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Austrian Apple Strudel

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Prep Time: 40 minutes

Dough Rest Time: at least 1 hour

Assembly Time: 40 minutes

Bake Time: 45 minutes

Total Time: 3 hours, 5 minutes

 

When I was 15 years old I did a summer exchange program for 3 weeks in Austria.  It was a beautiful 3 weeks that I remember so fondly. During my time there, I was taught how to make apple strudel by my host family.  For the most part I have kept the recipe the same, but I have learned a few things through the years and have adapted this recipe to make it my own.  I hope you love this recipe as much as I do.

 

Strudel dough can be a little difficult to work with, however the dough pretty strong.  And as long as you take your time during assembly you are going to be able to achieve a super thin, delicate strudel dough that will impress your friends and family.  

 

Use my bourbon-soaked raisin recipe to create the raisins that I use in this recipe! 

 

Make sure you watch my video to see how to assemble.  Using a towel is key to rolling this strudel without breaking the dough. Please, do not be bummed if you rip any holes in the dough while stretching or rolling. Those holes will usually be covered as you roll the strudel.  And if your strudel leaks in the oven – I promise you it will still look and taste amazing!

 

Ingredients:

 

For Strudel Dough:

  • 3 cups of bread-flour (all purpose will work ok too, but bread flour can help create a stronger dough) 
  • ¼ teaspoon salt
  • ¾ cup of warm water
  • 1 egg
  • 3 tablespoons of vegetable oil (or any plain oil like grapeseed or canola)

 

For Apple Filling:

  • 6 large apples (baking variety like granny smith or honeycrisp)
  • ½ cup of granulated sugar
  • 2 teaspoons lemon juice (about half a lemon)
  • 1 tablespoon vanilla
  • 2 teaspoons cinnamon
  • Pinch of Salt
  • ½ cup of raisins (try my bourbon soaked raisins! <link>)
  • 2 tablespoons melted butter

 

Directions:

 

  1. To make your strudel dough, add 2-½ cups of your flour and all other ingredients into a stand mixer with a dough hook. You can of course also mix and knead using your hands.
  2. Keep the remaining ½ cup of flour on reserve if the dough is too sticky. I always like to start off with less flour and add as I need it! I usually end up using close to the entire 3 cups.
  3. Very lightly coat a bowl with a few drops of oil and set your dough aside, covered for at least 1 hour for resting.
  4. While your dough is resting, prepare your apples.
  5. Core, peel and dice all your apples.
  6. Add lemon juice to your diced apple to prevent browning
  7. In a separate bowl, combine your granulated sugar and vanilla, mix well. Mix in your cinnamon and salt.
  8. Pour the mixture over your apples and mix well.
  9. Set your apples aside, covered.  I like to allow the apples to release some of their juices while resting so that they create less juice inside my strudel while cooking which can lead to a soggy end result.
  10. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees
  11. On your counter, last out a large cotton dish towel or table cloth.  I usually use 2 larger dish clothes, side by side. You will see this in my video.
  12. Lightly dust the dish towels with flour.
  13. Lightly roll out your dough – you are going to use a rolling pin for a very short amount of time – most of this is going to be done by hand.
  14. Next, very slowly and patiently, stretch your dough into a rectangle shape. Take your time. This dough will stretch to be paper thin! It should be thin enough to see through. That is what you want!
  15. Trim the sides of the dough so that you remove any thick dough ends and cut into a rectangle.
  16. Brush your dough with melted butter.
  17. Drain your apples and sprinkle them on top of your dough, leaving a small border of dough around the edges. Sprinkle raisins on top of the apples.
  18. Roll all your sides up over the apples and brush with melted butter to help them stick to each other.
  19. Using your towel to do the lifting, lift up one side of the short end of the rectangle and roll the strudel using the towel to help – this will help avoid ripping the dough.
  20. Carefully use the towel to transfer the strudel onto a parchment lined baking sheet.  
  21. Brush with melted butter or an egg wash if you prefer.
  22. Bake for 35-45 minutes until the top is light brown.  Serve warm. Sprinkle with powdered sugar and serve with vanilla sauce or vanilla ice cream.