Homemade Strudel Dough | The Bittman Project (2024)

FAQs

What is strudel dough made of? ›

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a dough hook, mix the flour and salt on low speed to combine. In a container with a spout, whisk the water, egg yolks, oil, and vinegar to combine. With the mixer running, add the liquid to the mixer in a slow, steady stream. Mix on low speed for 10 minutes.

Even an amateur like me can tell the difference immediately: the homemade strudel pastry is soft and elastic while the filo is brittle and papery. Although both are brushed liberally with melted butter before they go into the oven, the Leiths version emerges with a far richer flavour.

The main ingredients in strudel dough are pastry flour, water, salt, eggs, and oil.

It is made from flour with a high gluten content, water, oil and salt, with no sugar added. The dough is worked vigorously, rested, and then rolled out and stretched by hand very thinly with the help of a clean linen tea towel or kitchen paper.

Like Phyllo Dough, this requires a little elbow grease; most strudel recipes call for store- bought phyllo or puff pastry, which both work interchangeably with this dough for any strudel recipe.

Chef Jürgen suggests adding the filling ingredients in a single layer after rolling out the dough; mixing the filling together prior to assembly will result in a soggy strudel as the sugar will draw the water out from the apples.

Apple Strudel Ingredients

Golden raisins: Golden raisins take the flavor and texture up a few notches. Flour: All-purpose flour thickens the apple strudel filling. Puff pastry: Two thawed puff pastry sheets are key to making this easy apple strudel.

pastry are laminated. Strudel dough isn't.

You can swap in puff pastry for phyllo dough in a pinch, and the other way around, but don't expect the same results.

The best flour for making Deep-Dish Pizza Dough is all-purpose flour. In bakeries and pizzerias, Pizza Flour is often used because it is a high-protein flour that produces a light and airy crust. However, all-purpose flour will also work well for Deep-Dish Pizza Dough.

What is the French name for éclair paste? ›

Pâte à choux is a classic French dough that's used to make a wide range of pastries, from cream puffs to éclairs to cheesy gougères and more.

Baking Powder and Baking Soda

Baking powder or baking soda work quickly, relying on chemical reactions between acidic and alkaline compounds to produce the carbon dioxide necessary to inflate dough or batter (more on this later).

The filling is made of grated cooking apples (usually of a tart, crisp and aromatic variety, such as Winesap apples) sugar, cinnamon, and bread crumbs. Strudel uses an unleavened dough. The basic dough consists of flour, oil (or butter) and salt although as a household recipe, many variations exist.

Strudel and streusel have no direct connections. Although the names might be similar, a strudel is very different from streusel. Unlike streusel which is a crunchy, buttery toppings in baked goods, strudel is a filo-like pastry dough made with oil typically filled with fruit or vegetables.

Also, a "traditional" strudel wouldn't use a laminated dough at all, just a dough stretched super thin and rolled up. If it did use a laminated dough, filo would be preferred to puff pastry - and that uses oil, not lard. Anyway you look at it, there's little chance the strudel served in that scene would use lard.