Apple Strudel Recipe

APPLE STRUDEL

Ingredients:
2 1/2 c. sifted all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp. salt
2 eggs, slightly beaten
3 Tbsp. oil
1/2 c. lukewarm water
Flour
1/4 c. melted butter
1/4 c. butter, unmelted
1 1/2 c. fine dry bread crumbs
1 c. ground walnuts (optional)
5 c. coarsely grated peeled apples
Grated rind of 1 lemon
1 c. seedless raisins
1/2 c. sugar
1 tsp. cinnamon
Icing sugar
Additional melted butter


Sift flour and salt into a large bowl. Make a well in the center and pour in eggs and oil. Add water gradually, stirring constantly with a fork. Dough should be fairly soft and sticky. Continue mixing with fork until dough becomes firmer and leaves sides of bowl. Knead dough in bowl for 10-15 minutes or until very smooth and stretchy. Pick it up and slap it down into the bowl or on a board often. (Dough won't stick to hands or bowl when it is kneaded enough.) Shape into ball, put back into bowl and cover with a damp towel. Set in a warm place and let it rest 1 hour.

Cover a table with a clean smooth cloth. The table must be away from the wall so you can move all the way around it. Sprinkle cloth lightly with flour and rub it in very well. Brush off excess flour. Warm a rolling pin in a warming oven or regular oven on lowest heat. Put dough in center of cloth and start rolling, turning and lifting often so it doesn't stick. Roll as thin as possible, about 1/8".

Flour backs of hands lightly. Slip hands under dough (palms down and fingers turned under). Lift and stretch dough with backs of hands, working from center and stretching toward the outside. Work carefully, keeping knuckles down so as to not tear the dough. Move around the table as the dough stretches so each part of the dough is stretched as thin as possible but not over-stretched. (Holes can be patched.) Continue stretching until dough is tissue-paper thin and transparent. Stretch out to a rectangle about 40" long and about 30-36" wide. Trim off thick edges. Patch any holes with the trimmed dough.

Brush entire surface of dough with melted butter. Melt remaining butter in heavy skillet. Add crumbs and heat gently, stirring until golden. Standing at long side of dough rectangle, sprinkle middle third of dough with crumbs spreading them evenly by hand. Ignore edges, these will be folded in later. Sprinkle ground nuts on top of crumbs and spread evenly again. Combine grated apples, lemon rind and raisins, sprinkle evenly over nuts. Mix sugar and cinnamon and sprinkle over all. Fold in edges of dough. Standing at one long side of rectangle, fold right-hand third of dough over filling. Fold left-hand third of dough over preceding fold. Roll up like a jelly roll from wide sides. Lift onto well-greased cookie sheet and turn to shape into a "U". Brush with melted butter. Bake at 375F for 40 minutes or until golden brown. Sift icing sugar over top while hot. Cut into 1 1/2 inch slices and serve warm.