Every one of us, I'm sure, has a seasonally favorite. For example, while we love summers light fruit notes, in the winter we tend to reach for pastries, biscuits, and those incredibly wonderful but high-calorie cakes. One of the delicacies that can not be missed in winter is her majesty - strudel. I remember it from childhood as something my mother would make for us at any time, from basic ingredients, adding wonderfully ripen apples tucked in crates with straw. I haven't had the chance to make it this winter until now, the last bag of cherries in the freezer convinced me.
What does it take to get a cotton-soft dough?
250 ml of lukewarm milk, 500 g of soft flour type-400, a spoonful of sugar, a pinch of salt, a spoonful of lemon juice (I recommend grated lemon zest as an extra), 60 g of fat, (I used butter instead), 40 grams of fresh yeast.
In the event that you only have instant dry yeast at home, I think that 20 grams will be quite enough for this amount of flour.
Why did I opt for fresh yeast this time instead of instant, which I usually use?
Fresh yeast is available here in 50-gram pieces, which is usually too much for me, and it is nearly impossible to store once opened.
At the same time it takes longer to break down and activate, the smell of fermentation is more intense, and dough made with fresh yeast tastes better (especially when used for strudel). With instant yeast, you do not have to wait for the activation period, but immediately knead the dough and let it rise.
Add all the ingredients, including the butter, to the bowl with the flour, then gradually add the yeast stirred in the lukewarm milk. Mix gently with a fork so that the middle with the wet ingredients is slightly mixed with the flour into a thick paste, then leave it in a warm place until the yeast is active.
Then, using your hands, combine the remaining flour with the yeast; the dough will be more sticky yet elastic, and it will just need to rest until it doubles in volume.
(about half an hour)
The last unfrosted bag of sour cherries was waiting for me, ready for pitting / the worst case scenario. Strudel wont mind if you use whatever you like as a filling, be it fruit or milk creams, chocolate, jam, nuts and let's not forget poppy seeds!
Cherries are a juicy fruit and tend to spoil the dough if not drained well beforehand, I used about 400 grams of cherries, two spoons of semolina to absorb the liquid, and three spoons of granulated sugar - and that's strudel stuffing!
Lightly flour the work surface on which you will roll out the risen dough.
And now it's time to be gentle... knead the dough with light movements; you'll see how airy the structure is, and if you want to keep it, continue to knead at a slower pace.
Look at that fluffiness!!!
Even if you happened to knead the dough more than you should, nothing will happen to it except that the crust will be firmer (preferable variant for fillings like spread).
Me, however wanted just that strudel taste melting all over my five senses.
Dividing the dough into two equal parts, rolling out a whole crust would be too much, but at the same time there would be more layers when the strudel is cut, it also gives you a chance for making a two different fillings.
Flatten - sprinkle - roll
When rolling, you can gently pull the dough towards you, this way the strudel will be denser and pieces wont be falling apart while eating.
A few more minutes of sleep will allow the dough to rise yet again, and you may coat the strudel with beaten egg yolk before baking, if desired.
I skipped that step because I already had two egg whites on hand, and keeping them for an extended period of time is not recommended, in case you have something planned with - go for it!
Preheat the oven to 220c, then reduce to 190 so that the strudel bakes evenly on the inside without the risk of the outside taking on a burnt shade.
I don't know if anyone recognizes this silver gadget but this is a tea egg that works well until unpacked, perfectly not practical for tea and rather sloppily made and doesn't even close nicely.
However, I found a purpose for it, it will serve perfectly for sprinkling powdered sugar (no sieve here).
The holes are of ideal dimensions so that they do not miss lumps and sprinkles evenly.
Still warm snuggled under a cotton cloth waiting for her first cut.
After cooling, sprinkle powdered sugar, make yourself a coffee, cut a few slices, sit back comfortably and enjoy every bite of the cottony, slightly sweet, lemon-scented pastry.
Nothing else to add here, except...
Bon appetite!