Apfel Strudel
(Apfelstrudel Traditional)

oven about 325 degrees F

STRUDEL DOUGH
2 cup sifted all-purpose flour
1/3 teaspoon salt
1 small egg, beaten
2 teaspoons cooking oil
3/4 cup lukewarm water

APPLE FILLING
1 C. butter (2 sticks, 1/2 lb.) melted and set aside to cool
6 medium size cooking apples (about 1 ¼ pounds)
1 tablespoons vanilla extract
2 tablespoons brown sugar

BREAD CRUMB FILLING
1/2 cup bread crumbs
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons white sugar
1 ½ teaspoons Cinnamon
1 C. walnuts, chopped finely OPTIONAL FOR FILLING
1/2 teaspoon grated lemon peel
2 tablespoons dark seedless raisins
3 tablespoons currants
1/4 cup rum

1. Sift the flour and salt. Either add the egg, oil and water to the bowl and mix or mix all ingredients together in a mixer. Add the flour until it is just not sticky anymore.

2. You can knead the dough to develop the badly needed gluten to hold this dough together while it is being stretched skin thin. However the traditional way to do this is to throw the dough on the board 100 times.
Then lLet the dough rest for 30 minutes, while you do the apples.

3. Peel the apples, core them. . I like to use a melon baller. Cut the apples in irregular thinness. (recommended from the Vienna recipe) This will give you a variety of textures in the apple filling.

4. I peeled a lemon here but you can also grate it.
a little lemon peel goes a long way. Our family liked it in lots of German pastry. After I peeled it I chopped it fine.

5. Assemble all the ingredients in bowls or plates.
The butter with a brush, and other ingredients ready to fill the pulled dough.

6. Start by rolling the dough with a pin. Roll the outer edges out leaving the center unrolled. This will give you more strength when you hand stretch. Use the back side of your hand and knuckles to stretch the dough. Pull the dough from all the sides to get a nice square or rectangle.

7. Keep stretching the dough so you can see through it. As all recipes say so you can read a newspaper through it. If you get a tear in the dough press the cut edges together to heal it. Before you add filling the thick edges you can cut off with a knife or scissors.

8. Our family spread the apples, crumbs, over the whole dough then roll it up by lifting the sheet.

9. The way they do it in Vienna is to sprinkle the bread crumbs all over but put the apples all together toward the edge of the dough with enough to get a flap over them, then roll it up, this way the dough gets crispier and isn't soggy with the apples. Lift up the sheet and place on a buttered baking sheet,

10. Bake for 35- 45 minutes until golder brown. Let it cool before cutting and serving.
Serve with Fresh whipped cream or vanilla sauce.

I let it sit at room temperature covered for 5 days easy. It gets even better the second day.