Apfelstrudel, jablečný závin or štrúdl

Apfelstrudel, jablečný závin or štrúdl is an Austrian/Czech desert. It originated in Austria and spread throughout the Austro-Hungarian empire. It consists of an pastry jacket with a filling of chopped apples, sugar, cinnamon, raisins and bread crumbs. Rum is sometimes used to add flavor. There are several tricks in the preparation of strudel. The first lies in the apples: they need to be tart, crisp, and aromatic. The second trick lies in making the pastry very thin and elastic: a single layer should be thin enough that one could read a newspaper through it. The wrapped strudel is baked and traditionally is served warm, usually sprinkled with powdered sugar.

Ingredients:

• 350 g fine-grained flour
• 1 tbsp lard
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 1 tsp vinegar
• Pinch salt
• 1/2 cup lukewarm water
• 1 kg (2 lbs) apples, peeled, cored, thinly sliced or coarsely grated
• 2 cups breadcrumbs
• 1 tbsp butter
• 100 g sugar
• raisins
• sprinkle cinnamon

Preparation:

1. Roast the breadcrumbs in the butter.
2. Mix the flour with the salt. Add 1 of the beaten eggs, then add the water and the vinegar. Add to the flour and mix well. Add the lard. Work the dough until smooth and not sticky. Cover with a warm plate and allow to rest of 30 minutes.
3. Prepare the apples. Roast the breadcrumbs in the butter.
4. Divide the dough into halves and roll out each with a rolling pin, then continue to pull with the hands until paper-thin.
5. Prepare the strudels: cover the finished dough with part of the roasted breadcrumbs, layer the apples, add the sugar and salt, raisins, cinnamon, then again the breadcrumbs.
6. Roll the strudels very carefully, and place them onto a greased baking sheet. Brush with the second beaten egg.
7. Bake in a 200°C (350 F) until golden-brown, about 30 minutes.
8. Yield: Serves 6.