Food connecting people.

In Negombo, I hosted a cooking class at the Jetwing Hotel for the children of the Round Table International World Meeting in Sri Lanka. With the support of the kitchen team of the hotel, everything was prepared and then we cooked an Austrian specialty. Apple strudel with vanilla sauce, a shot of Steirerkraft pumpkin seed oil could not be missing because of course. Probably the most exciting place I’ve ever had a cooking class and you do not even believe how difficult it is to get breadcrumbs.

The dough

Mix lukewarm water, oil and salt in a big bowl.

Stir with a spoon and add the flour until it comes together and work it with your hands.

Knead the dough until it´s smooth for about 5 minutes, either in the bowl or on a working surface. The dough should be moist but not sticky. If it is too sticky to knead, add a little more flour.

Shape the dough into a smooth ball. Brush a clean bowl with oil, put the dough into the bowl and brush it with oil. Then cover the bowl with a plastic film and let it rest for 1 hour at room temperature.

The apple filling

Melt the butter and add the breadcrumbs. Toast them, stirring constantly, until they are golden. Remove from the heat and let cool. Put sugar and cinnamon to the buttered breadcrumbs and stir it.

Peel the apples, quarter and core them. Chop every quarter into slices and cover them with lemon juice to prevent the apples from getting brown. Add the raisins and mix well everything together.

Stretching and filling the dough

Roll out the dough with a rolling pin on a clean and lightly floured surface.

When the dough gets really thin, pick it up then use the back of your hands to stretch it. Gently stretch the dough paper-thin from the inside to the outside. Stretch it until it starts to look translucent. You should be able to read the titles of a newspaper placed under the streched dough.

Brush half the dough with half the melted butter. Spread the apple-breadcrumb-mixture over the other half of the dough and pat down evenly. First fold in the side-ends of the dough, starting at the apple-topped end all the way. Then gently roll the strudel onto a sheet of parchment paper with the seam-side down. Put the dough onto a baking sheet and brush it with the remaining melted butter.

Baking the strudel

Put the baking sheet in the middle of the preheated oven and bake it about 40 minutes at 180 °C.

When the crust turns golden, the Apple Strudel is ready. Take it out of the oven, let it cool slightly, cut it into pieces and serve dusted with icing sugar.

Info:

The strudel dishes have a long tradition in Austria, you are getting them sweet and savory. And some say, if you can make a thin strudel dough, where you can read a newspaper underneath, without a crack in the dough, you are ready to marry