Picture a warm Homemade Flaky Strudel Pastry, golden-brown and straight out of the oven, with a delicate buttery aroma that fills your kitchen. Every bite is a symphony of layers, a perfect balance of crispiness and softness.
Use hook attachment, mix all ingredients together.
When all blended (about 8 min), must be nice and smooth and sticky to the touch. Not hard like dough but softer.
Remove from the mixing bowl and knead by hand, shape into a bowl.
Place in a large bowl and coat with 2 tbsp oil to keep moist as it rests.
Alternatively, can wrap the bowl in plastic omitting the need for oil as it rests.
Leave it to rest for 30-60 minutes at room temperature.
Cover your countertop with a large cloth (such as a clean cloth table cloth).
Sprinkle with flour.
Place dough in the middle and start stretching dough out from the middle working outwards in a circular motion. Pull dough outward as far as it can go and as thin as possible without breaking.
Beginner tip - use a roller to help roll the dough flat until you get the hang of doing it by hand.
Once stretched out, use a knife to cut off and remove the thicker edges.
Leave it to sit on the cloth for 15 minutes. About 3 times, pull and lift the edges to give the dough some air underneath. Thi helps give the pastry a flaky texture.
In the meantime, prepare the filling. When filling is ready, then….
Melt ½ cup butter and mix with 3 tbsp of oil and sprinkle over top of dough with fingers or a spoon.
Starting on the side closest to you, cover the dough with your filling (about ¼ of the dough with filling).
Use you fingers to begin rolling the edges along the side with the filling. Then lift the cloth to continue rolling tightly the strudel into a long rectangular shape.
Prepare pan. Always must be greased. Use baking sheet or pizza pan.
If using round pan, transfer the strudel to the outer edges of the pan and continue until all strudel is in pan (will be a spiral shaped strudel).
Alternatively, use rectangular pan and start on one end and continue until all strudel in pan.
Add some more butter and oil on to top (use leftover or make more).
Bake Generally at 390F for 23 minutes. Check and if golden color, it’s ready.
Certain fillings may tale longer to bake such as cheese vs apple.
Notes
Can use this pastry to make strudel with all different fillings - apple, sour cherry, cherry, cheese, ground beef and potato, zucchini and cheese, cheese and spinach.