Apple Strudel with Hand-Stretched Dough

Before you start

Apple strudel is famous across Austria and its neighbors for one thing: a dough pulled so thin over a cloth that you can read through it. That thin dough rolls up around the apples in many layers, bakes into a crisp, flaky crust and wraps a juicy filling. Unlike puff pastry, there is no lamination; the flakiness comes from layer after layer of see-through dough brushed with butter.

The dough works because of strong gluten and a long rest. Bread flour, warm water, a little oil and a splash of vinegar are kneaded until silky, then rested so the gluten relaxes enough to stretch rather than tear. Toasted buttered breadcrumbs go under the apples to soak up juices, so the bottom stays crisp. A few small holes are normal and get hidden in the roll.

Ingredients

• Dough150 g (1¼ cups) bread flour — plus more for the cloth
• ¼ tsp fine salt
• 85 ml (⅓ cup) lukewarm water — about 35°C (95°F)
• 20 g (1½ tbsp) neutral oil — plus extra to coat
• ½ tsp white vinegar or lemon juice
• Filling1 kg (about 6 medium) tart apples, such as Granny Smith or Braeburn — peeled, cored and thinly sliced
• 60 g (5 tbsp) granulated sugar
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1 lemon, zest and 1 tbsp juice
• 50 g (⅓ cup) raisins — optional; soaked in 2 tbsp warm water or rum
• 1 pinch fine salt
• Crumbs and butter60 g (¾ cup) dry breadcrumbs
• 50 g (3½ tbsp) unsalted butter — for toasting the crumbs
• 80 g (5½ tbsp) unsalted butter, melted — for brushing
• 1–2 tbsp powdered sugar — for dusting

Method

1. Mix the flour, salt, water, oil and vinegar into a soft dough. Knead 8 to 10 minutes by machine or hand until smooth, silky and very elastic; it should spring back when pressed.
2. Shape it into a ball, coat it lightly with oil, cover and rest in a warm spot for 1 hour. This rest is what makes stretching possible.
3. Meanwhile, toast the breadcrumbs in 50 g butter over medium heat, stirring, until golden and fragrant, about 4 minutes. Toss the apples with the sugar, cinnamon, lemon zest and juice, drained raisins and salt. Heat the oven to 190°C (375°F).
4. Spread the cloth over a table you can walk around and rub flour into it. Roll the dough out as far as it will go, about 30 cm across. Slip the backs of your floured hands under it and gently pull outward from the center, moving around the table.
5. Keep stretching until the dough is translucent and roughly 60 × 90 cm (24 × 36 in). Let the edges hang over the table while you work. Trim off the thicker rim with scissors.
6. Brush the dough with about half of the melted butter. Scatter the crumbs over a strip along one short end, covering the bottom third, and pile the apples on top, leaving 5 cm clear at the sides.
7. Fold the sides in over the filling. Lift the cloth under the filled end and use it to roll the strudel up, letting it turn over itself. Roll it onto the parchment-lined sheet seam-side down, curving it into a horseshoe if needed.
8. Brush with more melted butter and bake for 35 to 40 minutes, brushing again halfway, until deep golden and crisp and the apples feel tender when pierced with a skewer. Cool for 20 minutes, dust with powdered sugar and slice with a bread knife.

Tips for success

• Remove rings and watches and flour your knuckles well; nails and jewelry snag the thin dough.
• Slice the apples thinly, about 3 mm. Thick slices hold their shape but leave gaps that make the roll collapse when cut.
• If the dough tears, ignore small holes or patch them with a piece of the trimmed rim. The many layers will cover them.

Substitutions

Hand-stretched dough

Use 8 to 10 sheets of filo, each brushed with butter and sprinkled with a few crumbs. It is quicker and very crisp but less chewy and slightly more fragile.

Breadcrumbs

Ground hazelnuts or almonds toasted in butter absorb juices well and add a nutty flavor.

Tart apples

Pears work in late autumn; use firm ones and add 1 tbsp more breadcrumbs, since pears release more juice.

Variations

Quark or cheese strudel

Fill with 500 g quark or drained ricotta beaten with 2 egg yolks, 80 g sugar, lemon zest and 50 g raisins; bake until set in the center.

Cherry strudel

Use 700 g pitted sour cherries tossed with 80 g sugar and 1 tbsp cornstarch, with extra breadcrumbs for the juices.

Troubleshooting

Dough keeps tearing when stretched

It was undermixed or not rested long enough, so the gluten was tight. Knead until very elastic and rest the full hour, covered and warm.

Soggy bottom

Too few crumbs or very juicy apples. Spread a full layer of toasted crumbs under the filling and drain off any liquid that pools in the apple bowl.

Strudel split open in the oven

It was rolled too tightly or the seam was on the side. Roll gently so the filling has room and bake seam-side down.

Storage

Strudel is best on the day it is baked, while the crust is crisp. Keep leftovers loosely covered at room temperature for 1 day or refrigerate for up to 3 days, and reheat at 180°C (350°F) for 10 minutes to re-crisp.

Safety notes

Do not taste the raw dough, which contains raw flour. Contains wheat and milk.