Thinly Rolled Apple Strudel
An almost transparent stretched dough, wrapped around apples, raisins, cinnamon, and toasted breadcrumbs, then baked until crisp. Tart and sweet, perfumed with cinnamon.
An almost transparent stretched dough, wrapped around apples, raisins, cinnamon, and toasted breadcrumbs, then baked until crisp. Tart and sweet, perfumed with cinnamon.
My mother stretched the dough on the kitchen table until you could almost read a newspaper through it — not a hole, or it's ruined. We filled it with slightly sour apples, raisins, cinnamon, and a handful of golden breadcrumbs at the bottom to soak up the juice. Roll it tight, bake it, and the house smells like the autumn of my childhood. It's a cake you take with you, offer, share — never a strudel just for yourself.
- •Flour — a measure (stretched dough)
- •Oil, warm water — a little (soft dough)
- •Tart apples — several (filling)
- •Raisins — a handful (filling)
- •Cinnamon — to taste (flavor)
- •Breadcrumbs — a handful (absorb juice)
- •Sugar — to taste (sweetness)
Thinly Rolled Apple Strudel
An almost transparent stretched dough, wrapped around apples, raisins, cinnamon, and toasted breadcrumbs, then baked until crisp. Tart and sweet, perfumed with cinnamon.
Why this dish? Apple strudel is listed among the festive dishes Golda prepared for her loved ones. Compact and portable once rolled, it slipped into a travel basket or was offered to anyone who stopped by — a sharing cake inherited from Central Europe.
My mother stretched the dough on the kitchen table until you could almost read a newspaper through it — not a hole, or it's ruined. We filled it with slightly sour apples, raisins, cinnamon, and a handful of golden breadcrumbs at the bottom to soak up the juice. Roll it tight, bake it, and the house smells like the autumn of my childhood. It's a cake you take with you, offer, share — never a strudel just for yourself.
Ingredients (period version)
- Flour — a measure (stretched dough)
- Oil, warm water — a little (soft dough)
- Tart apples — several (filling)
- Raisins — a handful (filling)
- Cinnamon — to taste (flavor)
- Breadcrumbs — a handful (absorb juice)
- Sugar — to taste (sweetness)
Ingredients
- Phyllo dough (or homemade strudel dough) — 1 pack (6 sheets) (wrapper)
- Tart apples (e.g., Granny Smith) — 5 (filling)
- Raisins — 60 g (filling)
- Cinnamon — 1 tsp (flavor)
- Sugar — 70 g (sweetness)
- Breadcrumbs — 4 tbsp (absorb juice)
- Oil or melted butter — 60 ml (brushing sheets)
- Powdered sugar — for dusting (finish)
Method
- Peel and thinly slice apples; mix with raisins, sugar, and cinnamon.
- Toast breadcrumbs in a little oil or butter until golden.
- Lay out phyllo sheets, brushing each with fat, stacking them.
- Spread toasted breadcrumbs, then apple filling along one edge.
- Roll tightly into a log, tuck ends, brush top.
- Bake 35–40 min at 180°C until golden and crisp. Dust warm with powdered sugar.
How it was made : Strudel comes from Central Europe (Ottoman and Viennese influence) and was adopted by Ashkenazi Jewish communities. The dough was hand-stretched on a floured cloth until paper-thin — a skill passed between women of the household.
The contemporary twist : Store-bought phyllo makes strudel accessible on weekdays; served warm with a spoonful of Greek yogurt, it bridges Mitteleuropa and the Mediterranean.
Sources : Claudia Roden, The Book of Jewish Food (1996)
Golda Meir · Charactorium