Apfelkirschstrudel -aka- Apple Cherry Strudel

Strudel, from scratch is on the Baking Bucket List. I saw a German Baking Book at the library and here we are. The Apple Cherry filling is of my own creation, but the dough comes from Classic German Baking, from Luisa Weiss.

Apfelkirschstrudel-Apple Cherry Strudel

45g tablespoons butter

30g breadcrumbs, panko or traditional

¼ teaspoon salt

1 packet vanilla sugar

150g dried cherries

40g liquor-cherry, apple or rum

800g apples- about 5 or 6

Juice of 1 lemon

75g sugar 

½ teaspoon cinnamon

150g all purpose flour

Pinch of salt

45ml canola oil

80ml water

113g butter, melted

In a skillet, melt the butter. Add the breadcrumbs, salt and vanilla sugar. Stir until brown and toasty. Set aside. 

Combine the cherries and liquor. Microwave 1 minute. Set aside while you prep the apples. 

Peel, core and slice the apples thinly. Use a mandolin if you have one. 

Toss with the lemon juice, sugar and cinnamon. Add in the cherries and liquor. Let sit for 20 minutes or longer. Drain before using. 

FOR THE DOUGH

Combine all flour, salt, oil and water in the bowl of a stand mixer, with a dough hook and mix for 5-7 minutes. 

Tip out onto the counter and knead a few times. 

Wrap in plastic and let rest at room temperature for 30 minutes. 

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. 

Lightly flour a towel, or pillowcase that is 24x32 inches. 

Parchment line a baking sheet.  Remove all jewelry from your hands and writs, 

Roll the dough with a rolling pin until it is roughly 12x20 inches. Set the rolling pin aside. Go about stretching the dough by using the backs of your hands and pulling. It should get large enough to cover the entire 24x32 inch towel. 

Working from the 24 inch side facing you, cut the edge off the long sides and top 24 inch length using a pizza cutter or sharp knife. Loosen the dough from the towel. Discard scraps. 

Brush the dough with some of the melted butter. Add your fillings to the bottom 6 inches of dough, avoiding the edges of dough. 

Fold in two inches from each of the 32 inch long sides, encasing the filling at the 24 inch side/bottom of the strudel.. 

Using the fabric, flop the strudel over. Continue to do this until you have the seam on top. 

With all the confidence you can gather, pick up the towel and flop the strudel gently onto the baking sheet, seam side down. 

Brush with butter and bake for 15 minutes. Brush with butter and bake for 15 minutes additional. Brush with butter and bake for 15 more minutes, for a total of 45 minutes. 

Allow the strudel to cool, cut and serve while it’s slightly warm. 

Vanilla sugar is the only thing that may be hard to come by. I recommend you pick some up at any import store or on-line if you come across it. But feel free to simply add vanilla to the bread crumbs.