Pie and Pastry Bible (109 page)

STRUDEL FILLING

This basic strudel recipe can be used to wrap any firm filling, sweet or savory. The recipes I offer in this chapter are the classics and, of course, my personal take on them. But you will easily be able to make many variations and combinations to your taste. Any of the fresh fruit pie fillings in Fruit Pies can be used for strudel. Apple, pear, nectarine, peach, apricot, and plum all make fabulous strudel fillings; you will need only 1 pound of prepared fruit and you will need to cut strong spices such as cinnamon by half to two thirds to balance the delicacy of the dough when you prepare the fillings. (Omit the cornstarch and substitute the brusel [see below].)

The more intense fillings, such as cherry or any of the berries, are too concentrated in flavor to balance well with the finesse of strudel dough. To my taste, they require a more substantial dough, such as flaky pastry. They do, however, work well in a strudel dough if mixed with a cream cheese filling, as in the Cherry Cheese Strudel (page 399). To use a berry filling, be sure to cook the berries with the sugar and thickener and cool it before filling the dough, or it will not thicken evenly and will dampen the pastry before thickening takes place.

THICKENER FOR THE FILLING

In classic fruit strudels, the filling is thickened with a mixture called, in German,
brusel,
bread crumbs, sometimes with ground nuts added, sprinkled with sugar and sautéed in butter. (Some bakers in America have been known to use cake
crumbs instead of bread crumbs, but Austrians consider this to be heresy.) Too much brusel, like too much of any thickener in a filling, takes away from the clarity of the fruit flavor and makes the texture sludgy and less juicy. I use the same technique for strudel fillings that I do for fresh fruit pie fillings: tossing the fruit with sugar and allowing it to sit until the fruit releases as much of its liquid as possible, then concentrating this liquid and returning it to the fruit to intensify the fruit flavor. This technique makes it possible to use a minimum of brusel. As a gauge for the amount of brusel needed, replace 2 teaspoons of the cornstarch in the filling with ½ cup (1 ounce/28 grams) of medium-fine fresh bread crumbs sautéed in 1½ teaspoons of butter with ½ teaspoon of sugar. Ground nuts can be added to the brusel to taste, as they hardly absorb any of the liquid. To determine how much sugar is needed, refer to the chart on page 77.

To make the crumbs for brusel,
grate or process stale French bread, with crusts removed. Or slice fresh bread and bake it in a single layer on a baking sheet, at 200°F. for about 1 hour or until completely dry, turning once or twice; then process or chop it until medium-fine crumbs are formed.

ROLL AND STRETCH THE DOUGH (BOTH METHODS)

Brush the center of the baking sheet with a little of the melted butter; set aside.

Work carefully but as quickly as possible to keep the dough from drying and becoming brittle.

The easiest and most effective way to stretch dough is on a round table, 36 to 48 inches or so, that you can walk around as you pull and stretch the dough evenly. A 48-inch round folding card-table top works well. But you can also make strudel on a square or rectangular surface, using three sides if it is too large. I use an old white sheet on top of the table, but some strudel makers prefer a tablecloth with a pattern so they can see how sheer and translucent their strudel is becoming.

In winter, the dry air will cause the dough to lose moisture very quickly, particularly around the edges. When this happens, I spray the edges with nonstick vegetable shortening. For savory strudels, I sometimes use olive oil spray instead of butter, though butter produces the crispest texture.

Clarified butter is best for brushing on the dough because moisture makes the dough less tender, and the water in clarified butter has been evaporated. Also, the milk solids in unclarified butter will result in brown spots in the dough. If you don’t want to go to the trouble of clarifying butter, use the top portion only of the melted butter for brushing on the dough, avoiding the liquid and solids that settle on the bottom.

On a lightly floured counter, roll the dough into a 10-inch round. Brush it with a little of the melted butter to keep the surface from drying.

Slip your hands, palms down, underneath the dough and lift it so that it lies on your knuckles. Partially close your hands and move the dough over your knuckles
in a circle, allowing it to droop, to stretch it slightly all around. Lay the dough on the cloth. Slip your hands, palms down, under the dough, curving them slightly. Starting at the edges, gently move your hands toward the edges, stretching the dough evenly so as not to tear it and working all around the dough in a circle. Then concentrate on the middle. Ideally, the dough should stretch to 48 inches. It helps to allow the edge of the dough to hang over the sides of the table by an inch or so.

With scissors, trim off the thicker outer border and discard it or reserve it, well wrapped and refrigerated, for future use. The scraps can be refrigerated for a day or rekneaded the same day and stretched again after relaxing for about 30 minutes without any decrease in quality.

At this point, the dough sheet’s surface should not be sticky to the touch. If it is a very humid day and the dough still feels tacky, allow it to dry for a few minutes. Dapple it all over with the butter, reserving about 2 tablespoons for brushing the outside while rolling it.

WRAP AND ROLL THE STRUDEL

If using brusel, starting about 6 inches from the bottom edge of the dough, sprinkle half the brusel across the dough in a 9- by 14-inch rectangle. Spread the filling mixture on top, leaving behind any liquid. Sprinkle the remaining brusel over it. If not using brusel, make a rectangle of filling about 9 by 12 to 14 inches.

Use the sheet or cloth or your fingers to lift the bottom edge of the dough and flip it over the filling. It doesn’t have to cover the entire filling at this point. Use the sides of the cloth to flip the sides of the dough over the filling, leaving a 3-inch border on either side of the filling to tuck under at the end. (The dough will be about 20 inches wide at this point.) Brush the top of the dough and the side borders with some of the butter and use the cloth to roll it, brushing it with butter—every other turn. If necessary, brush off any flour clinging to the dough before brushing it with butter. Use the cloth to flip the roll onto the prepared baking sheet, seam side down. Turn under the ends. The strudel will be about 16 inches long; the exact length depends on how much the filling spreads while you rolled it. Brush the top with the remaining butter and use a sharp knife to cut a few horizontal steam vents in the dough. At this point, the strudel can be covered with plastic wrap and refrigerated overnight without harm to the dough (unless indicated otherwise in the recipe) or baked immediately.

BAKE THE STRUDEL

I bake most strudels at 400°F. for 35 minutes in the upper part of the oven so that the dough browns. If the filling is cooked and the dough is still pale, I turn up the oven to 425°F. for the last 5 minutes. If the outer edges of the strudel brown faster than the middle, I cover them loosely with aluminum foil. I also like to set a baking
stone or cookie sheet on the upper rack in the oven before preheating. I set the baking sheet with the strudel directly on it to help crisp the bottom of the strudel. Strudels with cheese or custard, however, should be baked at no higher than 375°F.

A baked strudel can be reheated in a 300°F. oven for 5 minutes if it is at room temperature, 10 to 15 minutes if refrigerated.

SERVE THE STRUDEL

Use two flat cookie sheets or two heavy-duty long pancake turners to lift the strudel onto a serving plate or inverted carving board. Use a serrated or sharp knife to cut 1- to 2-inch-thick diagonal slices.

Dessert strudel is most transporting either warm or at room temperature, lightly dusted with powdered sugar just before it is served. To reheat strudel, place it, uncovered, on a baking sheet in a preheated 350°F. oven for about 10 minutes. I love a dollop of unsweetened cræme fraîche on the plate as well, but lightly sweetened whipped cream (
schlag
) is also wonderful and traditional in the Austro-Hungarian part of the world.

STORE

Unstretched dough, refrigerated, wrapped airtight, up to 24 hours.

POINTERS FOR SUCCESS

Use a national brand of
unbleached
all-purpose flour, such as King Arthur’s regular or Gold Medal.

Let the dough rest before stretching to allow it to absorb the liquid evenly and to relax the gluten.

Work quickly and evenly when stretching the dough to keep it from drying. If any holes or tears develop, they will be covered by the many layers of untorn dough.

COMMERCIAL FILLO AS A STRUDEL SUBSTITUTE

I
f you prefer to use commercial fillo, simply overlap the sheets to form a larger rectangle. It is easy to do, but the results will not be quite as tender as making your own strudel.

EQUIPMENT

A 17- by 12-inch cookie sheet or half-size sheet pan, buttered