Why put sourdough in the dough for a German apple strudel? That is a legitimate question. Strudel dough doesn’t need a leavening agent, so you can use your old starter in this recipe. However, many original recipes for apple strudel use a teaspoon of apple cider vinegar in the recipe because the acidity gives the dough stability. The sourdough fulfills the same function in this apple strudel recipe. So not only do you create a delicious strudel, you can also use up your sourdough discard. Happy baking!
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What you need for this sourdough apple strudel
- In this case, sourdough starter is not the leavening agent, but provides stability and flavor. It does not have to be active or freshly fed. You can also use sourdough discard for this recipe.
- Flour: The best flour for strudel dough is all-purpose flour or type 405 wheat flour. If you want to replace some of the flour with wholegrain flour, you may need to increase the amount of water in the recipe.
- The water should be lukewarm.
- Oil and egg give the dough elasticity.
- Salt for the flavour.
- Butter should be melted
- Breadcrumbs and ground nuts are roasted before being sprinkled onto the strudel dough. They absorb excess liquid during baking and provide additional flavor.
- Apples: Tart apples are best for apple strudel.
- Sugar for sweetness.
- Raisins to taste. For extra flavor, you can soak the raisins in rum beforehand.
- Cinnamon: If you don’t like cinnamon, you can replace it with vanilla extract, for example.
In three steps: How to make German apple strudel
- Mix the dough, knead until it is smooth and elastic and leave to rest at room temperature for 30 minutes.
- Stretch the dough out very thinly on a floured cloth and cover with butter, breadcrumbs, nuts, sugar, cinnamon, apples and raisins.
- Roll up the strudel, brush with butter and bake for approx. 45 minutes at 180°C oven.
Frequently asked questions about German apple strudel
Puff pastry gets its layers by folding butter into the dough and then folding the dough over and over again. Strudel dough is a particularly elastic dough that is stretched so thinly that you can read a newspaper through it. The layers of strudel dough are created by rolling it up.
Apple strudel tastes best fresh. If you still want to eat the strudel the next day, you can briefly reheat it in the oven. It is important that the strudel only stays in the oven for as briefly as possible so that the outer layers don’t get too dry.
Strudel dough is stretched so thin that you could read a newspaper through it. The dough must be elastic so that it does not tear when stretched. If it still tears, there can be various reasons for this. Either it is too dry or not relaxed enough. Before stretching, the dough must rest at room temperature for at least 30 minutes. If it is too dry, you can moisten the dough a little and oil it before it rests.
The strudel dough is stretched out on a floured cloth and covered. To roll it without tearing the thin layer of dough, fold the dough over the filling by about three centimetres on all sides. Then carefully lift one side of the cloth so that the strudel rolls up by itself. You can then use the cloth to transfer the strudel to a greased baking tray.
Helpful tools – My recommendations
✨ The links with an star* are affiliate links. If you click on one of these links and buy something, I get a small commission and you support my work (thanks for that 🧡). This does not change the price for you. You can find more information on privacy policy here.✨
- A grain mill* for freshly ground wholemeal flour.
- A Danish Whisk* – especially if you don’t use a kitchen machine. This allows you to mix your ingredients without the whole dough sticking to the spoon.
- A kitchen scale*.
- You can use a stainless steel dough knife* to cut your dough pieces or shape your loaves.
- The round enamel cake tin* is scratch-resistant, durable and ideal for cakes and tarts.
- A stainless steel loaf tin*.
- A wooden rolling pin*.
- A steam tray consisting of a stainless steel oven mould* and lava stones*. The tray is filled with the stones and placed on the bottom of the oven during preheating. When you put your bread in the oven, pour hot water onto the stones. This creates steam, which ensures that your bread rises well.
- A cooling rack* for bread, rolls and waffles.
- A stainless steel kettle* with different temperature settings for soaking ingredients.
- A sharp bread knife*.
You can find more product recommendations here.
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Recipe: How to Make Authentic German Sourdough Discard Apple Strudel
Ingredients
dough
- 100 g sourdough starter
- 250 g cake flour
- 75 g water
- 2 tsp. oil
- 1 egg
- ¼ tsp. salt
Filling
- 100 g butter melted
- 50 g bread crumbs
- 50 g nuts ground
- 4-6 apples tart
- 100 g sugar
- 50 g raisins optional
- 2 tsp. cinnamon
Instructions
- For the dough, mix all the ingredients in a bowl.
- Transfer the dough to a work surface and knead until you have a smooth and elastic dough.
- Shape the dough into a ball, brush the surface with oil, place the bowl over the dough and leave to rest at room temperature for about 30 minutes.
- Melt the butter and leave to cool.
- Lightly toast the breadcrumbs and ground nuts in a pan, leave to cool and mix with the sugar and cinnamon.
- Wash the apples and cut into thin slices.
- Preheat the oven to 180 degrees.
- Dust a large cloth or tablecloth with flour.
- Place the dough on the cloth and carefully pull it into a large rectangle with your hands. The dough should be so thin that you could read a newspaper through it.
- Cut off the thicker edges.
- Carefully brush the dough with the melted butter, sprinkle with the breadcrumb and nut mixture and top with apple slices and raisins.
- Fold the strudel dough over the filling by about three centimeters on all sides.
- Lift one side of the cloth so that the strudel rolls up loosely.
- Place the strudel on a greased baking tray, brush with the remaining butter and bake for 45 minutes until golden brown.
- Serve with powdered sugar and vanilla sauce or vanilla ice cream while still warm. Bon appétit!
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I can’t wait to try this. Your directions and details are great.
Thank you so much! I hope you enjoy the apple strudel 🧡