Strudel with Apples

Now it's hard to say who was the first to come up with the apple strudel recipe. And who even came up with the idea to make a thin dough from a small amount of flour, eggs, water and butter is also not known for certain. Although, of course, there are some considerations. A similar dough, which is called draft dough, has existed since ancient times in the cuisines of many countries of the East. Therefore, it is very likely that his recipe was "delivered" to Europe by the Turks when they tried to seize the lands of the "infidels". The idea was picked up by local chefs, developed it and began to create recipes for all kinds of pastries, including strudel with apples, on the basis of stretch dough. The latter has taken root so much that it has become one of the symbols of Austrian cuisine. But in many other European countries, strudel is loved so much that it is served at the most important feast of the year - Christmas.

Ingredients

• raisins - 80 g
• large green apples - 2 pcs.
• brown sugar - 60 g
• chopped almonds - 50 g
• butter - 80 g
• egg - 1 pc.
• drinking water - 150 ml
• table vinegar or lemon juice - 1 tbsp. l.
• flour - 380 g + 1-2 tbsp. l. for rolling out the dough
• salt - on the tip of a knife
• vegetable oil - 1 tbsp. l.

Directions

1. Prepare strudel dough. To do this, beat the egg in a small bowl with a whisk with water and table vinegar (lemon juice) so that you get a mixture of a homogeneous consistency.
2. Sift flour and salt with a slide through a fine sieve onto the table. Make a large depression on top and pour the previously prepared egg-vinegar mixture into it gradually, in 3-4 steps.
3. Knead the strudel dough first with a large fork and then with your hands until a smooth, elastic dough is obtained. This can take about 15 minutes.
4. Form a small ball from the resulting dough and brush it with vegetable oil. Wrap with cling film and leave at room temperature for 30-40 minutes.
5. Prepare the strudel filling. Rinse the raisins thoroughly with running water, then put them in a small bowl. Cover with boiling water and let sit for 10 minutes. Drain the water, dry the raisins.
6. Wash the apples for the filling, cut into halves and remove the cores with seeds. Peel the pulp and cut into small cubes or slices.
7. Chop the almonds with a knife. Add apples, raisins and sugar. Mix thoroughly. Add some grated lemon zest if desired. The filling for the strudel is ready.
8. Place a large linen towel on the table and dust it with flour. Place the dough in the middle and roll it into a round layer 25 cm in diameter.
9. Then place your palms under it and gently stretch out to the sides of the center. Lay on the towel again and stretch with gentle movements of the palms from above until a rectangle is about 50x35 cm in size.
10. Melt the butter and let cool slightly. Pour a couple of spoons onto the dough and spread with a brush. Lay out the filling and carefully roll up the layer. Transfer the apple strudel to a baking sheet lined with baking paper.
11. Heat the oven to 180 ° C. Brush the strudel with a couple of tablespoons of melted butter. Bake for 30–35 minutes. In the process of cooking, grease the top of the roll with oil 3-4 more times.