Name: Apple Strudel with Hand-Stretched Dough
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 45 min
Total time: 105 min
Yield: 8 servings
Cuisine: Argentine
Ingredients: 500 g all-purpose flour (plain flour), for the dough; 1 pinch of salt, for the dough; 1 tbsp oil, for the dough; 1 egg yolk, for the dough; 350 ml warm milk, for the dough; 4 large apples, for the filling; 50 g melted butter, for brushing the dough; 2 heaping tsp ground cinnamon, for the filling; 200 g white sugar, for the filling; 100 g walnuts, roughly chopped, for the filling; 75 g raisins, for the filling; Powdered sugar (icing sugar), as needed, to dust at the end

Apple Strudel with Hand-Stretched Dough

⏱ 1 h 45 min in total🔪 30 min prep🍳 45 min cooking🧊 30 min resting🍽 8 portiesMedium

The classic strudel dough, stretched by hand until you can read a newspaper through it — with a filling of apples, cinnamon and raisins, wrapped in paper-thin, crisp layers.

The dough has to rest for 30 minutes before it is stretched. Freshly kneaded, the gluten is tight and it tears on every attempt; after the rest it stretches almost at will. That half hour is the whole trick.

It is stretched on a floured cloth and with the backs of your hands rather than your fingertips — nails tear holes. The same cloth is used at the end to roll it up.

Ingredients

Measurements

🍽 8 servings

500 g all-purpose flour (plain flour), for the dough
1 pinch of salt, for the dough
1 tbsp oil, for the dough
1 egg yolk, for the dough
350 ml warm milk, for the dough
4 large apples, for the filling
50 g melted butter, for brushing the dough
2 heaping tsp ground cinnamon, for the filling
200 g white sugar, for the filling
100 g walnuts, roughly chopped, for the filling
75 g raisins, for the filling
Powdered sugar (icing sugar), as needed, to dust at the end

Method

Making the dough: heap the sifted flour with the pinch of salt on the worktop in a crown. Put the oil and the yolk in the centre. Start adding the warm milk a little at a time while mixing from the centre outwards, until you have a soft dough.

Kneading and the essential rest: knead the ball thoroughly until it is smooth and elastic. Divide it into two equal parts and shape each into a ball. Let them rest, covered, for 30 minutes so the gluten relaxes — without that pause it tears as you stretch.

Stretching on the cloth: stretch each ball separately using your hands (use the backs so you do not tear it) on a table covered with a floured cloth, until the dough is as thin as paper. Let it air for a moment.

Preparing the filling: while the dough rests, peel the apples and cut them into very fine slices.

Building the strudel: drizzle or brush the stretched dough with the melted butter. Lay the sliced apples over it, leaving the edges of the dough clear. Scatter with the cinnamon, the white sugar, the roughly chopped walnuts and the raisins.

Rolling: fold the clear sides of the dough over the filling to seal the corners and, using the cloth to help you, start rolling the strudel up carefully so it comes out firm.

Baking: put each strudel on a lightly oiled baking tray. Bake in a moderate oven (180 °C) for 35 to 40 minutes, until the surface is deep golden.

Presentation: take it out of the oven, dust it immediately with plenty of icing sugar and cut it into pieces. Serve it warm, which is when the textures come through best.