Strudel

By Chef Francesca Matteuzzi

Serves: 6 people

Ingredients:

200 grams 00 flour
80 grams lukewarm water
20 grams olive oil
1/2 teaspoon apple vinegar or white wine vinegar
A pinch of salt

For the filling:

4 apples, peeled and thinly sliced
The zest and juice of one lemon
50 grams raisins, soaked in rum or limoncello
30 grams pine nuts
60 grams sugar
Cinnamon, as you like
50 grams breadcrumbs
A little butter for brushing

Chef Francesca’s cooking tips:

Making the dough from scratch might be intimidating but I promise it’s easier than it sounds! The trick is to use an acid like apple cider vinegar or lemon juice in the strudel dough, knead the dough well to develop the gluten, and then let it rest so that it can fully relax before you attempt stretching it.Since there is no yeast, the dough won’t rise during the resting time, but the acid from the vinegar will relax the gluten strands which will become more elastic and make the dough easier to stretch!

As far as the filling, you can substitute the pine nuts with any other nuts (walnuts would be great too!). Once the strudel is done, serve it with gelato alla vaniglia or crema inglese. Buon appetito!

Directions:

1-Preriscaldare il forno: Preheat oven to 400F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

2-Preparare l’impasto: To prepare the dough mix the flour with water, oil, vinegar and a pinch of salt. Shape into a ball and let rest between two warm bowls.

3-Preparare il ripieno:To prepare the filling, in a medium bowl place the apples with lemon (zest and juice) and rum. Let rest for about 10 minutes and then add the raisins as well as pine nuts, sugar and cinnamon.

4-Rosolare il pangrattato:in a small saute pan, melt a little butter and sauté the breadcrumbs until golden browned. Keep aside.

5-Formare lo strudel: When the dough has rested sufficiently, you will first roll it into a rectangle using a rolling pin. Working carefully, you want to just lift and stretch the dough, sliding your hands underneath (be sure to remove rings in advance!) with palms down and gently pulling the dough out from the center, letting it slide off your hands. The size of a large board will do. Then transfer it to a large area covered with a large and clean dishcloth. Your strudel dough should be thin enough for you to see the pattern of your dishcloth through it.

6-Ora il ripieno: Now, it’s time for the filling. Sprinkle the breadcrumbs. Then, using a slotted spoon, transfer the filling onto the dough. Make a uniform pile and then fold the dough at the top and bottom over onto the filling then roll up the strudel from the short side with the help of the towel. Be careful and work slowly, it’s similar to making a Swiss roll.

7-Imburrare: Brush the strudel with a little bit of melted butter.

8-Infornare: Bake for about 1 hour.

9-Cospargere di zucchero a velo: let it cool and sprinkle with powder sugar on top