What’s Apple Strudel?

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Apple strudel is a sweet Austrian pastry. Traditionally, the main ingredients include apples, cinnamon, raisins and sugar, which are mixed and spread into a thin, baked dough. The city of Vienna in particular is famous for its apple strudel. The U.S. state of Texas claims strudel is one of its state desserts, likely due to the many German immigrant communities that settled in cities like Fredericksburg.

It is suggested that strudel owes its beginnings to a Turkish pastry called baklava. The Turks introduced this pastry to the region of Austria and Hungary in the mid-15th century. A pastry that was brought to Spain and France may also have influenced strudel, particularly the Austrian strudel varieties. The “milk cream strudel” existed in the Austro-Hungarian Empire at the end of the 17th century. The name strudel probably comes from a word for a whirlpool or whirlpool, based on the spiral shape of early strudels.

Many varieties of strudel have been developed throughout Eastern European cuisines, but Austria and Bavaria are famous for apple strudel. Vienna and Salzburg in particular have their own special versions of the strudel they are famous for. However, each apple strudel variety has several common components.

Strudel is a basic, unsweetened dough made from flour, water, oil and salt with a high gluten content. Melted butter can be substituted for oil, and sometimes milk is used instead of water. Some versions also include eggs.

The defining characteristic of strudel dough is that it should be stretched very thin – literally almost paper thin and transparent. To do this, the dough is kneaded after mixing to develop gluten. It is then left to rest for a while so it will stretch more easily. A skilled baker can then place the dough on a large flat surface and roll and roll it out into a large thin sheet. Many modern strudel recipes call for prepared phyllo dough or flaky pastry to eliminate this labor-intensive process.

Apples are, of course, the star ingredient in an apple strudel. Tart, firm baking apples usually work best for strudel. They are chopped and mixed with other filling ingredients, such as cinnamon, sugar, raisins and toasted breadcrumbs. Sometimes nuts and rum are also added.

The ingredients for the filling are mixed together and then either spread on the dough or layered separately on top of the dough. The edges of the strudel dough are tucked over the filling and the strudel is rolled into a multi-layered log. Melted butter or oil is brushed over the dough and it is cooked. Apple strudel is best eaten fresh from the oven and is often eaten with whipped cream or ice cream.

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