Name: Apple Strudel with Hand-Pulled Pastry
Prep time: 2 h
Cook time: 40 min
Total time: 2 h 40 min
Yield: 1 roulade
Ingredients: 250 g plain flour; 1 pc egg; 100 ml water; 2 tablespoons sunflower oil; 1 pinch salt; 6 pcs apples; 80 g raisins; 60 g walnuts; 80 g caster sugar; 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon; 50 g breadcrumbs; 60 g butter; 1 pc lemon; 2 tablespoons rum; 30 g butter; powdered sugar

Step by step process

Preparing the dough

1
Sift the plain flour onto a work surface, make a well in the centre and crack in the egg. Add lukewarm water, oil and a pinch of salt.
2
Knead into a smooth, elastic dough, kneading takes about 8-10 minutes. the dough should be supple and not stick to your hands. If it is too sticky, add a pinch of flour.
TIP:
First, heat the wok thoroughly and fry the ingredients in smaller batches. Thanks to the high temperature, the meat quickly sears and browns. An overcrowded wok, on the other hand, cools down and starts steaming the food.
3
Shape the dough into a ball, brush it lightly with oil, cover with a bowl or cling film and leave to rest for at least 30 minutes at room temperature. Resting is essential for stretching the dough later.

Preparing the filling

4
Cover the raisins with rum (or lukewarm water) and leave them to plump up while the dough rests.
5
Peel the apples, remove the cores and slice them thinly. Drizzle with lemon juice to prevent browning, then toss with caster sugar and ground cinnamon. Roughly chop the walnuts, the pieces should be roughly the size of a pea so they provide a pleasant crunch in the filling.
6
Melt 60 g of butter in a frying pan and fry the breadcrumbs until golden, stir continuously to prevent burning. The toasted breadcrumbs will absorb the juice from the apples during baking and keep the pastry crispy.
TIP:
Toasted breadcrumbs create a crispy structure and absorb juices from fillings. Melt butter over medium heat, add breadcrumbs and stir until golden brown. Constant stirring and proper temperature prevent burning.

Shaping and baking

7
Preheat the oven to 190 °C (top and bottom heat). Line a baking tray with parchment paper.
8
Dust a clean kitchen cloth lightly with flour. Place the rested dough on it and first roll it out with a rolling pin into as large a rectangle as possible.
9
Then carefully stretch the dough with the backs of your hands, working from the centre outwards, until it is so thin you can see the pattern of the cloth through it. Trim the thicker edges or tuck them in when rolling.
TIP:
Roll out the dough with a rolling pin, then carefully pull with the backs of your hands from the center to the edges slowly and evenly. The goal is to achieve transparency, you should be able to see the pattern of the underlying cloth. This is how characteristic thin layers are formed.
10
Spread the toasted breadcrumbs evenly over two thirds of the dough, then scatter over the apple slices, plumped raisins and chopped walnuts.
11
Using the cloth, roll the strudel from the filled side towards the empty edge. Pinch the ends together and carefully transfer the strudel seam-side down onto the prepared tray.
12
Melt the remaining 30 g of butter and brush it generously over the entire surface of the strudel.
13
Bake for 35-40 minutes until the surface is golden and crispy. Halfway through baking you can brush the strudel with butter once more for a deeper colour.

Serving

14
Leave the finished strudel to rest on the tray for 10 minutes, then transfer to a cooling rack or board. Dust with icing sugar through a sieve and cut into diagonal slices. Serve warm or at room temperature.

More tips:

The dough must be well kneaded and properly rested, otherwise it will tear when stretched. If it still tears, leave it to rest for another 10 minutes and try again.

Sharper, more acidic apple varieties work best (Boskoop, Jonagold, Granny Smith), they hold their shape during baking and provide a pleasant contrast to the sweet breadcrumbs.

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