Cooking Classes

19.2.10

Classic Apfelstrudel










  • 3 cups bread flour
  • 1 egg
  • 1/4 cup soft, unsalted butter
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1 cup cold water
  • vegetable oil
  •  flour
  • 3/4 cups coarse white bread crumbs
  • 1/2 cup, melted unsalted butter
  • 1 1/2 pounds, 14 ounces peeled, cored and thinly sliced Granny Smith, Pippin or other cooking apples
  • 1/3 cup granulated sugar
  • 3/4 cup dark raisins
  • 3/4 cup coarsely crushed nuts
  • 2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 5 ounces firm, unsalted butter
To make the dough: Place the flour, egg, soft butter and salt in the bowl of an electric mixer. Mixing with the dough hook on low speed, add enough of the cold water to make a soft dough. Knead the dough in the electric mixer at medium speed until it is smooth and elastic, about 5 minutes. Form the dough into a ball and coat it with oil. Cover and let rest at room temperature for about 1 hour.
For the filling: To make the coarse bread crumbs, toast slices of white bread in the oven until crisp, about 10 minutes. Break into pieces and place in a food processor. Pulse the processor until the bread resembles large bread crumbs. In a saute pan, over medium heat, saute the bread crumbs in 1/4 cup of the melted butter until they are golden brown. Reserve the sauteed bread crumbs and the remaining melted butter separately. Combine the sliced apples, granulated sugar, raisins, nuts, ground cinnamon and about half of the bread crumbs. Cut the firm butter into chunks and gently toss together with the apple mixture.
To Assemble: Cover a work surface approximately 4 feet by 4 feet with a clean piece of cloth. The cloth is used to facilitate stretching and rolling the dough. Make sure that the cloth is securely fastened to the table. Dust the cloth lightly with the flour. Place the rested dough in the center of the cloth. Using a rolling pin, roll the dough into a large, thin rectangle. When the dough is as thin as it will go with the rolling pin, it is time to begin stretching and pulling the dough. To stretch and pull the dough, place your hands under the dough, and, using your thumbs and the back of your hand, gently begin pulling and stretching the dough. Pull and stretch the dough until it is a rectangle approximately 3 1/2 feet by 2 1/2 feet. Be very careful when you are pulling and stretching not to tear the dough. After it is pulled to the proper size, let the dough relax on the table for a few minutes. There will be a thick edge around the edges, trim this away. You also want to trim off any parts of the dough that hang over the edges of the table. Place the apple filling next to the long edge of the dough closest to you. Form the filling into a thick log. Brush some of the reserved melted butter generously over the remainder of the dough. Sprinkle the remaining bread crumbs over the dough. Using the cloth to help lift the dough, roll the strudel as you would a jelly roll, starting from the filling side. Place the strudel, seam side down, in a horseshoe shape on a sheet pan lined with parchment paper. Brush the strudel with the last of the melted butter. Bake in a preheated 375 degree F oven for about 35 minutes, Remove the pan from the oven and cool. Slice the the strudel into individual servings and serve either warm or at room temperature. 

You are supposed to be able to read a newspaper through the rolled out dough.

20 comments:

  1. I'm beyond impressed that you made your own dough! The strudel looks so good, YUM!

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  2. Ok, that does it... you are my Queen!!! I can't believe you did the dough!!! I saw an old German lady do it once... and she had been doing it for like 70 years... I thought...this is inhuman... how is it possible to stretch it without breaking it!!! Of course, I tried and got one big mess (and a package of filo dough!) I still have no courage to do this... but you... amazing!!!

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  3. Andrea & Andrea (hey, there are two of you!) - I can't believe we made out Grade 10 home ec class make these! It is good therapy - test of relaxation and patience.

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  4. Your apfelstrudel looks perfect!! I love how well you stretched the dough. You didn't make this for Daring Bakers? I guess you weren't a member then, I don't know. Anyway, you did a fantastic job.

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  5. Sorry, Deana! What was I thinking, you are not Andrea!

    Memoria - no I wasn't a member back then. I was surprised to find the recipes that DB made.

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  6. Beautiful presentation!!!!

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  7. Sarah, mon amie, ton strudel est une merveille.
    A tester absolument.
    A bientôt.

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  8. Found you by way of La Bella Vita - love your blog! This dough looks amazing. I'm now following so I don't miss anything!
    Susan

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  9. Wow, this looks so yummy!! I think this will be a huge hit if I made it for a family get together.

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  10. ton apfelstrudel doit être savoureux avec toute cette farce, j'aime beaucoup la façon dont il a été façonné
    à bientôt

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  11. I'm so impressed. What a work of delicious art!

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  12. Thank you everyone! Also, thanks to the new visitors Fimere and Blackberry Jam Cafe!

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  13. How impressive that you made your own dough! It looks perfect! And the strudel looks delicious.

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  14. I never thought of covering a table with a cloth to roll out dough. I'm no stranger to yeast raised dough, but I'm still getting my pie crust feet under me, so to speak. This looks wonderful; I'll have to give it a go one of these days!

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  15. I'm so impressed. Your strudel looks spectacular.

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  16. This looks so daunting AND delicious, Sarah! I recently almost threw away a round elastic tablecloth that I've had for years. Now you've made me rethink that. I may try doing this someday & it will come in handy.

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  17. Thanks, all, for stopping by. Honestly, it isn't that difficult. After all we did it with our Grade 10 foods class. But it does work a lot better with two sets of hands pulling that dough! It is a great project with a child who wants to cook.

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  18. You're so talented, you made the dough yourself! Fantastic, I love apple strudels and yours look spectacular!
    Have a great night,

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  19. I am so impressed;never would hava had the guts to try this, but you make it sound so easy and it looks great.
    Rita

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