Overflown with apples or just seeking something intriguing? Check out this Apple strudel recipe that is a dessert worth pursuing!
The “strudel” itself is a German word that means “swirl” or “whirlpool” and it is meant to describe the technique, the dessert is made as it is rolled up similarly to chocolate swirl bread or cinnamon swirl bread.
Homemade apple strudel isn’t the faint of hearts and it requires a somewhat special equipment which is a large, roughly spun, cotton tablecloth. Traditionally, the table cloth is handed down from mother to daughter through generations and without one, strudel making was not just to doomed to fail but deemed impossible.
Luckily, nowadays in the era of industrialized food production, refrigeration, and extensive transport possibilities, we don’t have to go through all the loops if we are willing to make some compromises.
The pastry, that carries the apple filling, shares its roots with the Ottoman Empire’s pastry which many of us know by the name “baklava.” This is the same baklava that is called “Filo or phyllo pastry” in Greece and still holds debates about its Turkish or Greek origin.
So, if we aren’t really into learning the intricacies of homemade apple strudel then taking shortcuts and stocking up with filo – phyllo pastry will save the day just fine. On top of that if we have never tried real apple strudel before then we can even forgo filo pastry and go with puff pastry apple strudel.
Although puff pastry and filo – phyllo pastry will behave nothing alike and it will provide a completely different experience, apple strudel beginners actually prefer it, since it needs substantially less effort and can come out looking much prettier.
If we are on any kind of diet though, investing into our filo – phyllo pastry skills will probably be a much-praised effort, since it contains way less calories, due to the sheer amount of pastry and fat we work with.
Although apple strudel is the most well-known strudel, there is more where strudels come from. Most likely anyone with gluten tolerance can find their favorite that are ranging from sweet to sour and anything in between.
Sour cherry, cabbage, summer squash with poppy seed, or cottage cheese fillings are just few of the many that are well known ingredients in strudel, countries around the world. Of course, there are various meat or cheese or both filled strudels which could be somewhat familiar to those who ever tried spanakopita but those aren’t really belong to the dessert category so we can skip them for now.
Once we get our strudel game rolling, there will be no turning back. Sure, there will be some hiccups (like not using enough filo sheets) and disappointments (hazelnut spread is not suitable for baking at high temperatures) but at the end, we’ll always end up with something tasty that goes to the heart.
If we really feel adventurous and want to try the real deal but haven’t yet received the family heirloom strudel cloth, fear not and use a somewhat rougher spun 100% cotton tablecloth or alternatively a nice and clean cotton bed-sheet. In any way happy rolling!
Ingredients
Traditional Homemade Strudel Pastry
(makes a lot)
- 7 cups / 800g Flour
- 2¼ cup / 500ml Water (tepid)
- ½ teaspoon / 3g Salt
Apple Strudel Filling
(for the lot of homemade strudel)
- 4 medium / 500g Apple (cored and peeled)
- 1 teaspoon / 2.5g Cinnamon
- ½ piece / 50ml Lemon’s juice
- Sweetener to taste (optional)
Strudel Filling Options
Zucchini poppy seed
- 4½ cups / 500g Zucchini (shredded)
- 1 cup / 100g Poppy seed (finely ground)
- 1 piece / 10g Lemon’s zest
- Sweetener to taste (optional)
Sour cherry poppy seed
- 3 cups / 550g Sour cherry
- 1 cup / 100g Poppy seed (finely ground)
- 1 piece / 10g Lemon’s zest
- Sweetener to taste (optional)
Cottage cheese
- 2 cups / 500g Cottage cheese (dry, squeeze if necessary or add flour)
- 1 teaspoon / 5ml Vanilla extract
- 2 medium / 100g Egg
- 1 cup / 250ml Sour cream
- 3 tablespoons / 45ml Honey or sweetener of choice to taste
How to make Apple strudel
Traditional Homemade Strudel Pastry
- Knead the dough until it comes together into a uniform texture.
- Place the dough onto a floured surface.
- Knead and divide into equal balls, we made 8 here. Cover and let them rest until the fillings are prepared.
Strudel Filling
- Prepare the filling. Let’s try something wild: summer squash with poppy seed, sour cherry with poppy seed and cottage cheese with raisins and honey.
Assembly
- Roll out one dough into a 4″ / 10cm disc. Brush some sour cream on top.
- Pick to dough up and stretch it by letting gravity do its thing.
- Put it back onto the table and stretch it further by hand. Check out: How to stretch strudel dough
- Place lumps of filling, about the size of a tablespoon, onto about ¾ part of the dough. Keep about 2″ / 5cm distance between the lumps and mind that the rows next to each other are alternating and not covering one another. Drizzle optional shaken up sour cream on top.
- Roll the dough up, starting from the side where the fillings are close to the edge using the table cloth. If the dough doesn’t want to roll, a special technique called jumping the dough must be initiated, which is a slight yank of the cloth so a bit of extra momentum is given the dough for moving. Check out: How to roll Strudel up
- Cut the strudel into the size of the baking tray.
- Place the strudels into the parchment paper lined or lightly oiled baking tray. Brush them with more sour cream.
- Place the strudels on the middle rack of a 350°F / 180°C preheated oven until golden brown, about 20 minutes.
Enjoy!
Star this recipe!
Apple Strudel Recipe – Traditional Homemade Pastry
Ingredients
Traditional Homemade Apple Strudel Pastry
- 7 cups Flour
- 2¼ cups Water tepid
- ½ teaspoon Salt
Apple Strudel Filling
- 4 medium Apple cored and peeled
- 1 teaspoon Cinnamon
- ½ piece Lemon's juice
- Sweetener to taste optional
Instructions
- Knead the dough until it comes together into a uniform texture.
- Place the dough onto a floured surface.
- Knead and divide into equal balls, we made 8 here. Cover and let them rest until the fillings are prepared.
Filling
- Prepare the filling. Let’s try something wild: summer squash with poppy seed, sour cherry with poppy seed and cottage cheese with raisins and honey.
Assembly
- Roll out one dough into a 4″ / 10cm disc. Brush some sour cream on top.
- Pick to dough up and stretch it by letting gravity do its thing.
- Put it back onto the table and stretch it further by hand. This is the tricky part. Check out: How to stretch strudel dough
- Place lumps of filling, about the size of a tablespoon, onto about ¾ part of the dough. Keep about 2″ / 5cm distance between the lumps and mind that the rows next to each other are alternating and not covering one another. Drizzle optional shaken up sour cream on top.
- Roll the dough up, starting from the side where the fillings are close to the edge using the table cloth. If the dough doesn’t want to roll, a special technique called jumping the dough must be initiated, which is a slight yank of the cloth so a bit of extra momentum is given the dough for moving. Check out: How to roll Strudel up
- Cut the strudel into the size of the baking tray.
- Place the strudels into the parchment paper lined or lightly oiled baking tray. Brush them with more sour cream.
- Place the strudels on the middle rack of a 350°F / 180°C preheated oven until golden brown, about 20 minutes.
Notes
Nutrition
Pin now, Enjoy later!
