This classic dessert is not just tasteful but comforting as well. The flaky pastry traditionally filled with apples and raisins offers versatility of flavour and texture.
Brief History and Origin
Apple Strudel has a long and delicious history that dates back centuries. It is believed to have originated in Austria during the 16th century. It’s traditionally made with a combination of apples, spices, raisins, and breadcrumbs. Today, Apple Strudel is enjoyed worldwide with its signature sweet-tart flavour and flaky crust.
Notes on Key Ingredients
- Egg: some dough recipes omit the egg but I like to add it for extra colour for the dough, the egg white also helps with protein bonding and make the dough easier to stretch
- Bread flour: bread flour has higher level of protein than plain all purpose flour and therefore will help develop more gluten and be a bit sturdier
- Oil: Keeps the dough from drying up and also stretchier
- Lemon juice: makes the dough easier to stretch out and work with. Can also be replaced by some vinegar
- Cooking apples: choose tart and crispy apple like Granny Smith so that the filling doesn’t become too overly sweet and keeps a nice crunchy texture
- Raisins: These will need to be soaked until they become a bit more soft. You can also use sultanas
- Nuts: I didn’t use any nuts for this recipe but popular variants often include nuts such as walnuts for extra crunch
- Rum: Rum is optional, you can substitute with water, but adds extra depth of flavour and sweetness to the raisins
- Breadcrumbs: the breadcrumbs serve to soak up some of the liquid in the filling. I didn’t have any at hand so toasted some stale bread then put it into the food processor to make the breadcrumbs.
- Butter: butter is essential in this recipe, brushing the butter before rolling the strudel will add fat between the layers of dough and help it become more flaky
Tips
- Many shortcut versions of the strudel suggest using either filo pastry or puff pastry instead of making strudel pastry from scratch. These actually taste very different but could be an option if you are short of time.
- I found making a bigger quantity of dough would allow some leeway when it comes to dough stretching. You can always cut off any excess parts.
- When stretching the dough, remember to remove any jewellery and rings on your hands. I used my knuckles to stretch the dough as they’re less sharp and will allow the dough to stay intact.
Popular variations
Here are a few variants of the classic recipes that you can take inspiration from:
- Apple And Pear Strudel: Apple and pear go very well together and give strudel a unique flavour.
- Apple And Chocolate Strudel: Adding chocolate to apple strudel adds richness and flavour.
- Vegan Apple Strudel: If you are vegan, you can still enjoy delicious apple strudel using simple ingredients.
- Sugar-Free Apple Strudel: Cutting sugar is much easier with this apple strudel recipe.
- Apple and Pomegranate Strudel: Apple and pomegranate bring a unique flavour to your table.
Apple Strudel
This traditional Austrian pastry is made of thin layers of stretched dough wrapped around an apple filling typically with raisins, cinnamon and breadcrumbs. It tastes amazing straight out of the oven, especially with some whipped cream or a scoop of ice cream.
Ingredients
Dough
- 1 Egg
- 200 g Bread Flour
- 40 g Oil
- 50 ml Warm Water
- 1/2 tbsp Lemon Juice
- 1/4 tsp Salt
Filling
- 3 Large Apples (I used Granny Smith)
- 100 g Raisins
- 100 ml Rum / Water To soak the raisins in
- 80 g Breadcrumbs
- 30 g Butter
- 50 g Sugar
- 1/2 tsp Ground Cinnamon
Additional
- 40 g Butter
- 20 g Icing sugar to dust
Instructions
Prepare the Dough:
- In a mixing bowl, combine the flour, salt, warm water, and vegetable oil. Mix until a dough forms.
- Transfer the dough to a floured surface and knead it until smooth and elastic. Set aside and let it rest for at least 1 hour.
Prepare the Filling:
- Soak the raisins in rum or water.
- Peel, core, and thinly slice the apples.
- Toast the breadcrumbs with butter until golden.
- Mix the sugar and cinnamon together in a bowl.
- Combine the sliced apples, soaked raisins, toasted breadcrumbs, and cinnamon sugar mixture in a bowl. Set aside.
Stretch the Dough:
- On a floured surface, roll out the dough as much as possible using a rolling pin
- Using your knuckles, stretch the dough by rotating them around, allowing gravity to assist. Remove any rings or jewellery to prevent piercing the dough. Continue stretching the dough until it is thin enough to see through.
Assemble the Strudel:
- Place the stretched dough on a large tablecloth.
- Brush melted butter over the surface of the dough.
- Spread the prepared filling evenly over the dough, leaving a border around the edges.
- Trim any excess dough from the borders.
- Fold the sides of the dough over the filling.
- Using the tablecloth for support, tightly roll the dough into a log.
Bake the Strudel:
- Preheat the oven to 190 degrees Celsius (375 degrees Fahrenheit).
- Transfer the rolled strudel onto a lined baking tray and brush the top of the strudel with melted butter.
- Bake in the preheated oven for about 40 minutes or until golden brown.
Serve:
- Allow the apple strudel to cool slightly before slicing.
- Dust with powdered sugar if desired. Serve warm and enjoy!
