Viennese Apple Strudel Altwiener Apfelstrudel Food

SUPER EASY PUFF PASTRY APPLE STRUDEL

Steps:

• Set oven to 375 degrees.
• Lightly grease a large baking sheet, or line with parchment paper.
• Thaw the puff pastry sheet for 40 minutes at room temperature.
• In a small bowl, mix the egg and water.
• After 40 minutes, unfold the pastry sheet onto a lightly floured surface, with the short side facing you.
• Spoon the apple mixture on the bottom half of the pastry to within 1-inch of the edges, then sprinkle with raisins (if using).
• Starting at the short side, roll up like a jelly roll.
• Place seam-side down on the baking sheet, then tuck ends under to seal.
• Brush with the egg mixture.
• Cut several 2-inch slits (2-inches apart) on top.
• Repeat with the next puff pastry (if you are making two strudels).
• Bake about 35 minutes or until golden brown.
• Cool on baking sheet on a wire rack for about 30 minutes.
• Slice and serve warm.
• Sprinkle with confectioners sugar if desired.

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.

ALTWIENER APFELSTRUDEL (TRADITIONAL VIENNESE APPLE STRUDEL)

Steps:

• To make the dough: Place the flour in a bowl with the salt and add the water, then the 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, only add it 1 teaspoon at a time, and rework the dough after each flour addition (before adding more). Form the dough into a smooth ball, brush it with a little oil and place it back in the bowl for about 1 hour at room temperature. Covering the dough with plastic wrap is fine, too.
• To Make the First Filling: Heat the butter in a pan until foaming and add the breadcrumbs. Toast them, stirring constantly, until they are medium brown. Let cool.
• To Make the Second Filling: Heat the raisins for 30 seconds in microwave oven. Then soak raisins in rum (or orange juice); set aside until ready to use.
• Peel, core and chop the apples into small pieces. Add the sugar, lemon juice, lemon zest, cinnamon and nutmeg. Place raisins in colander to allow excess liquid to drain. Add to apple mixture, and mix well.
• Roll out the dough on a lightly floured board to about 9 inches by 13 inches. Lightly flour a clean towel with no nap, place it over the dough, grab both (towel and dough) and flip over so towel is on bottom and dough is on top. 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 stretch the areas you think are too thick, again. Brush dough with melted butter.
• Spread the first filling (toasted breadcrumbs) over 2/3 of the dough and pat down evenly. Spread second filling (apple/raisin mixture) over the other 1/3 of the dough. With kitchen shears, snip off any thick edges of dough, so dough is more uniform. Using the towel, fold one side of the dough over the filling. Brush exposed dough with melted butter. Fold in ends of dough like a burrito. Fold other side of dough up and over filling to form a loaf. Brush with butter.
• Use the towel to lift the strudel to a parchment-lined baking sheet. Gently roll strudel onto parchment paper so that the seam-side is down.
• Brush melted butter over the dough. Bake at 400° for 20 minutes. Reduce heat to 350° and bake for 40-60 minutes longer.
• Remove strudel from oven, brush with melted butter again, then sprinkle with powdered 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. Serve with your choice of whipped cream, vanilla sauce, or vanilla ice cream.

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.

VIENNESE APPLE PIE

Steps:

• Mix the sultanas and rum together and set aside to soak. Mix the flour and almonds together then rub in the butter until the mixture resembles crumbs. Stir in 2oz of the sugar and lemon zest.
• Mix the egg yolk with the lemon juice and stir into the dry ingredients and mix to make a firm dough. Chill for 30 minutes
• Preheat the oven to 350°F Peel, core and slice the apples, place in a bowl and add the remaining sugar, walnuts, sponge fingers, cinnamon and soaked sultanas.
• Roll out two thirds of the pastry on a floured surface and use to line an 8in round loose-based sandwich tin, allow the pastry to hang over the edges. Spoon in the apple mixture and press it down firmly.
• Roll out the remaining pastry, use the tin as a guide to cut out a circle to form a lid then roll over the excess pastry to make a neat seam on top of the pie. Make a steam hole in the centre of the pie.
• Whisk the egg white until frothy then brush over the top of the pie.
• Sprinkle with the granulated sugar and bake for 30-35 mins or until the pastry is golden.
• Leave to cool and serve warm in wedges with cream.
• Alternatively, serve it warm or cold in dainty wedges dusted with icing sugar and cinnamon.

APPLE STRUDEL -- APFELSTRUDEL

Steps:

• Sift the flour and salt together. Cut in the 2 Tbsp shortening and add the eggs and water.
• Knead well, then throw or beat dough against board until it blisters. Stand it in a warm place under a cloth for 20 minutes. Cover the kitchen table with a small white cloth and flour it.
• Put dough on it.
• Pull out with hands very carefully to thickness of tissue paper. Spread with mixture made of the sliced apples, melted butter, raisins, nuts, brown sugar, cinnamon and grated lemon rind.
• Fold in outer edges and roll about 4 inches wide. Bake at 450-F for 10 minutes, reduce heat to 400-F and continue to bake about 20 minutes.
• Let cool.
• Cut in slices about 2 inches wide.