Authentic German Apple Streudel Food

APPLE STRUDEL

Steps:

• Add the flour, a pinch of salt, egg, and oil to a medium-sized mixing bowl.
• Mix everything together using the spiral dough hooks of your electric mixer while slowly adding the lukewarm water. Keep mixing for approximately 5 minutes until the dough has an elastic consistency and sticks together.
• Shape the dough into a ball using your hands. Brush all sides of the ball of dough with one teaspoon of oil and place it back into the bowl. Cover the bowl with a dishtowel and let the dough rest on the counter for 30 minutes.
• In the meantime, prepare the filling. First, melt three tablespoons of butter in a medium-sized frying pan. Add the breadcrumbs and fry them on medium heat until golden brown. Stir regularly. Once they are golden brown, remove them from the heat and set them aside.
• Next, peel the apples. Then cut them into quarters and remove the core. Cut each quarter into thin slices. Then cut these slices into small pieces (see process photo above for reference).
• Place the small apple pieces into a medium-large mixing bowl. Also add the sugar, cinnamon, lemon juice, rum, raisins, and browned breadcrumbs to the bowl and mix everything together. You can also decide to not add the breadcrumbs now and keep them separate. It's easier to mix everything together but adding them separately from the apples can make for a slightly more moist filling (because the breadcrumbs don't soak up as much juice from the apples during baking).
• Preheat the oven to 390 degrees Fahrenheit.
• Once you're done with preparing the filling and the 30 minute dough rest time is up, take a finely-threaded large dish towel (that will not give off small threads/fibers/"fuzzies"), sprinkle some flour onto it, and roll out the dough with a rolling pin. Use more flour as needed. Then carefully stretch out the dough with your hand until it has a dimension of approximately 24 x 17 inches. Be gentle so you don't rip the dough.
• Once the dough is rolled out thin and you can see the dishtowel through the dough, gently brush some melted butter (approximately 1 tablespoon) onto the whole surface of the dough.
• Now cover the left side of the rectangle with the filling leaving a gap of approximately 2 inches along the edges. If you didn't mix the breadcrumbs and the apples earlier, first place the breadcrumbs onto the dough and then add the apple-mixture on top of that.
• Fold over the long top and bottom edges, then gently roll up the dough from the left side - the side with the filling - using the dishtowel. Make sure that the seam is at the bottom once you are done rolling.
• Carefully place the strudel onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Brush the top and the sides of the dough with some more melted butter.
• Bake the apple strudel on the medium rack of your oven for around 30-40 minutes. Take the strudel out after approximately 15 minutes and brush it with a little bit more melted butter.
• Once the strudel is done baking and lightly browned, remove it from the oven and let it cool for a few minutes on the baking sheet. Then dust it with powdered sugar. Apple strudel can be served warm or cold and tastes delicious with some homemade vanilla sauce.

APPLE STRUDEL (APFELSTRUDEL)

Steps:

• If you want to use raisins in your Apfel Strudel, you need to soak them in 50 ml of apple juice or in some rum. If you don't have either, water will do, too.
• Prepare the dough by adding all ingredients into a large bowl.
• Knead for at least 5 minutes to give the dough enough elasticity.
• Put a little bit of oil into a smaller bowl, turn the dough in the oil to cover it, then put into the fridge to rest at least 30 minutes.
• Meanwhile prepare the apples: Remove the skin and apple cores.
• Cut the apples into small pieces.
• Squeeze the lemon and pour the juice into a bowl with the apple pieces.
• Add the sugar and Cinnamon to the apples and stir well, then set aside.
• Melt 50 g of butter in a pan and add the bread crumbs.
• Roast the bread crumbs for a little bit.
• When the dough has rested at least 30 minutes, it's time to roll it out. For that you put a clean kitchen towel onto the counter and sprinkle it with flour.
• Roll the dough on the towel, always rolling from the center to the edges.
• When you have rolled the dough as thin as possible, use your hands: With the back of the hands, move under the dough and pull it out (watch video!).
• Once the dough is very thin, melt some more butter and brush it onto the entire dough.
• Optional: cut of thicker edged of the dough.
• Now, add the roasted bread crumbs and spread them evenly onto the dough, leaving some space to the edges.
• Add the Apple slices, place them evenly onto the dough.
• If you have raisins: Remove them from the liquid, squeeze them a little, then place them evenly between the apple pieces.
• With the help of the towel, flip the sides of the dough inwards (see video).
• Starting from one end, lift the towel to slowly roll the strudel towards the other end.
• Place the strudel seam down on a baking sheet and brush with some melted butter.
• Bake in the oven at 190°C / 375°F for about 20 - 25 minutes.
• Finish with a thin layer of sprinkled confectioners sugar.
• Serve warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream or cold with vanilla sauce and whipping cream.

GERMAN APPLE STRUDEL

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
• In a large saucepan, combine the apples, brown sugar and 1/2 cup water. Bring to a simmer and cook until the apples soften and breakdown, 10 to 15 minutes. Set aside and let cool.
• Meanwhile, combine the apple juice and raisins in a small bowl and let sit for 15 minutes.
• Combine the cinnamon, granulated sugar and pecans in a small bowl. Lay out a sheet of phyllo dough. Brush with butter, sprinkle with some pecan-sugar mixture and put another phyllo sheet on top. Repeat this process until all the sheets and pecan-sugar mixture are used up.
• Drain the raisins and stir them into the apples. On the last buttered sheet, put the apple mixture in a line across the sheet horizontally, leaving 1 inch on each side. Carefully roll the pastry away from you to enclose the filling, making a log.
• Close the ends with your fingers, brush the top with butter and sprinkle extra brown sugar on top. Transfer the strudel to the prepared baking sheet. Bake until lightly browned and crisp on top, 35 to 40 minutes. Let cool. Slice with a serrated knife into 2-inch pieces and serve with whipped cream.

EASY APPLE STRUDEL

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
• Place apples in a large bowl. Stir in brown sugar and golden raisins; set aside. Place puff pastry on baking sheet. Roll lightly with a rolling pin. Arrange apple filling down the middle of the pastry lengthwise. Fold the pastry lengthwise around the mixture. Seal edges of pastry by using a bit of water on your fingers, and rubbing the pastry edges together. Whisk egg and milk together, and brush onto top of pastry.
• Bake in preheated oven for 35 to 40 minutes, or until golden brown.

GERMAN APPLE STRUDEL (APFELSTRUDEL)

Steps:

• Combine the flour and salt in a stand-mixer. Using the paddle attachment, add in the water, oil, and vinegar while mixing on low speed until you get a soft dough. Change out the paddle attachment for the dough hook, then knead the dough on medium speed until a soft ball forms.
• Transfer the dough to a clean work surface and knead for 2-3 minutes, until smooth. Slam the dough onto the work surface a few times to enhance gluten development, then shape into a ball and transfer the dough to a lightly oiled bowl, giving the dough a quick torn to lightly coat it in oil on top so it doesn't dry out. Cover the bowl tightly with plastic wrap and let the dough rest for 60-90 minutes.
• When the dough is almost done resting, heat the oven to 375 degrees F. Place the raisins in a bowl of hot water to soak. Peel, core, and slice the apples into thin slices. Mix the sugar and cinnamon together. Cover your kitchen table or large counter space with a clean tablecloth or sheet.
• To stretch the dough, first move it from the bowl to a clean, dry surface and cut it cleanly in half with a bench scraper, pizza cutter, or large knife. Set one half of the dough to the side. Shape the other half of the dough into a ball and roll it out as thin as you can.
• Gently lift the dough and transfer it to the clean, flat surface covered by the tablecloth. Working gently, lift and stretch the dough a little at a time. When you first start, you can use your knuckles (be sure to remove all jewelry first) underneath the dough to stretch it like a pizza with the back of your hands. Continue to stretch the dough by lifting gently from the thicker edges and wafting a little air under the dough as you pull away from the center of the dough. As it thins out, the weight of the dough will mostly hold it in place on the tablecloth while you stretch out one side, then the other, increasing the size of the dough and stretching it thinner and thinner each time. As you lift and gently pull, you will see areas where the dough is thinning out and you will know the dough is thin enough when you are able to see the pattern of the tablecloth through the dough.
• Continue to stretch and pull the dough until it is paper-thin and a large rectangular shape. If there is a thick band of dough around the edges, remove it by gently tearing it away or carefully tug on the band, stretching the dough even a bit further to thin that thick band of dough out.
• Using a your hands (or a very soft pastry brush, although I find that my hands work best), gently spread 1/4 cup of the melted butter over the entire surface of the dough, leaving a 1-inch border around the edges. Sprinkle half of the breadcrumbs over half of the dough, then place half of the sliced apples on top of the breadcrumbs. Cover the apples evenly with half of the raisins (and walnuts, if using) and half of the cinnamon-sugar mixture.
• Fold the short end of the dough over onto the filling, then fold the sides over as well to create a sort of envelope edge that will keep the filling in place as you roll the strudel. Grab the tablecloth close to the short, filled end of the strudel and lift it, allowing the strudel to roll or fold onto itself. Keep lifting the tablecloth, rolling the strudel into a log, making sure the filling stays tucked inside.
• Carefully transfer the strudel onto a parchment-lined baking sheet, seam side down. Repeat with the remaining half of the dough and filling ingredients, reserving 1/4 cup of melted butter. Both strudel should fit side by side on the same baking sheet with space between them. Brush the tops of both strudel with the remaining melted butter.
• Bake for 25-30 minutes or until the dough is golden brown. Remove from oven and allow strudel to cool for 10 to 15 minutes before slicing. Dust with powdered sugar before serving.

GERMAN APPLE STRUDEL

Steps:

• In a large bowl, combine flour, salt, egg and water and stir vigorously until mixture forms a dough. Turn out onto a floured surface and knead 10 minutes, until smooth and elastic. Cover with plastic wrap and let rest 1 hour.
• Grind poppy seeds in a food processor or spice grinder, if desired. Combine poppy seeds, sugar, and cinnamon in a medium bowl and mix well; set aside.
• Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Grease a 9x13-inch baking dish.
• Place the dough on a large work surface covered with a clean cotton sheet. Stretch the dough slightly to form a large rectangle. Pour the melted butter over the dough to moisten. Carefully stretch the dough into a large rectangle as big as your work surface will allow. The dough should be very thin and translucent.
• Sprinkle the poppy seed mixture evenly over the stretched dough. Distribute the apples evenly over the poppy seed mixture. Sprinkle with about one half of the cream. Roll each side of the dough carefully to the middle and fold the ends under the strudel. Cut the strudel in half and place the two halves side by side in the prepared dish. Sprinkle with the remaining cream.
• Bake in preheated oven until pastry is golden brown, about 1 hour. Allow to cool before slicing.

GERMAN APPLE STRUDEL

Steps:

• Place flour in a mixer bowl; beat in 1/4 cup oil (mixture will be slightly crumbly). In a small bowl, slowly whisk warm water into beaten egg; add to flour mixture, mixing well. Beat in remaining oil until smooth. Transfer to a greased bowl, turning once to grease the top. Cover and let rest in a warm place, about 30 minutes., Preheat oven to 350°. Spread bread crumbs into an ungreased 15x10x1-in. baking pan. Bake 10-15 minutes or until golden brown, stirring occasionally. Cool completely., Tape a 30x15-in. sheet of parchment onto a work surface; dust lightly with flour. Divide dough in half; place 1 portion on parchment and roll to a very thin 24x15-in. rectangle. (Keep remaining dough covered.) Remove tape from parchment., Sprinkle 3/4 cup bread crumbs over rectangle to within 1 in. of edges. Starting 3 in. from a short side, sprinkle 3 cups apples and 1/4 cup raisins over a 3-in.-wide section of dough. Mix sugar and cinnamon; sprinkle half of the mixture over fruit. Drizzle with half of the melted butter., Roll up jelly-roll style, starting at fruit-covered end and lifting with parchment; fold in sides of dough as you roll to contain filling. Using parchment, transfer strudel to a 15x10x1-in. baking pan; trim parchment to fit pan., Bake on lowest oven rack 45-55 minutes or until golden brown, brushing top with sour cream 2 times while baking. Repeat with remaining ingredients., Using parchment, transfer to a wire rack to cool. Serve warm or at room temperature.

REAL GERMAN APPLE STRUDEL

Steps:

• 1. Dough: Mix flour, salt, baking powder, sugar, cinnamon, buttery flavored shortening and eggs to soft consistency. Add flour a tiny bit at a time,if more is needed, until not sticky just tacky.Dough is ready if you can put your finger in the dough and it comes out clean and not sticky. Knead dough about 10 minutes. Do not over mix- dough will be tough. Divide dough into 3 equal parts. Grease bowls and put a piece of dough in each bowl,turning to grease top. Let set for about 1 hour covered.
• 2. Peel apples. Butter 3- 9x13-inch cake pans any 3 pan as long as they have sides will do.( these strudel can be frozen unbaked or baked for 3 months).
• 3. Mix the sour cream,sugar, vanilla and milk together in a medium bowl until gravy thin. Set aside. Next: Lay out a clean dish towel.Sprinkle with a bit of flour.Roll or stretch out 1 piece of the dough very, very thin as possible. About 1/8 inch thick(don't worry about edges,you can cut them off.
• 4. Combine apples, raisins,sugar and cinnamon and mix well. Using a pastry brush spread 1/3 of the cream mixture on the dough. Using 1/3 of the apple mixture spoon mixture on one side of the dough the long side. Drizzle on some melted butter. Roll up like a jelly roll. Tuck in ends. Place in one of the prepared pans. Brush top with cream mixture,so top does not get crusty. Cut a few slits over top. Set aside. Repeat directions with the remaining doughs. Bake in 400^ oven for 10 minutes then reduce heat to 350^ and bake for about 45 minutes more. --- REMEMBER THIS MAKE 3 STRUDEL SO YOU CAN FREEZE SOME FOR THE HOLIDAYS.- UP TO 3 MONTHS.

AUTHENTIC GERMAN APPLE STREUDEL

Steps:

• 1. Make sure that the room you are working in is quite warm and draft free. Do not wear rings or bracelets.
• 2. Pre-soak the raisins in warm water in a bowl, just covering the top of the raisins.
• 3. Mix the flour, eggs, oil and salt. Add water and mix into dough. Turn out on floured board and knead for 10 minutes. Brush with melted butter and place in a greased bowl. Cover the bowl and let it rest for 45 minutes.
• 4. Put a fabric tablecloth on your table that hangs over the sides. Dust with flour and place the dough in the center. Flour your rolling pin and roll out to approximately 8" diameter.
• 5. Put your hands under the dough. Using the tops of your hands, gently pull the dough towards you. Generously brush the top of the dough with melted butter while you are doing this. Try not to make holes. Keep walking around the table, picking up and pulling the circle of dough until it is paper thin and you can see through it. It should be quite large. Grammy used to pull it to at least 6 feet across and ended up with a streudel about 3 feet long.
• 6. Sprinkle the dough all over with apples, some sugar, cinnamon and raisins. Drizzle melted butter over all. Walk around the table and trim off the thick edges with a scissor.
• 7. Lifting the edges of the tablecloth, fold the dough hanging over the edge of the table up and over the filling. Do this all the way around. Then pick the tablecloth up from one side. Use the tablecloth to roll the streudel and start rolling the streudel up completely. Seal the edges.
• 8. Place streudel onto pan (if large, make it horseshoe shaped). Bake at 350 for 45 to 55 minutes. Once cooled you can top with powdered sugar, ice cream or whipped cream.
• 9. NOTES: You can roll one large streudel as this recipe says and then cut into smaller streudels after baking, or you can divide dough into 2 or 3 balls before letting it rest. Then roll out 3 individual streudels. If you have a large enough table it is easier to roll once and divide later. **The size of the table also determines the size you can roll. Great Grammy had a 60" plus round oak table that she used, while Grammy had a smaller rectangular table. If you have a smaller table, definitely divide dough into at least 2 balls.

ORIGINAL VIENNESE APPLE STRUDEL

Steps:

• Mix lukewarm water, oil, vinegar and salt in a big bowl. Acid like vinegar helps relax the gluten to make the dough easier to stretch.
• Stir in about half the flour with a spoon until well combined, then gradually add the remaining flour until it comes together and you can work it with your hands.
• Knead the dough until smooth for about 10 minutes, either in the bowl or on a working surface. The dough should be moist but not sticky. If it is too sticky to knead, add a little more flour (you shouldn't need more than 1 or 2 additional tablespoons). Slam the dough onto the worksurface a few times to enhance gluten development, yielding a very elastic dough.
• Shape the dough into a smooth ball. Brush a clean bowl with oil, put the dough into the bowl and brush it with oil (you can do this with your fingers).
• Cover the bowl with a lid or plastic wrap and let it sit for 1 hour at room temperature. (see note)
• Melt the butter in a pan over medium heat and add the breadcrumbs. Toast them, stirring constantly, until they are golden. Remove from the heat and let cool.
• Mix sugar and cinnamon together, then add it to the buttered breadcrumbs and stir well. Set aside.
• Soak the raisins in rum (traditional) or lukewarm water for about 10 minutes to get them softened.
• Peel the apples, quarter and core them. Chop every quarter into 1/8 to 1/4 inch thick slices and cover them with lemon juice to prevent the apples from getting brown. Add the soaked raisins (but not the remaining rum or water) and mix well.
• Roll out the dough with a rolling pin on a clean and lightly floured surface. Flour the surface and the dough every now and then while rolling.
• When the dough gets about 13-15 inch in diameter, pick it up then use the back of your hands, particularly your knuckles, to stretch it (remove all sharp jewelry first). This way you can straighten the dough like a pizza.
• When the dough gets bigger and thinner, and thus difficult to handle, put it down on a lightly floured tablecloth, straighten out the wrinkles in both the tablecloth and the dough. Continue stretching the dough on the tablecloth using your hands.
• Gently stretch the dough paper-thin from the inside to the outside, working your way around the sheet of dough. Stretch it until it starts to look translucent. You should be able to read the titles of a newspaper placed under the dough (don't do this though, the ink would probably come off).
• In the end, the sheet of dough should be stretched into a rectangular shape, with the shorter edge fitting the baking sheet lengthwise. Thick edges should be cut off.
• Brush half the dough with half the melted butter. Spread the breadcrumb-mixture over the other half of the dough and pat down evenly. One side is brushed with butter now, the other side is covered with breadcrumbs. Leave 1 to 1 ½ inch to the edge. Spread the apples over the breadcrumbs.
• Fold in the side-ends of the dough. Using the towel, roll the dough, starting at the apple-topped end all the way. Then gently roll the strudel onto a sheet of parchment paper with the seam-side down.
• Put the dough onto a baking sheet and brush it with the remaining melted butter.
• Put the baking sheet in the middle (I use rack 2 of 4 from top) of the preheated oven and bake it for ½ hour at 375 °F. Note: Some readers have commented that their strudel needed a little longer in the oven, around 45 minutes.
• When the crust turns golden, the Apple Strudel is ready. Take it out of the oven, let it cool slightly, cut it into pieces and serve dusted with confectioner's sugar.

HOMEMADE APPLE STRUDEL (APFELSTRUDEL)

Steps:

• For the strudel dough, whisk the oil with the egg in a bowl, add vinegar and salt, then alternately stir in water and flour. Stir or beat with a wooden spoon until smooth.
• Beat the dough several times on a wooden board or another surface (so to speak "throw it on"), so that it gets small bubbles. Cut the dough into thirds and form or roll it into smooth balls with your hands. Coat the dough balls with some oil so that they do not dry out. Put them on a board or a big plate, cover them with a bowl and let them rest for about 30 minutes.
• Meanwhile, for the filling, melt the butter in a pan and add as many breadcrumbs as the butter absorbs. Let it cool down a little. Wash and peel the apples and cut them into small pieces.
• Dust the work surface with some flour. Take a ball of dough, first roll it out a little with the rolling pin and then spread it out in the air with your hands over both backs of your hands, making it bigger. Important: Take off the rings!
• Place a kitchen towel on the work surface, place the strudel dough on top and pull carefully with your fingers along the edges to the right size. The result should be a rectangle almost as big as your baking tray. The dough has the perfect "thickness" when it is wafer-thin, i.e. when you can see the kitchen towel shimmering through, but it does not yet have any holes or the like. But if there should be a few small holes in it, that's not too bad.
• Cover the dough with about one-third of the butter and breadcrumbs mixture and one-third of the apples. Leave one edge free. Sprinkle cinnamon sugar, raisins and almond slivers over it as you like.
• Fold the covered dough sheet in at the short sides so that nothing can run out. Use the kitchen towel to roll up the long sides into a strudel. Place the strudel with the cloth on a baking sheet covered with baking paper. The seam (where the ends overlap) should be on the bottom.
• Whisk the egg yolk with a fork to coat the strudel. Brush the first strudel. Preheat oven to 360°F / 180 °C degrees. Then repeat all steps with the two remaining dough balls and coat the strudel at the end. The 3 strudels fit closely together on a large baking tray.
• Bake the apple strudels for about 40 minutes until the surface is golden brown. Dust with powdered sugar and enjoy pure or together with vanilla sauce or vanilla ice cream.

25 TRADITIONAL GERMAN DESSERT COLLECTION

Steps:

• Select your favorite recipe.
• Organize all the required ingredients.
• Prep a German dessert in 30 minutes or less!

GERMAN APPLE CAKE WITH STREUSEL

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Butter and flour a 9x13" baking dish or spray with non-stick baking spray.
• Mix flour, butter, sugar, egg, and vanilla together in a large bowl using an electric mixer until combined.
• Pat the cake dough into an even layer on the bottom of the prepared baking dish using the back of a rubber spatula or your hands. Refrigerate until apple filling is ready.
• In another large bowl, combine the apples, lemon juice, lemon zest, sugar, cinnamon, and applesauce. Spoon apple filling in an even layer over the cake dough.
• In another large bowl, cut the butter into the flour and sugar using a pastry cutter until it resembles coarse crumbs. Squeeze handfuls of streusel topping together to create larger clumps, then sprinkle the streusel over the apple filling.
• Bake for 45 minutes until lightly golden brown on top and the apples are soft.
• Cool completely, then cut into squares and serve with sweetened whipped cream or vanilla ice cream. I think this cake tastes best cold, straight from the fridge.

APPLE STREUSEL CAKE

Steps:

• Mix ingredients for the dough in a large mixing bowl until completely mixed.
• Spread out dough on a lightly oiled 13x9 inch baking dish. Flatten the dough in the pan until it reaches all the corners and equally distributed.
• Place sliced apples on top in 2 to 3 rows slightly overlapping each other.
• Sprinkle cinnamon, ground cloves, and ground nutmeg on top.
• Sprinkle sliced almonds on top.
• Preheat oven to 350°F or 180°C.
• Make the streusel: in a separate bowl mix butter, flour, and sugar together with your hands until it forms small crumbles. You may need to add more flour to the mixture until you reach the desired crumbles.
• Sprinkle streusel (butter, flour, and sugar crumbles) on top.
• Bake for about 1 hour.

GERMAN APPLE STRUDEL WITH PUFF PASTRY (APFELSTRUDEL)

Steps:

• Defrost one sheet of puff pastry.
• If you want to soak the raisins in rum, orange juice or warm water, do this at least a couple hours ahead of time.
• Cut apples into thin slices and add to a medium bowl. Squeeze a little lemon juice over the apple slices so they don't turn brown.
• Melt 2 tablespoons butter in the microwave or on the stove over medium low heat. Take it off the heat and let cool for a few minutes.
• Add raisins, bread crumbs, cinnamon, vanilla sugar, chopped almonds, and melted butter to the apples. Stir until everything is well combined. Set aside.
• Place defrosted puff pastry on a floured surface and gently roll dough out on all sides.
• Spoon apple mixture along the short side of one end of the puff pastry and then roll up the pastry.
• Pinch the bottom seam together and tuck the ends under to seal the strudel. Place seam side down on a lined baking sheet.
• Melt 1 tablespoon butter and brush on the strudel. Bake at 350F/180C for 30-35 minutes or until golden brown.
• Take strudel out of the oven and let cool. Dust with powdered sugar. Serve warm with a side of whipped cream, vanilla ice cream or vanilla sauce.
• This strudel will be the flakiest the day it's made. (It will taste good the next day, it just won't be as flakey).

EASY TRADITIONAL VIENNESE APPLE STRUDEL

Steps:

• Place the flour in a bowl with the salt and add the water, then 2 tablespoons oil. Stir with a spoon until it comes together and you can work it with your hands.
• Knead the dough until it is smooth and tacky, but not sticky, about 5 minutes. If you need to add more flour, add only 1 teaspoon at a time.
• Form the dough into a smooth ball, brush it with 1 teaspoon oil and place it back in the bowl for 1 hour at room temperature. Covering the dough with plastic wrap is fine, too.
• Heat 7 tablespoons butter in a pan until foaming and add the breadcrumbs.
• Toast them, stirring constantly, until they are medium brown. Let cool.
• Soak the raisins in the optional rum (or orange juice). You can heat them for 30 seconds in the microwave and then soak them until you are ready for them.
• Peel, core and chop the apples into small pieces. Add the sugar, lemon juice, lemon zest, raisins, and cinnamon and mix well.
• Roll out the dough on a lightly floured board to about 13 x 9 inches. Lightly flour a clean towel with no nap, place it over the dough, grab both (towel and dough) and flip over. Straighten both, as necessary.
• Using your hands, gently stretch the dough thinner on all sides, working your way around the sheet of dough. Stretch it until it starts to look translucent in spots. Let it rest a minute and again stretch the areas you think are too thick. Thick edges can't be avoided and will be cut off. Brush dough with melted butter.
• Spread the breadcrumbs over 2/3 of the dough and pat down evenly. Drain the apples and spread them over the other 1/3 of the dough. Cut off any thick edges of dough with kitchen shears. Using the towel, fold one side of the dough over the filling. Brush exposed dough with melted butter.
• Fold in ends of dough like an envelope (or burrito). Fold the other side of dough up and over filling to form a roll. Brush with butter. Use the towel to maneuver strudel to a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Roll strudel onto parchment paper so that the seam-side is down. Brush with melted butter.
• Heat oven to 400 F. Bake for 20 minutes and then reduce heat to 350 F and bake for an additional 40 to 60 minutes. Remove from oven, brush the top with melted butter and sprinkle with confectioners' sugar while still warm.
• Transfer to a serving platter with a large spatula (or two). Cut into 1 1/2-inch-wide slices with a bread knife or serrated knife and serve with your choice of whipped cream , vanilla sauce, or vanilla ice cream.