Apple Strudel, Rolled by Hand on the Danube

Our pastry team rolls strudel dough by hand every morning on our Danube River cruises. The technique for this pastry traveled up the Silk Road from Turkish baklava, crossed into Austria through the Wachau Valley, and ended up on your plate. Strudel and baklava are made much the same way; what changes is the filling and the final shape. Austria filled its version with local apples, raisins and pine nuts, with sweet and savory variations following across Europe. Vienna’s city library still holds the first known handwritten recipe, from the seventeenth century.

Crisp apple strudel is one of AmaWaterways’ own favorite things, and this is how our chefs prepare it on board.

For the strudel dough

• 1/3 cup lukewarm water
• 1 tablespoon, plus ½ teaspoon neutral-tasting vegetable oil
• 1/2 teaspoon vinegar (or lemon juice)
• 1/8 teaspoon table salt or fine sea salt
• 1 cup bread flour, or all-purpose flour (145 g)
• 1/2 teaspoon vegetable oil for brushing the dough
• Flour for dusting

*Measure the flour by weight in grams if you can, since it is more accurate than measuring by volume.

For the filling

• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 2/3 cup fine breadcrumbs
• 5 tablespoons granulated sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 4 tablespoons raisins
• 3 tablespoons rum or lukewarm water for soaking the raisins
• 2 lbs. sweet-tart apples (e.g., McIntosh)
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 2 tablespoons melted butter for brushing the dough (divided)
• Confectioner’s sugar for dusting
• Whipped cream for serving, if you like

To make the dough

1. Preheat oven to 375°F. Mix water, oil, vinegar and salt in a bowl. Stir in half the flour with a spoon until well combined. Gradually add the remaining flour until it comes together.

2. Knead the dough for about 10 minutes until smooth and moist. If too sticky to knead, add a little flour. Slam the dough onto the work surface a few times until an elastic dough forms.

3. Shape the dough into a smooth ball. Brush a clean bowl with oil, place the dough into the bowl and brush it with oil. Cover with a lid or plastic wrap and let sit for 1 hour at room temperature.

To make the filling

1. Melt the butter in a pan over medium heat and add the breadcrumbs. Toast and stir until golden. Remove from heat and let cool. Mix the sugar and cinnamon together, then add to the buttered breadcrumbs. Stir well and set aside.

2. Soak the raisins in rum (traditional) or water for about 10 minutes to soften. Peel, core and cut the apples into thin slices and cover with lemon juice. Add the raisins (without the remaining rum or water) and mix well.

Stretching the dough

1. Roll out the dough with a rolling pin on a lightly floured surface, flouring the surface and dough occasionally. At 13 to 15 inches in diameter, pick the dough up and use the backs of your hands to stretch it out like a pizza. When it is bigger and thinner, place it on a lightly floured tablecloth and smooth any wrinkles on both cloth and dough.

2. Gently stretch the dough paper-thin, working your way around the sheet on the tablecloth. It should look translucent and be stretched into a rectangle, with the shorter edge fitting the baking sheet lengthwise.

Filling and rolling

1. Brush half the dough with half of the melted butter. Spread the breadcrumb mixture over the other half and pat down evenly, leaving a 1 to 1½ inch margin along the edges.

2. Spread the apples over the breadcrumbs. Fold in the side ends of the dough. Using a towel and starting at the apple-topped end, roll the dough all the way. Gently roll the strudel onto a sheet of parchment paper, seam-side down. Place on the baking sheet and brush with the remaining melted butter.

Baking

1. Place the baking sheet on the middle rack of the preheated oven and bake for 30 to 45 minutes at 375°F until the crust is golden. Remove and let cool slightly, then cut into pieces and serve dusted with confectioner’s sugar. Guten Appetit.