Strudel works

One of my other things that I like to do is bake.  I like to keep things simple but yet try to do things more traditional.  Thus I have tried not to take too many shortcuts.  So when our German friend mentioned he missed real apple strudel, I figured I could find a recipe on the web (If I couldn't my Google-fu would need some real help.) and try to make it.  The real daunting part of the recipe is the pastry shell.

Now most recipes that I found say basically to use phyllo dough and I knew how thin that was.  Fear not, I tried it and found that making dough this thin was actually pretty easy.  The hard part became getting the thing onto the pan.

So here is the base recipe that I followed.  I like their recipe and instructions and so did our German friend.

http://www.kitchenproject.com/german/strudel/index.htm

I only took photos of the build.  I forgot to take a picture of it finished and when the night was over there was only a small 6 inch piece left.

Here is after the big stretch.  They say to use a dark cloth so you can see how thin it gets.  I might have been able to get it a bit thinner in sections but I ran out of table.  This actually surprised me, I did not think I would be able to get it this big.  Also note that the table is about 40 inches wide.

Here I am getting ready to add the filler.  A couple of notes about what I changed.  I added a bit of nutmeg along with the cinnamon and allspice in the recipe.  I also did not have breadcrumbs, so my wife suggested oatmeal.  I toasted the oatmeal just like I would have the breadcrumbs and everyone thinks that turned out just fine.  I also doubled the amount of apples, you can never have too many apples.  Lastly, I added a bit of almond extract to the vanilla that the apples marinated in.

Here also I made a small change.  I did use the walnuts, my mom would be very surprised.  I also used crasins instead of the rasins.  I just used about double the amount since the recipe called for both rasins and currents.

Here is the big roll.  The cloth really does help in rolling it.  I also did a little flipping action on the sides to get them curled up.  One thing to remember is to flour the cloth all the way to the far edge.  This is where you are going to roll it onto the pan and if you forget to flour that section, you will get a bit of sticking.  (I forgot and had to gently pull away the cloth.)  Also make sure to spray the baking pan with non-stick if you want to move this thing some after it hits the pan.  And yes you can bend it into the horseshoe shape without tearing.

And this is what was left.  I did bake it for almost the full 45 minutes since I had so many apples.  Actually, I could have taken it out about the 35 minute mark for a bit firmer apple texture.

Now maybe I will try a 'Napoleon Torte'.  The Lithuanian Bakery in Omaha makes a really good one but there are so far away.  Maybe I could make something that could come close.  This is another thin pastry desserts.

So if I can do it, you can to.  Just give it a try.