paper (mine fit diagonally). Brush the roll with melted butter.
20. Let the roll sit while the oven heats to 220°C (about 10 minutes).
21. Brush the roll with the remaining egg beaten with milk. Bake for 20 minutes, turning the tray halfway through baking so it browns evenly. At the end, the strudel should have a crispy, beautifully golden crust.
22. Remove the strudel from the oven. After a few minutes, cut off a corner to release the steam so it doesn't soften the crust. It's delicious warm or cold. For slicing, use a serrated knife (bread knife), so the slices will be neat. Can be served dusted with powdered sugar, with a scoop of ice cream or a dollop of whipped cream.

Print