Štrudl

Photo

Note: this recipe can be doubled (e.g. 1kg flour, 4kg apples, etc.) to make a bigger strudl.

Reference video: How to make štrudl

Ingredients

Pulled dough

  • 520g plain flour
  • 250ml lukewarm water
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 50g oil
  • 1 tbsp vinegar

Apple filling

  • 2kg sour apples
  • Freshly squeezed juice of 2 lemons (to prevent oxidation - not needed if the apples are grated just before laying them onto the dough)
  • Ground cinnamon (to taste)
  • 100g granulated sugar for sprinkling (add more if you prefer a sweeter strudel — e.g. 150g worked well with Braeburn apples)
  • Butter, chilled (optional, to taste) — coarsely grated butter is the best option, but melted butter (mixed into the oil) or small pieces work too
  • 100g raisins (optional, can be left out)

Finishing

  • Sour cream, for brushing on top
  • Icing (dusting) sugar, for dusting on top

At a glance

Prep

Filling, Rolling & Baking

Spread oil/butter on doughStretch with oiled palmsApples, cinnamon sugar & oil/butter on doughRoll the strudel with the help of the cloth

Diagrams

Making the dough

sequenceDiagram participant Jug as Water Jug participant Mixer as Mixer Bowl participant Worktop Mixer->>Mixer: Sift 520g flour Note over Jug: Add 1 heaped tsp salt to 250ml lukewarm water Note over Jug: Add 50g oil Note over Jug: Add 1 tsp vinegar Note over Jug: Stir well Mixer->>Mixer: Start mixing Jug->>Mixer: Slowly pour water mixture (mixer running) Note over Mixer: Add more water if needed Note over Mixer: Push dough down from whisk/hook occasionally Note over Mixer: Mix until dough separates from bowl and is<br/>smooth, soft and stretchy Mixer->>Worktop: Scrape dough onto floured worktop Note over Worktop: Knead vigorously by hand for 8-10 min to build<br/>gluten — this is what lets it stretch thin later Note over Worktop: Slam/throw the dough onto the worktop a few<br/>times to strengthen the gluten further Note over Worktop: Use flour, not oil, to stop sticking Note over Worktop: Ready when dough doesn't stick to the board Note over Worktop: Place dough into a bowl Note over Worktop: Cover dough in oil to seal it Note over Worktop: Rest for 1 hour (fridge or outside)

Filling, Rolling & Baking

sequenceDiagram participant Bowl as Large Bowl participant Table participant Tray as Baking Tray Note over Bowl: Peel 2kg apples Note over Bowl: Prepare cinnamon sugar (mix ground cinnamon into 100g sugar) Note over Table: Warm the oil (or butter, or butter+oil mix)<br/>so it spreads nicely Note over Table: Lay table with a big cloth, spread flour on it Note over Table: If dough was in the fridge, let it reach room<br/>temperature before stretching Table->>Table: Place rested dough onto cloth, elongated Note over Table: Stretch dough a bit with a rolling pin, flatten edges Note over Table: Rest dough 5-10 min, covered, to relax gluten<br/>before hand-stretching Note over Table: Stretch dough thin using backs of hands/knuckles,<br/>working from centre outward (avoid fingertips) Note over Table: Keep re-oiling any dry/tacky patches while stretching Note over Table: Small tears are normal — pinch/patch them,<br/>or just avoid filling over them Note over Table: Spread the warmed oil/butter mix over stretched dough Note over Bowl: Grate apples roughly, just before laying onto<br/>the stretched dough Note over Tray: Pre-heat oven to 200°C Note over Bowl: Drain/squeeze grated apples a bit (keep some<br/>moisture, don't overdo it) Note over Bowl: Add lemon juice if not laying onto dough right away Bowl->>Table: Spread grated apples along the long edge<br/>(1/3 of the width), leaving a bare strip near you Table->>Table: Sprinkle cinnamon sugar over the apples Table->>Table: Optionally scatter raisins over the apples Table->>Table: Optionally dot the apples with coarsely<br/>grated chilled butter, or pour the remaining<br/>oil/butter mix evenly over the apples instead Table->>Table: Remove any thick edges of the dough Table->>Table: Fold dough over apples, roll into a cylinder<br/>using the cloth Note over Tray: Line tray with baking paper, drizzle with oil Table->>Tray: Place the rolled cylinder into the tray — either<br/>cut it into pieces with a plate and seal the sides,<br/>or snake it around to fit if the cylinder is<br/>longer than the tray Tray->>Tray: Optionally brush a little oil over the top of the strudl Note over Tray: Bake at 200°C until golden brown (~15 min),<br/>then 160°C for another 30-45 min — at least<br/>45 min in total Note over Tray: Immediately after baking, brush with sour<br/>cream and dust with icing sugar

Detailed instructions

There are 3 stations for preparation:

  1. Mixer bowl (for the dough)

  2. Large bowl (for the apples)

  3. Water jug

Sequence at the mixer bowl station:

  • Sift the 520g of flour into the mixer bowl

  • Start mixing just before adding the water mix

  • You might have to add more water

  • Push the dough down from the mixer's whisk/hook occasionally while it mixes

  • Mix for a while until the dough separates from the bowl

  • It might be easier to knead from here on, but you can mix to the end until the dough is smooth and it must be soft and stretchy

  • Scrape the dough out of the mixer bowl onto a lightly floured worktop

  • Even with a good mixer, it's worth kneading by hand at the end — aim for 8-10 minutes of vigorous kneading, not just a light knead. This is what builds up the gluten network that lets the dough stretch thin later without tearing.

  • If you knead, use flour (not oil) on the worktop to stop the dough sticking; a silicone spatula helps to unstick the dough if it clings to the worktop

  • Throwing/slapping the dough onto the worktop a few times is another way to knead it, and further strengthens the gluten

  • if you knead, you can tell it's getting close if the dough doesn't stick to the board (you might have to add a bit of flour to achieve that)

  • after that place the dough into a bowl

  • cover the dough in oil (to seal it)

  • place the dough into the fridge to rest for an hour (you can leave the dough outside as well)

Sequence at the water jug:

  • Add a heaped teaspoon of salt into the 250 ml of lukewarm water

  • Add 50g of oil to the water as well

  • Add a teaspoon of vinegar to the water as well

  • Stir the water well

  • Slowly pour the water mixture into the mixer bowl while the mixer is running

  • The dough must be very stretchy

Sequence at the large bowl:

  • Peel the 2kg of apples

  • Grate the apples (roughly; through big holes on the grater)

  • Drain/squeeze the grated apples a bit to get rid of excess juice, otherwise the filling ends up too watery. Don't overdo it though — squeeze out just the excess liquid, not all of it, so the filling stays moist.

  • Add the lemon juice to the apples to prevent oxidation

Sequence at the table:

  • Lay the table with a big cloth, fully unfolded, hanging evenly over both sides of the table — this gives you slack to pull the cloth (and the dough with it) back to the centre if the dough migrates to one side while stretching

  • Spread a light dusting of flour on the cloth — just enough to stop sticking; too much dries out the dough's surface and makes it crack when stretched

  • If the dough was rested in the fridge, let it come back to room temperature before stretching — cold dough is stiffer and much more prone to tearing

  • Place the rested dough onto the cloth, elongated

  • With the help of a rolling pin stretch the dough a bit and flatten the edges

  • Make sure the dough doesn't stick to the cloth

  • Spread the oil left-over from the dough onto the stretched dough

  • Let the dough rest here for 5-10 minutes, covered (e.g. with a bowl), to let the gluten relax again before the final stretch — skipping this makes the dough spring back and tear more easily

  • Stretch the dough thin using the backs of your hands/knuckles rather than your fingertips (fingertips/nails tend to puncture it). Work from the centre outward, rotating around the dough a little at a time, until it's thin enough to see your hand through.

  • Keep re-oiling the surface as you stretch, especially any spot that looks like it's starting to dry out or go tacky — a dry patch turns brittle and is where tears tend to start

  • Small tears/holes are normal, not a failure — don't panic or restart. Just pinch the edges of a tear back together (patch with a scrap of dough cut from the thicker rim if needed), or simply leave small holes and avoid laying filling directly over them

// TODO: get a video of how mum stretches the dough

  • Spread melted butter mixed with oil over the stretched dough, before adding the apples. Using just oil, or just melted butter, also works — it's up to the baker.

  • Spread the apples all along the long edge, but keep a stretch of the dough near you so you can fold it over the apples later. The strip of apples should be 1/3 of the width along the other edge.

  • Sprinkle ground cinnamon over the apples

  • Sprinkle the sugar over the apples, a bit more generously where the apple layer is thicker (you can also mix the cinnamon into the sugar beforehand, instead of sprinkling it separately)

  • Optionally scatter raisins over the apples

  • Optionally dot the apples with butter. The best way is to coarsely grate chilled, hard butter over the apples (like grating Parmesan, but using the large/coarse holes of the grater instead of fine ones). Melted butter mixed into the oil, or small pieces of butter, also work. Alternatively, pour the remaining oil/butter mix evenly over the apples instead.

  • Remove any thick edges of the dough hanging around

  • Fold the dough over the apples and use the cloth along the long edge to keep turning the strudl over itself into a cylindrical roll.

// TODO: get a video of mum folding the strudl with the table cloth

Sequence at the baking tray:

  • Pre-heat the oven to 200°C (start just after grating the apples, so it's ready in time for baking)

  • Line the baking tray with baking paper

Lining the baking tray with baking paper

  • Drizzle a little oil onto the baking paper

Drizzling a little oil onto the baking paper lining the tray

  • Optionally, brush a little oil over the top of the strudl before baking — not strictly necessary, but it helps the crust brown nicer

  • Place the tray in the middle of the oven, or just below middle

  • Bake in a fan electric oven, starting at 200°C until the crust turns golden brown (~15 minutes), then lower to 160°C and continue baking for another 30 to 45 minutes. The strudl should be in the oven for at least 45 minutes in total.

  • Immediately after taking the strudl out of the oven, brush sour cream over the top, then dust it with icing sugar