Traditional German Apple Strudel from Scratch
This authentic German apple strudel is based on my great-grandma's recipe. There are alternating layers of sweet apple apple and homemade, flaky strudel pastry!
Ingredients
Dough
- 1½ cups all purpose flour
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 3 Tablespoons vegetable oil
- ⅓ cup warm water (around 115°F temp)
Filling
- ½ cup raisins
- 2 pounds apples (I recommend using Granny Smith, Honeycrisp, Gala, or Jonagold)
- 1 Tablespoon lemon juice (from half a medium lemon)
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ½ cup unsalted butter, melted (one stick)
- ⅔ cup unseasoned bread crumbs or Panko bread crumbs
Topping
- ½ cup powdered sugar
Instructions
Prepare the Strudel Dough
- Cover the raisins with hot water or apple juice in a bowl and allow them to soak for at least 30 minutes, or up to 8 hours (overnight).
- In a large mixing bowl with a wooden spoon, or in the bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, combine the flour and salt.
- Add the oil. Slowly add the water while mixing the dough. Continue mixing until it forms a crumbly, shaggy dough. It will be pretty dry at first, but it’ll soften once you knead it.
- If kneading by hand, place the dough on a clean work surface, and knead for a full 10 minutes, until the dough is soft and stretchy. If kneading with a stand mixer, replace the paddle attachment with a dough hook and knead on medium speed for about 8 minutes.
- Form the dough into a ball and leave it on your work surface, either covered by a kitchen towel or your mixing bowl turned upside down. Let the dough rest for 30 minutes.
Prepare the Apple Filling
- While the dough is resting, prepare the apple filling. Peel quarter, and thinly slice the apples, discard the cores. You want the apple slices as thin and as evenly sliced as possible, so use a sharp kitchen knife or a mandolin.
- In a large bowl, mix the soaked and drained raisins, apple slices, lemon juice, granulated sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Set aside.
Stretch the Strudel Dough
- Preheat the oven to 400°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- On your work surface, spread out a smooth, patterned tablecloth or large patterned towel. Lightly flour it, then place the dough on top and begin rolling out the dough with a rolling pin. Once the dough is rolled out as thin as possible, gently begin stretching the dough to get it thinner. To stretch the dough, ball your hands into fists, place them under the dough in the center, then drag the dough on the tops of your hands and knuckles as you bring your hands towards the edge of the dough. Continue on all four edges of the dough, until it’s stretched out enough to see the pattern of your tablecloth or towel underneath. The dough will end up around 16 inches by 24 inches.
- Take the parchment paper lining your baking sheet, and place it on your work surface. Transfer the stretched-out dough on top of the parchment paper. (This will ensure you don't shape your strudel too big for your baking sheet.)
Add the Filling and Shape the Strudel
- Use a soft pastry brush or your fingers to brush ¼ cup of the melted butter over all the dough.
- Spread the bread crumbs evenly over all the dough.
- With one of the longer edges closest to you, use a slotted spoon (a spoon with holes in it) to spread out a few large spoonful's of the apple filling in a long line, leaving about a one-inch space on the edge without any filling.(The slotted spoon will help leave any excess juice in the bowl, so it doesn’t get into your pastry and make it soggy.)
- Lift up the edge of the parchment paper or cloth towel or table cloth closest to you to roll the edge of the dough over the filling, so the apple filling is covered by dough.
- Brush the top of the dough with some of the remaining ¼ cup of melted butter that’s covering the apple filling. Add another few spoonful's of the apple filling, parallel to the covered apple filling. Again, roll the dough over the newly placed apple filling, using the edge of your tablecloth or linen to lift it up and over.
- Continue layering the apples and rolling the dough a bit at a time, brushing with melted butter after each roll. This creates numerous layers of apple-pastry-apple-pastry.
- Place a new piece of parchment paper onto your baking sheet. (The one used to roll the strudel is probably now soaked with melted butter). Gently but in a quick motion with confidence, transfer your fully rolled apple strudel to the prepared baking sheet. Brush the top of your strudel with the remaining melted butter.
Bake the Strudel
- Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, rotating the baking sheet 180 degrees after 15 minutes, through to ensure even baking. The strudel is done baking once the top is golden.
- Allow your strudel to cool for 20 minutes, then dust the top with lots of powdered sugar. Slice and enjoy!!
Notes
- Apples: Try to cut the apples as thinly and uniformly as possible with a sharp kitchen knife. If the apple slices are different sizes in thickness, they’ll cook at different times so some slices will still be crunchy while others are soft.
- Raisins: Feel free to leave out the raisins, or substitute golden raisins for a milder flavor, depending on your preference. And for even more flavor, my dad usually soaks raisins in rum, apple juice, or port wine instead of hot water.
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Kneading: If you’re kneading the dough by hand and the gluten in the dough seizes up (aka it feels really tense and hard to knead), throw the dough ball down on your work surface a few times from about one foot in the air. This will help relax the gluten so you can continue kneading.
- Storing: Apple strudel is best on the day it’s made, while the crust is still crispy. I store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days. I recommend warming it in the oven or a toaster oven, then sprinkling it with a little extra powdered sugar or a scoop of vanilla ice cream.
Nutrition
Serving: 1 sliceCalories: 208kcalCarbohydrates: 32gProtein: 2gFat: 9gSaturated Fat: 4gPolyunsaturated Fat: 2gMonounsaturated Fat: 2gTrans Fat: 0.3gCholesterol: 15mgSodium: 58mgPotassium: 119mgFiber: 2gSugar: 16gVitamin A: 209IUVitamin C: 3mgCalcium: 14mgIron: 1mg
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