Daring Bakers May Challenge: Apple, Brie, and Raspberry Strudel

The May Daring Bakers? challenge was hosted by Linda of make life sweeter! and Courtney of Coco Cooks. They chose Apple Strudel from the recipe book Kaffeehaus: Exquisite Desserts from the Classic Cafés of Vienna, Budapest and Prague by Rick Rodgers.


This month the challenge was to make strudel from scratch. The main requirement was to make the strudel dough, but you could do any filling you wanted. The basic recipe listed was an apple strudel. I got started a little late this month because I was on vacation for the first two weeks of May. I didn't even check what the challenge was until the middle of May, so that's why I was making my strudel on Monday morning so that I could finish it before today.

I was originally thinking about making a fully savory strudel, but then I decided to just modify the original apple strudel by adding brie and some raspberries. I liked how it came out, still sweet but you get a little savory with the cheese.


I also decided to halve the recipe since I figured I'd be eating most of it, and I really didn't need that much strudel for myself. I think the half recipe was a good amount, especially after giving some away to some friends. Rolling out the dough was pretty reasonable with the half recipe too.


Overall, I was kinda nervous about this challenge when I first read the recipe because strudel just sounds difficult. But it actually came together really quickly and the dough was really easy to work with, not sticky like bread dough. My dough rolled out to about 24" by 16", and it was pretty thin.


The only problem was that the cheese and raspberries leaked out of the dough during baking. So it looked a little messy, but still tasted good.

Preparation time

Total: 2 hours 15 minutes ? 3 hours 30 minutes

15-20 min to make dough
30-90 min to let dough rest/to prepare the filling
20-30 min to roll out and stretch dough
10 min to fill and roll dough
30 min to bake
30 min to cool

Apple, Brie, and Raspberry strudel (Full batch, I made half)

adapted from ?Kaffeehaus ? Exquisite Desserts from the Classic Cafés of Vienna, Budapest and Prague? by Rick Rodgers

1/2 cup (1 stick / 115 g) unsalted butter, melted, divided
1 1/2 cups (350 ml) fresh bread crumbs
strudel dough (recipe below)
About 1/2 lb brie
2 pounds (900 g) tart cooking apples, peeled, cored and cut into ¼ inch-thick slices (use apples that hold their shape during baking)

1 pint raspberries

1. Heat 3 tablespoons of the butter in a large skillet over medium-high. Add the breadcrumbs and cook whilst stirring until golden and toasted. This will take about 3 minutes. Let it cool completely.

2. Put the rack in the upper third of the oven and preheat the oven to 400°F (200°C). Line a large baking sheet with baking paper (parchment paper). Make the strudel dough as described below. Spread about 3 tablespoons of the remaining melted butter over the dough using your hands (a bristle brush could tear the dough, you could use a special feather pastry brush instead of your hands). Sprinkle the buttered dough with the bread crumbs. Spread the cheese, apples, and raspberries about 3 inches (8 cm) from the short edge of the dough in a 6-inch-(15cm)-wide strip.

3. Fold the short end of the dough onto the filling. Lift the tablecloth at the short end of the dough so that the strudel rolls onto itself. Transfer the strudel to the prepared baking sheet by lifting it. Curve it into a horseshoe to fit. Tuck the ends under the strudel. Brush the top with the remaining melted butter.

4. Bake the strudel for about 30 minutes or until it is deep golden brown. Cool for at least 30 minutes before slicing. Use a serrated knife and serve either warm or at room temperature. It is best on the day it is baked.

Strudel dough
from ?Kaffeehaus ? Exquisite Desserts from the Classic Cafés of Vienna, Budapest and Prague? by Rick Rodgers

1 1/3 cups (200 g) unbleached flour
1/8 teaspoon salt
7 tablespoons (105 ml) water, plus more if needed
2 tablespoons (30 ml) vegetable oil, plus additional for coating the dough
1/2 teaspoon cider vinegar

1. Combine the flour and salt in a stand-mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Mix the water, oil and vinegar in a measuring cup. Add the water/oil mixture to the flour with the mixer on low speed. You will get a soft dough. Make sure it is not too dry, add a little more water if necessary.
Take the dough out of the mixer. Change to the dough hook. Put the dough ball back in the mixer. Let the dough knead on medium until you get a soft dough ball with a somewhat rough surface.

2. Take the dough out of the mixer and continue kneading by hand on an unfloured work surface. Knead for about 2 minutes. Pick up the dough and throw it down hard onto your working surface occasionally.
Shape the dough into a ball and transfer it to a plate. Oil the top of the dough ball lightly. Cover the ball tightly with plastic wrap. Allow to stand for 30-90 minutes (longer is better).

3. It would be best if you have a work area that you can walk around on all sides like a 36 inch (90 cm) round table or a work surface of 23 x 38 inches (60 x 100 cm). Cover your working area with table cloth, dust it with flour and rub it into the fabric. Put your dough ball in the middle and roll it out as much as you can.
Pick the dough up by holding it by an edge. This way the weight of the dough and gravity can help stretching it as it hangs. Using the back of your hands to gently stretch and pull the dough. You can use your forearms to support it.

4. The dough will become too large to hold. Put it on your work surface. Leave the thicker edge of the dough to hang over the edge of the table. Place your hands underneath the dough and stretch and pull the dough thinner using the backs of your hands. Stretch and pull the dough until it's about 2 feet (60 cm) wide and 3 feet (90 cm) long, it will be tissue-thin by this time. Cut away the thick dough around the edges with scissors. The dough is now ready to be filled.