Apfelstrudel (Apple Strudel)

In Vienna, there is disagreement about whether the apple strudel filling should be prepared with or without crumbs. Even though the famous Hotel Sacher supposedly resolved this issue once and for all, the debate continues. You will have to see for yourself which version of this Viennese delicacy you like better!

Ingredients:

Strudel pastry (use ready-made pastry or see recipe below)
1,5 kg apples (Elstar or other similar type)
1 lemon (juice)
60 g raisins (soaked in rum)
200 g butter (melted)
100 g sugar
2 tbsps vanilla sugar
100 g bread crumbs
1 pinch cinnamon powder
butter (for daubing)
icing sugar (for dusting)
1 egg (for daubing)

Preparation:

Peel and seed the apples. Slice into very thin slices. Dribble over some lemon juice. In a bowl, combine 2 tablespoons of raisins and 1 tablespoon of vanilla sugar. Brush the pastry dough with half of the melted butter, using the rest of the butter to fry the breadcrumbs. Combine the crumbs with the rest of the vanilla sugar and cinnamon and sprinkle over the pastry.

Distribute the apples evenly over the pastry. Roll with the help of a dish towel. Make sure the ends arewell closed. Place the strudel on a greased baking tray. (If the tray is too small, bend the strudel into a horseshoe shape). Brush with beaten egg or melted butter and bake in a preheated oven at 180 °C for 30–40 minutes.

When done, let the strudel cool, and dust with icing sugar. The strudel can be served either warm or cold.

Recipe for the pastry:
Ingredients:

250 g flour (fine)
1 pinch salt
1 tbsp oil
2 tbsps butter (melted for daubing)
125 ml water (lukewarm)
2 egg yolks (for daubing)
icing sugar (for dusting)
oil
flour (for the work surface)
butter (for daubing)

Preparation of the pastry:

For the pastry, heap some flour onto a work surface and knead the pastry ingredients into a smooth, elastic dough. Shape into a ball and place in a soup bowl dribbled with oil. Cover, and refrigerate, preferably over night. On a lightly floured surface, roll out the pastry dough into a square with a rolling pin. Pull until very thin. To do this, make sure your hands are covered in flour, place one hand under the dough and use the other hand to carefully pull the dough out from the center. The dough should become so thin that it’s almost transparent.