Ingredients
Pan sizes, times and temperatures in the method are not scaled.
Strudel dough
Apple filling
Method
Dough
Mix the bread flour (250 g2 cups), salt (½ tsp), egg (1), sunflower oil (27 g2 tbsp), warm water (125 ml½ cup) and vinegar (5 g1 tsp). Knead hard for 10 minutes, slamming it on the counter a few times, until very smooth and elastic.
Oil the surface, cover with a warm bowl and rest at least 30 minutes; an hour is better.
Cover a table with a large cloth and flour it. Roll the dough out a little in the middle, then stretch it over the backs of your hands, working from the center out and walking around the table, until it is paper-thin and drapes over the edges. Let it dry 5 minutes.
Fill and bake
Heat the oven to 375°F (190°C). Trim off the thick edges and brush the whole sheet with melted butter.
Scatter the fine breadcrumbs (100 g¾ cup + 2 tbsp) over two thirds of the dough. Spread the tart apples (1 kg), raisins (80 g½ cup + 1 tbsp), granulated sugar (100 g½ cup), cinnamon (1 tsp), lemon zest and ground walnuts (30 g) over the crumbs.
Lift the cloth to roll the strudel up from the filled end, then roll it onto a lined baking sheet, seam side down. Curve it into a horseshoe if it's too long.
Brush with butter and bake 35 to 40 minutes, until deep golden and crisp, brushing with butter again halfway.
Dust with powdered sugar and serve warm, in thick slices.
Notes
- Breadcrumbs soak up the fruit juice and keep the bottom crisp. Don't skip them for fruit fillings.
- Sour cherry filling. 800 g pitted, drained sour cherries with 150 g sugar, 100 g toasted breadcrumbs and 1 tsp cinnamon.
- Sweet cheese filling. 500 g quark or well-drained ricotta, 2 eggs, 100 g sugar, 1 tsp vanilla, the zest of a lemon, 50 g raisins and 50 g semolina. No breadcrumbs needed; the semolina absorbs the moisture.
- Banat versions use more walnuts than the Austrian original.