Strudel Variations

The flour for Strudel should be dry and not freshly ground. The best is flour containing 13% proteins and 65% starches. These quantities may be established as follows: put 100 grams (3-1/2 oz) of flour into a linnen bag. Soak this bag in a bowl with plenty of water and squeeze it until it doesn't absorb any water anymore. In the bag you should now have a pleasantly smelling, yellowish, doughlike mass (the proteins) which should weigh 13 grams (1/2 oz) after drying. Is the mass greyish, not doughlike, or smelling unpleasantly, you should not use the flour for Strudel. On the bottom of the bowl the starches from the flour will settle. After straining off the water and drying it you should have 65 grams (2-1/3 oz) left. Here are two recipes for the dough: Strudeldough I 250 g flour (8-3/4 oz) pinch of salt 1 tbs olive oil 1 egg 4-7 tbs lukewarm water (as much as the flour absorbs) Knead the ingredients by hand or with kneading hooks to a supple dough. It should form blisters and not stick to the hands anymore. Form it into a ball and put it onto a board dusted with flour. Put a warmed bowl over it and let it rest for half an hour to an hour. Spread out a smooth cloth of about 1x1 meters (3'4"x3'4") and dust it with flour. With a rolling pin dusted with flour, roll out the dough on this cloth as far as possible. Now, hold the dough with one hand and stretch it slowly and carefully with the other from all sides, until it is as thin as paper. Cut of the thicker edges. Whether you now make one big or several smaller Strudel depends on your skill. Smaller Strudel are easier for beginners. Strudeldough II 250 g flour (8-3/4 oz) pinch of salt 3 ts oil lukewarm water Prepare as Strudeldough I. Apfelstrudel 750 g ripe, soft apples (26-1/2 oz) cinnamon 2 tbs sugar butter breadcrumbs 100 g raisins (3-1/2 oz) grated lemon peel and/or a few finely chopped nuts butter or egg yolk Cut the apples into very thin slices and stew them for a minutes with the sugar and the cinnamon. Brush the Strudel dough with some melted butter and sprinkle it with breadcrumbs. Spread the apples and the raisins evenly on top of it. If desired add some chopped nuts and/or grated lemon peel. By lifting the cloth on one side, roll up the Strudel. Let it slide from the cloth onto a buttered baking sheet. Brush the Strudel with some melted butter or egg yolk. Depending on the size it should bake for 30-40 minutes in a fairly hot oven (200C/400F). For an extra moist Strudel one may pour 125-250 ml (4-8 oz) of milk onto the baking sheet. Zwetschgenstrudel 750-1000 g Zwetschgen (small, blue prunes, the same ones as are used for Slivovic), quartered and without stones, sprinkled with some sugar and cinnamon. (1-1/2-2 lb) Cherrystrudel 750 g cherries without stones, fresh or preserved (1-1/2 lb) chopped nuts cinnamon grated lemon peel sugar breadcrumbs Poppyseedstrudel 150 g poppyseeds (5-1/3 oz) breadcrumbs 3 tbs sugar cinnamon 1 tbs rum 2-3 tbs marmalade Put the poppyseeds into a sieve and pour hot water over them. Grind them and mix the with the other ingredients. Curdsstrudel 125 g stale white bread without crust (4-1/2 oz) 125 ml milk (4-1/2 oz) 500 g curds (17-1/2 oz) 1 egg 80 g butter (2-3/4 oz) 80 g sugar (2-3/4 oz) grated lemon peel 3 tbs raisins Cut the bread into smallish dice and let it soak in the milk. Put it with the curds through a sieve. Divide the egg into yolk and white. Whip the egg white until stiff. Beat the butter and the egg yolk until they are foamy. Add the sugar and spoon by spoon stir in the curds mixture. Finally very gently fold in the egg white. Spread the mixture onto the Strudel dough. Sprinkle on the raisins and lemon peel and finish it like Apfelstrudel.