There is probably not a single person living in Europe who has never tasted German strudel in his life. It can be used as a main course filled with meat, such as pork, or as a sweet and spicy dessert with juicy apples and aromatic cinnamon.
History of the dish
The name of the dish has German roots and means "whirlwind" or "whirlpool". This is due to the structure of the test.
According to the recipes, leafy dough is used, which can be yeast or yeast-free. Also, to give the well-known multi-layering, the craftswomen use kefir, which, with its bubbles, saturates the dough with air and gives it exceptional airiness. Strudel is a national German dish.
In the classical sense, strudel must be filled with caramelized apples and spicy cinnamon, it is called apfelstrudel.
The first mention of the delicacy was recorded in Byzantium, but real popularity came during the reign of the Habsburg dynasty, who were famous lovers of delicious dishes and had a huge social circle among other nobility throughout Europe. Unfortunately, the name of the chef who came up with the strudel recipe is unknown.
Strudel dough
Today, there are three main methods for preparing sheet dough for strudel, these are:
- on kefir,
- on the water,
- by leaps and bounds
On kefir
To prepare a dough on kefir you will need:
- 50 milliliters of kefir;
- 50 milliliters of butter melted in a steam bath, if desired, it can be replaced with the same amount of vegetable;
- 10 grams of baking powder;
- 25 grams of granulated sugar;
- 100 grams of premium flour;
- a pinch of salt.
To begin with, kefir is mixed with melted butter in a metal bowl, then granulated sugar is added and stirred until it is completely dissolved.
Dry ingredients are combined in a separate bowl: flour, baking powder and salt. Stir the contents and quickly knead the elastic dough, which, thanks to the large amount of oil, does not stick to the hands and kneads well. A ball is formed from the finished dough, tightly wrapped with cling film and sent to the refrigerator until the butter completely solidifies.
On the water
Water dough is also popular and is considered an oriental innovation in relation to the classic recipe. For its preparation, the following ingredients are used:
- 500 grams of premium wheat flour;
- 300 milliliters of hot water with an operating temperature of at least 50 ° C;
- 85 milliliters of vegetable or butter melted in a water bath;
- 8 grams of baking soda;
- a pinch of salt.
To prepare the dough, in the same way as in the previous version, all dry components are mixed first: flour, salt, soda. They are mixed thoroughly.
Vegetable or melted butter is added, everything is mixed. And now, until the required dense consistency of the dough is formed, hot water is gradually poured in. The elastic dough is kneaded, with careful stirring it quickly takes on the desired appearance and does not stick to your hands.
If you still have problems with the sticky dough during cooking, you can additionally moisten your hands with hot water or oil.
The finished dough is tightly wrapped with cling film and sent to the refrigerator for up to one hour or in the freezer for 20 minutes.
Yeast dough
Yeast dough for strudel is the longest in terms of cooking time, but it turns out to be the most airy and crisp at the same time. To prepare it, you will need the following products:
- 200 milliliters of warm milk or kefir;
- 2 eggs;
- 600 grams of premium wheat flour;
- 40 grams of granulated sugar;
- 150 milliliters of butter or any odorless vegetable oil ghee in a water bath;
- 35 grams of live yeast or 11 grams of dry;
- a pinch of salt.
The first step in preparing the dough will be dough. To do this, pour warm milk into a large plastic bowl, add two tablespoons of the total amount of flour, as well as all the granulated sugar and yeast. Mix everything, cover with a cotton towel and put in a warm place for 10 minutes - until the yeast completely dissolves and a cap of bubbles forms over the dough.
After that, the pre-mixed remaining dry ingredients and eggs beaten with butter are added to it, mixed thoroughly again, covered with a towel and sent to a dry warm place for an hour and a half. The dough will be ready for use after at least double the total volume.
German strudel with pork, sauerkraut and potatoes
The strudli dough with cabbage can be prepared according to one of the above recipes. But most often culinary experts use yeast dough. In combination with juicy pork meat and sour cabbage, you get an excellent main course.
For the filling you will need:
- 0.5 kg of sauerkraut;
- 0.5 kg of pork;
- 2 large onions;
- salt, pepper and other spices to taste.
The meat is cut into small squares of 1 centimeter, salt, pepper and spread on a preheated frying pan greased with vegetable oil. After the meat changes color and is slightly fried on all sides, shredded onions and sauerkraut are added to it. Mix everything and fry over high heat for up to 10 minutes.
Then add enough pure water to completely cover the contents of the pan. Cover the pan with a lid, reduce the heat and let the contents stew for an hour to two, stirring occasionally and checking the cabbage for softness.
While the meat and cabbage reach, you need to do the dough. It is divided into portions. The weight of one portion is from 300 to 450 grams.
Roll out into a thin layer, grease with vegetable oil and roll up in the form of a roll, cut into pieces of 5 centimeters. Let it stand again for about half an hour, so that the yeast dough comes up a little more.
For further cooking, you will need an oven or multicooker. Rolls of dough are laid out in a deep heat-resistant dish, they are covered with meat and cabbage on all sides and poured with the broth remaining in the pan. Send to the oven until the dough is completely prepared. You can serve strudel either separately or with potatoes as a side dish.
Sweet strudel with apples
For a delicious dessert, yeast-free dough is best. It must be divided into portions weighing up to 350 grams. Place between two sheets of parchment paper and roll out into the thinnest possible layer.
For the filling, you will need the following ingredients:
- 1 kilogram of fresh apples;
- 100 grams of butter;
- 75 grams of raisins;
- 75 grams of almonds;
- 50 grams of granulated sugar;
- 1 egg;
- half a lemon;
- 40 milliliters of milk;
- cinnamon, cloves, or other aromatic spices to taste.
The apples are peeled and core, cut into thin slices or cubes. Sprinkle with juice from half a lemon.
The raisins are washed and doused with boiling water. Almonds are finely chopped with a knife or crushed in a coffee grinder for 20 seconds until they form pieces of different sizes. Granulated sugar is mixed with cinnamon or other spices.
Grease the thinly rolled dough with melted butter, spread apples evenly, then raisins and almonds. Sprinkle with spiced sugar.
Gently roll up the apple strudel so as not to break the thin dough. Spread out on a baking sheet covered with siliconized parchment paper, the seam should be at the bottom. Smear on top with whipped yolk and milk.
Dessert is baked in an oven preheated to 220 ° C.Serve pastries with a glass of warm cocoa or another favorite drink, sprinkling a piece of dainty with plenty of powdered sugar.
Conclusion
The German strudel with meat will delight lovers of hearty dinners, and the delicate dessert with apple filling will please the refined natures. There are also many delicious cakes in German cuisine.
