Today I bring you a recipe for the most delicious sweet crumbly strudels . Making shortcrust pastry is very simple, but if it's your first time making it, below are some tips that you must keep in mind so that your dough turns out as good and tasty as possible.
When making shortcrust pastry, I only use butter , my advice is that you should use it too. Butter is definitely a better option than margarine, both because of the structure of the dough and because of the much better taste of the dessert. If you use margarine in desserts, try replacing it with butter. Today you can really find it in stores at affordable prices , and it is often on sale.
In order to make the dough and shape it into a ball more easily, you will need an egg and cold water . In the recipe, I will write you the exact proportions with which the dough will turn out just right. After combining the flour and butter, it is necessary to add a liquid that will bind the mixture together, and in this case it is egg and water. There are also versions with sour cream, I haven't tried it because I always use this old recipe as my grandmother used to make it, but if you're interested, be sure to google it.
When making strudels, I use only vanilla sugar, I do not add powdered or crystal sugar to the dough. The filling itself is sweet and nice, and at the end I just like to sprinkle them with powdered sugar so that it is really not necessary to add sugar to the dough. You can fill the strudels with fruit spread if you wish.
Required ingredients:
- 300 grams of flour
- 150 g of cold butter
- a pinch of salt
- grated zest of half an organic lemon
- 2 vanilla sugar
- 1 egg yolk
- 3-4 tablespoons of cold water
- fruit spread for filling
- powdered sugar for sprinkling
Step 1
Put the flour, salt, vanilla sugar, lemon zest and cold butter cut into cubes into the bowl in which you will make the dough. Combine the ingredients with your hands until you combine the flour and butter. You should get a dry, breadcrumb-like mixture.
Step 2
Add the egg yolk and 3 tablespoons of water and shape the dough with your hands. The liquid will help you get a compact mixture. If the mixture is still dry, feel free to add another tablespoon of water. Work the dough lightly with your hands and shape it into a ball. Wrap the ball in transparent foil and let it rest in the refrigerator for 30-45 minutes.
Step 3
When the dough has rested, transfer it to a floured surface and roll it into a rectangle. Dough thickness 3-4 mm. Divide the dough into three strips (from this quantity you should get 3) each about 5 cm wide.
Step 4
Along the length of each strip, apply your favorite spread in the middle. Make sure that the spread you put is compact and a little thicker so that it doesn't leak out of your strudels. Connect the left and right ends of each strip in the middle along the entire length to get a long loaf. Cut off the excess in the middle with scissors.
Step 5
Transfer such long strudels to a baking sheet (the side where you cut the excess is down) that you have lined with baking paper, and cut them to the length you want your strudels to be. Bake at 170-180 in a preheated oven for 20-25 minutes. If your oven normally heats up more, you should rather set it to 170 degrees. Toward the end, feel free to bake very briefly at 200 degrees to get a light color. It is very important not to overcook them. While still hot, sprinkle with powdered sugar and let them cool. Keep them in the box, they are even better the next day.
Enjoy! :)
Recipe by: Hrvoje Stojanov (Hungry again)
