Bavarian Apple Strudel Food

BAVARIAN STYLE APPLE STRUDEL (APFEL STRUDEL) RECIPE - (4.6/5)

Steps:

• NOTE: I find that rolling out the puff pastry on a lightly floured sheet of parchment paper is ideal. This helps with the rolling of the strudel and for the transferring of the filled strudel onto a baking sheet a breeze! Filling: Peel and remove the core. Slice the apples thinly. NOTE: I invested in an apple peeler, corer, that makes this process so easy to do. I simply attach the apple to the fork, turn the crank and my apple is peeled, cored and sliced thin very quickly! I also drop the prepared apples in a bowl of cold water, with the juice of half a lemon (to prevent browning). If using Clearjel thickener, add it to the sugar and mix together. Add the sugar, lemon juice, golden raisins, boiled apple cider** (if using)and cinnamon to the apples and mix to combine. Set aside. **Boiled cider is a heavily concentrated cider that has been boiled down and reduced to a very thick syrup. I use this to enhance my apple pies, crisps and strudels. It's also a great way to make apple juice, or pour it over pancakes. Gently roll the sheet of puff pastry out to smooth out the fold marks into a rectangular shape. Brush an even layer of melted butter onto the pastry. I "plop" about 3 tablespoons of sour cream right down the center and spread it evenly, leaving at least a 2-inch border all the way around. The apple mixture might become watery, as the apples begin to release their juices. So, use a slotted spoon (or clean hands) to add half of the apple mixture into the center of the pastry sheet-- leaving at least a 2-inch border. Lift up one side of the parchment paper to cover the center filling. Lift up the other side to cover the fruit entirely. Pinch together the long seam and both ends, to seal the pastry. Tuck the ends over the top and gently press to seal. Lift the parchment paper over a parchment lined baking sheet and gently roll the strudel on to the sheet, with the sealed side down. Repeat the process with the second puff pastry sheet. At this point, you can refrigerate the strudel until you are ready to bake it (within a few hours). Preheat the oven to 400°F. Brush the egg wash over each strudel and sprinkle with coarse sugar (if using). Using a sharp knife, make diagonal slices across the top 2-3-inches apart. Bake between 35 to 40 minutes, or until golden brown. Allow to cool on a baking rack, for at least five minutes. The strudel is best served warm or at room temperature, and is best eaten on the day that is is baked. If desired, you can whisk powdered sugar all over the top right before serving. Fresh whipped cream is a lovely garnish, as well.

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.

APPLE STRUDEL

Steps:

• Mix apples with raisins, lemon rind, sugar, cinnamon, and almonds; set aside.
• Place 1 phyllo leaf on a kitchen towel and brush with melted butter.
• Place a second leaf on top and brush with butter again.
• Repeat until 5 leaves have been used, using about 1/2 cup of butter.
• Cook and stir bread crumbs with 1/4 cup of butter until lightly browned.
• Sprinkle 3/4 cup crumbs on the layered phyllo leaves.
• Mound 1/2 of the filling in a 3-inch strip along the narrow end of the phyllo, leaving a 2-inch border.
• Lift towel, using it to roll leaves over apples, jelly roll fashion.
• Brush top of the strudel with butter and sprinkle with 2 tbsp crumbs.
• Repeat the entire procedure for the second strudel.
• Bake the strudels at 400°F for 20 to 25 minutes, until browned.
• NOTE: Frozen phyllo leaves for strudel can be found at most supermarkets in the frozen foods sections.

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.

BAVARIAN APPLE STRUDEL

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 475. Butter a 13X9 baking pan and set aside.
• Place the raisins in a small bowl, add the rum and let soak while you proceed.
• Mix cold water and lemon juice, set aside.
• Peel and core apples, cut into eighths, then cut each eighth crosswise into thin slices, letting them drop into the water and lemon juice mixture; set aside.
• Combine the sugar, lemon zest and cinnamon in a small bowl and set aside.
• Spread the phyllo sheets on a damp cloth. Lightly brush the left half of the top sheet of phyllo with a little of the melted butter and fold in half as if closing a book. Fit into the bottom of the prepared baking pan and brush lightly with more butter. (You can also spray the sheets with butter flavored spray - it still tastes great and you save a lot of fat - very easy too).
• Layer in 5 more sheets of phyllo, buttering, folding and buttering as before. (The phyllo sheets may not fit the bottom of the pan exactly - if too big, tuck under any overhang; if too small, stagger placement so that bottom of pan is covered.).
• Drain the apple slices and pat very dry. Arrange half the slices in the pan on top of the phyllo.
• Sprinkle with half the sugar mixture and half the raisins and rum; then spread with half the creme fraiche.
• Top with four more phyllo sheets, again brushing with butter, folding and brushing again after placing in pan. Make sure the phyllo covers the apples.
• Arrange the remaining apples on top of the phyllo, sprinkle with remaining sugar, rum and raisins.
• Spread the remaining creme fraiche and set aside.
• Bring the cream and rosewater to a simmer in an uncovered small heavy saucepan over low heat, then pour evenly over apples. Finally top with remaining phyllo sheets (about eight), using the same buttering, folding and buttering technique.
• Place the pan of strudel on a baking sheet (to catch any boil over) and slide onto the middle rack.
• Bake uncovered for 10 minutes. Reduce oven temp to 400 and continue baking, uncovered, till bubbling and richly browned. *THE RECIPE DOES NOT SPECIFY A TIME HERE - begin checking after 10 minutes - I baked it about 20-25 minutes after the initial 10. (if it browns too fast, cover with foil).
• remove from the oven and cool 15 minutes.
• Sift confectioner's sugar evenly over the top, cut into large squares and serve at once.

BAVARIAN "PULLED" APPLE STRUDEL (GEZOGENE STRUDEL)

Steps:

• Work the flour, eggs, oil, water, and salt into a dough.
• Divide into three parts.
• Form a ball of each piece, brush each piece of dough with oil and let it rest for 45 min.
• Place a old clean tablecloth on the table, roll out a ball a thin as you can.
• Here comes the tricky part.
• Make sure you are wearing no rings-- go under the dough like you are making your hands into claws with your fingers pointing down at the table and the soft part of your knuckles is what is going to pull the dough toward you.
• You will do this all around in a circle until the dough is paper thin and you can see through it.
• Brush generously with melted butter during this process.
• Trim off the heavy edges.
• Sprinkle on the apples, some sugar, cinnamon to taste, nuts if you like and drizzle a little melted butter over all.
• Now take the tablecloth and fold about 5" over toward the center on each side forming a frame around the dough.
• From the long side, Lift one side of the tablecloth and roll up completely.
• Fold it as long as your pan is.
• Seal edges.
• Gently put rolled strudel into the pan Bake at 350* for about 45-55 min.
• Until golden brown.
• There are other fillings like cheese, cabbage, sweet or sour cherries, raisins/nuts can be added to the apples, even meats have been done with this dough.
• I prefer the apple and cheese myself.

APFELSTRUDEL (CLASSIC APPLE STRUDEL)

Steps:

• To make the dough: Place the flour, egg, soft butter and salt in the bowl of an electric mixer. Mixing with the dough hook on low speed, add enough of the cold water to make a soft dough. Knead the dough in the electric mixer at medium speed until it is smooth and elastic, about 5 minutes. Form the dough into a ball and coat it with oil. Cover and let rest at room temperature for about 1 hour.
• For the filling: To make the coarse bread crumbs, toast slices of white bread in the oven until crisp, about 10 minutes. Break into pieces and place in a food processor. Pulse the processor until the bread resembles large bread crumbs. In a saute pan, over medium heat, saute the bread crumbs in 1/4 cup of the melted butter until they are golden brown. Reserve the sauteed bread crumbs and the remaining melted butter separately. Combine the sliced apples, granulated sugar, raisins, nuts, ground cinnamon and about half of the bread crumbs. Cut the firm butter into chunks and gently toss together with the apple mixture.
• To Assemble: Cover a work surface approximately 4 feet by 4 feet with a clean piece of cloth. The cloth is used to facilitate stretching and rolling the dough. Make sure that the cloth is securely fastened to the table. Dust the cloth lightly with the flour. Place the rested dough in the center of the cloth. Using a rolling pin, roll the dough into a large, thin rectangle. When the dough is as thin as it will go with the rolling pin, it is time to begin stretching and pulling the dough. To stretch and pull the dough, place your hands under the dough, and, using your thumbs and the back of your hand, gently begin pulling and stretching the dough. Pull and stretch the dough until it is a rectangle approximately 3 1/2 feet by 2 1/2 feet. Be very careful when you are pulling and stretching not to tear the dough. After it is pulled to the proper size, let the dough relax on the table for a few minutes. There will be a thick edge around the edges, trim this away. You also want to trim off any parts of the dough that hang over the edges of the table. Place the apple filling next to the long edge of the dough closest to you. Form the filling into a thick log. Brush some of the reserved melted butter generously over the remainder of the dough. Sprinkle the remaining bread crumbs over the dough. Using the cloth to help lift the dough, roll the strudel as you would a jelly roll, starting from the filling side. Place the strudel, seam side down, in a horseshoe shape on a sheet pan lined with parchment paper. Brush the strudel with the last of the melted butter. Bake in a preheated 375 degree F oven for about 35 minutes, Remove the pan from the oven and cool. Slice the the strudel into individual servings and serve either warm or at room temperature.

AUSTRIAN APPLE STRUDEL

Steps:

• Thaw puff pastry.
• Cut and core apple and chop into small pieces, 1/2-inch size.
• Over medium heat, melt butter in a large skillet.
• Add apple, raisins and apricots.
• Mix well and saute' a few minutes.
• Add water, brown sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg.
• Cover and simmer for about 10 minutes.
• Cool.
• Place pastry on a flat surface and distribute apple mixture down the middle of pastry sheet.
• Make 2 1/2-inch cuts diagonally along both sides of exposed pastry and 1 1/2-inch intervals.
• Fold strips over apples alternating from left to right.
• Press dough together where ends overlap.
• With fork tines, seal the top and bottomedge of dough.
• At this point refrigerate for 30 minutes or wrap and freeze for later use.
• At time of baking, place strudel on a cookie sheet covered with parchment paper, or use an insulated cookie sheet to prevent overbrowning of bottom of the pastry.
• Brush with egg wash.
• Bake in a preheated oven at 425 degrees for 25 minutes or until strudel is light golden.

OLD VIENNA APPLE STRUDEL

Steps:

• Combine apples, sugar, cinnamon, and raisins in a medium saucepan. Add 1/4 cup water and bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring occasionally. Cover and let cook for about 5 minutes. Uncover, increase heat to high, and cook until thickened, about 2 minutes. Pour filling into a baking dish and stir in the walnuts; let cool to room temperature.
• In a small saute pan, melt 5 tablespoons butter and add breadcrumbs. Cook over medium-low heat, stirring often, until toasted and golden brown, about 5 minutes. Set aside to cool. Wipe pan clean and melt remaining 3 tablespoons butter; set aside to cool.
• Preheat oven to 400 degrees with rack positioned in the middle of the oven. Line a large rimmed baking sheet with a double thickness of parchment paper.
• Lay a large, clean cloth or sheet (at least 3 feet long and wide) on a work surface, and sprinkle well with flour. Remove strudel dough from bowl without folding it over on itself and set it in the center of your work surface. Use the palms of your hands to flatten the dough. Dust dough lightly with flour and roll it in all directions, as well as rolling over the edges, making it as thin as possible. Lightly brush entire surface with oil.
• Slide both hands, with slightly curved palms facing down, under dough toward the center. Holding this position, lift the dough off the cloth with your knuckles, and begin stretching from the center out to the edges until it is too large to stretch easily with your hands. Carefully set dough back on cloth, spreading it to smooth out any wrinkles or folds. Starting in the center again, continue to stretch out the dough in all directions, maintaining a rectangular shape, until the dough is almost translucent everywhere except the edges, which should be thicker. If the dough tears while stretching; you will be able to patch any holes with some of the excess stretched dough.
• Once dough is stretched, let dry for 10 minutes.
• Using a pizza wheel or kitchen scissors, trim all the thick edges until the dough is approximately 24-by-30-inches. With the 24-inch edge facing you, scatter the breadcrumbs on a 12-by-4-inch rectangle of dough centered about 3 inches in from the 24 inch side so the 16 inch side of filling is parallel to the 24 inch side of dough. Scatter the cooled filling on the same space.
• Use a brush to drizzle the remaining 3 tablespoons of cooled butter all over the unfilled portions of the dough, reserving a little to brush the strudel with once it has been rolled.
• Roll strudel by folding 3 inches of dough from the 24-inch side of dough over the filling, then fold the unfilled dough in from each side. Lift the cloth and roll the strudel, stopping to fold the edges inward as you roll. Transfer to prepared pan, seam side down, positioning diagonally if necessary.
• Brush the top of the strudel with remaining butter, and snip vent holes in with sharp scissors.
• Place strudel in oven. Bake, rotating pan halfway though, until deep golden brown and crisp, about 30 minutes. Transfer to wire rack to cool for at least 30 minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature, cut on the diagonal into slices. Dust lightly with confectioners' sugar and serve with lightly sweetened whipped cream.