From The Kingdom Of Continental Pastries: Strudels

2024 Author: Jasmine Walkman | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 08:29

Yeast cakes are an irresistible temptation. Americans, for example, love to have breakfast with Danish pastries - slightly spicy and with a barely noticeable shiny glaze. Perhaps the only thing more attractive than them is the perfect French croissant - fresh, fragrant with butter and hot.

The nice fresh Danish pastries, fresh and light, are light years away from the hard lumps of dough that are sold in shops and cafes. As for croissants, their quality depends on both the products and the skill of the one who prepares them.

Give yourself enough time

If you start making croissants, you will certainly not achieve much success at first. The main things you need to know are the following: you need to weigh the products carefully and just like the crumbly dough, your butter should be at the right temperature for rolling and mixing. If it is too cold, it will not be able to roll, if it is too hot - it will melt and run out of the dough.

Danish pastries are easier, but there the difficulty is in the decorations, the selection of the appropriate flavor and filling. The most important thing for them is not to overcrowd. If the dough itself is rich and tasty, you need nothing more than a light apricot glaze, a little sugar glaze or a shaped strip of marzipan.

Strudels are cakes that are easy to make at home. All you need is time, a lot of work space and enough patience while rolling out the dough.

Strudel dough

Once rolled out, this dough should be baked immediately. Therefore, before you start, preheat the oven and arrange all the products around yourself.

flour - 225 g plus more for sprinkling

salt - 1/2 tsp. sol

egg - 1 pc. slightly broken

lemon juice - 1/4 tsp

oil - 1 tbsp.

warm water - 110 ml

Mix the flour and salt in a bowl. Make a well in the center and pour the egg, oil and lemon juice. Slowly add warm water to knead a soft, sticky dough. Knead the dough in the bowl until it starts to separate from the walls. Put it on a floured work surface and knead for 5 minutes. When it is smooth, continue to knead and shape it into a cylinder, vigorously hitting one end until it becomes smooth and elastic.

Form the dough into a ball, place it on a cloth napkin and cover with the heated bowl facing down. Leave in a warm place for about 30 minutes.

Warm the rolling pin and lightly flour a cloth napkin. Roll out the dough on it, lifting it and turning it so that it does not stick. Slowly stretch the dough, keeping your hands under it with open palms. Pull it this way until it becomes a very thin circle.

Without removing the dough from the napkin, cut the thick edges with scissors.

Classic strudel

Homemade is used in this traditional recipe strudel dough, but thin pie crusts are also an acceptable alternative.

One dose of strudel dough - about 275 g

melted butter on top

powdered sugar for sprinkling

egg cream or serving cream

for the filling:

dark raisins - 3 tbsp.

white raisins - 3 tbsp.

sugar - 75 g

cinnamon - 1 tsp.

dessert apples - 900 g peeled, cleaned and sliced

grated peel of 1 orange

almonds in flakes - 50 g

breadcrumbs - 50 g fried until crispy in butter

Preheat oven to 190 degrees. Roll out the strudel dough and cut the edges with scissors. Grease with melted butter. Mix the filling products and spread them on the dough, leaving space at the end.

Using a cloth napkin, roll the dough and transfer it to a greased baking tray. Roll the strudel like a horseshoe and spread it with melted butter.

Bake for 40 minutes, sprinkle with powdered sugar and transfer to a board. Serve warm with egg custard or fresh cream.

Salty strudels

Use 2-4 sheets of pie crust smeared with melted butter to make these delicious savory strudels.

Strudel with cottage cheese

Finely chop 1 onion and fry with 25 g of butter to soften. Cool. Mix with 225 g of cottage cheese, salt, white pepper and 1 tbsp. chopped parsley. Preheat oven to 190 degrees.

Cut the pastry crusts into small triangles about 7.5 cm high. Spread with melted butter. Put 1 teaspoon of filling on each triangle. Wrap, grease with a little oil and bake for 7-8 minutes. Decorate the strudels with sprigs of fresh parsley and serve warm.

Strudel with carrots and leeks

Peel and grate 220 g of carrots, finely chop 1 large stalk of leek. Stir the carrots, leeks, 50 g butter, 10 mm peeled and grated fresh ginger, salt and pepper in a saucepan over low heat until soft.

Cut the pie crusts into squares with a side of about 23 cm. Spread the vegetable filling on them, leaving the side blank. Wrap in a roll, roll on a horseshoe and grease with oil.

Bake in an oven preheated to 190 degrees for 15-20 minutes. Serve the strudel hot with yogurt mixed with garlic, fresh tomato sauce or just a crispy lettuce.