Homemade Apple Strudel Recipe (From Scratch) - Mon Mack Food (2024)

This authentic Austrian apple strudel (apfelstrudel) recipe is made from scratch featuring homemade strudel dough. The dough can be a tedious process so if you want to make an easier, quicker version, you can substitute puff pastry or filo.

What makes a strudel a strudel?

Strudel dough is made very simply with flour, water, oil and a tiny pinch of salt. If possible, aim for a high protein flour as the gluten is what makes a dough elastic and easier to roll paper thin.

The dough is kneaded, rested, then carefully stretched and pulled by hand until it is so thin that you can see through it.

You will need:

• 200g plain flour (about 1 1/2 cups)
• 80ml warm-hot water (a bit more than 1/3 cup)
• 2 tbsp vegetable oil, or any neutral oil
• 1 tsp white vinegar, (can be any pale vinegar or even lemon juice)

– 100g melted butter

– 2 slice white bread, cubed, around 80g

– 30g skinned hazelnuts

– 600g granny smith apples, around 3 large apples, peeled and thinly sliced

– 1/3 cup raisins, soaked in boiling water for 10 minutes, then drained

– 1/4 cup caster sugar

– 1/4 tsp cinnamon

– Icing sugar for dusting

1. Combine all the ingredients for the dough in a bowl and mix until combined into a shaggy ball.

2. Transfer to a lightly floured surface and knead for a few minutes or until the dough is smooth and elastic. A good way to tell if it’s done is when pressed with your finger, the indentation should spring back. If it doesn’t, keep kneading.

3. Alternatively, you can do this step in a stand mixer and knead it with a dough hook attached.

4. Transfer the dough to a lightly oiled bowl and roll it around so it is well coated. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and set aside to rest for at least 30 minutes, but if you have the time, leave it for an hour to allow the gluten to relax so it’s able to be stretched easily.

5. When the dough has finished resting, preheat the oven to 180C.

1. To make the breadcrumbs, melt 20g of the butter in a fry pan over medium heat. Add the bread and toss the pieces so they get coated in butter then add the hazelnuts. Toss occasionally in the pan until the bread is golden and crisp. Allow to cool slightly then blitz in a food processor until crumbly. Alternatively, you can toss the bread and hazelnuts with melted butter and bake in the oven for 10-15 minutes at 180C.

1. Add the apples to a bowl with the lemon juice and sugar and set aside for 15 minutes while you begin the dough. The lemon prevents the apples from browning (oxidising) while the sugar helps draw out some of the moisture. After 15 minutes, drain the excess liquid, if any, and add the soaked raisins and cinnamon. Toss to combine.

1. Place the dough on a bench (preferably not the one you’ll be covering with a sheet so you don’t need to transfer the dough twice) and roll out as thin as you can with a rolling pin. Cover you work surface with a large, clean sheet and gently transfer the dough on top.
2. Being very gentle, slowly stretch and pull the dough from the centre outwards. Keep working the dough by pulling and gently waving the dough by wafting air underneath. You can also lift and shake the dough slightly, allowing gravity to do some of the work. As it gets thinner, you will notice areas that are still thicker than others, so work on them until it is an even transparency. The dough is thin enough when you can see your hand or the pattern of your sheet through it (if the sheet is patterned).

1. Using your hand or a pastry brush, spread 60g of the remaining melted butter (or all but a few tbsps of it) over the entire surface of the dough. The amount of butter doesn’t really matter, you’re just looking to evenly coat the dough, so feel free to eyeball it if you need a little more of less. Sprinkle over the breadcrumbs and spread again with your hands so it is evenly distributed. Scatter the apple mix over the surface also, making sure you leave roughly a 5cm border of pastry around the edges.

1. Fold the top and bottom sides up and over the apples similar to if you were folding a burrito. Fold the end with the shortest length of exposed dough over the apples as well, and using the cloth if you need, lift and roll the strudel into a spiralled log, making sure that the apples stay tucked inside.
2. Transfer the strudel to a lined baking tray, seem side down (I do this by sort of flipping it onto my forearm for support and lowering it down). Rub the last of the butter all over the top and lastly sprinkle with about a tbsp of caster sugar.
3. Bake for 30-35 minutes or until golden and crisp. Remove from the oven and allow it to rest for 10 minutes. Dust with icing sugar, slice and serve with ice cream or a dollop of cream.

You can definitely use filo or puff pastry if you don’t feel like making the dough from scratch, but then it technically wont be a traditional Apple Strudel anymore.

Strudel dough is quite unique where it is thin and crisp but also elastic, so it has a slight chew to it. Filo pastry isn’t kneaded, so it is has a brittle and flaky texture that is quite different from strudel dough.

If your dough is tearing when you stretch it out, it can mean that it is still too tight or simply that you’re rushing the process. You want to take your time with it and gently tug and stretch the dough until it is paper thin.

If it seems like its bouncing or pulling back a lot while you work it, cover it as best as you can with a damp towel and let it rest for 5 or 10 minutes to let the gluten relax. If it’s an option, use a high protein flour, as it is the gluten which gives dough it’s elasticity and stretch. More gluten equals greater elasticity which means its easier to work with and stretch.

The reason apple strudel can go soggy is excess liquid seeping out of the fruit into the pastry. The breadcrumbs role in the recipe is to prevent this from happening, as it absorbs this liquid during baking before it has a chance to reach the pastry (in very much the same way that a crepe does in a beef wellington). However, sometimes it mightn’t be enough. That being said, you can simply increase the amount (and thickness of the layer) of breadcrumbs in the recipe but this could potentially overshadow the apples.

Another preventative measure is to let the sliced apples sit, or macerate, in the sugar and lemon juice for at least 15 minutes, to allow any excess liquid to be pulled out. Then, you can either thicken this liquid by reducing it in a small pot and fold it back through the apple mix, or simply discard it.

I’ve have never had this issue, but if you are finding it happening to you and you’re following the recipe carefully, maybe give one of these options a try.

• A small hole or 2 doesn’t matter, so if you get one, don’t panic and just continue. But if you can, prevent it from getting bigger as best as possible.
• If you have a thick border of pastry around the edges after you have finished stretching, just cut it off as it will be tough and chewy in the final bake.
• Make sure your apples are sliced thin and evenly. You want the apples to cook consistently and avoid having some overcooked and some undercooked when it comes out of the oven.
• Take your time with the dough. The first time I made it, I rushed it and I had holes and tears everywhere. It still worked and didn’t really effect the final result, but it certainly isn’t as satisfying as having a perfect sheet of paper-thin dough. If you’re finding it to be tight and difficult to work. Cover it as best as you can with a damp tea towel and let it relax for 5-10 minutes before trying again.
• You don’t have to use raisins if you really hate them, but they are traditional and personally, I do prefer them.
• The acid in the dough (in the form of vinegar) is there to prevent browning and oxidisation while also helping it become easier to work with.
• If you’d prefer, you can use breadcrumbs instead of making your own from stale bread. You can also use pre-ground hazelnuts (hazelnut meal) if you don’t have or want to use a food processor.

OTHER RECIPES YOU’LL LOVE!