Pennsylvania DutchApfelstrudel

Pennsylvania DutchApfelstrudel
MAKES 10 TO 12 SERVINGS

Fruit-enclosed pastries are natural to the Pennsylvania Dutch.
Apfelstrudel in its original form is made with a thinly stretched dough
filled with a mixture of apples, sugar, and spices. Raisins, nuts,
chopped candied citron, or cherries are sometimes added to the strudel.
To stretch the strudel dough, it is helpful to have at least two extra
sets of hands (invite your friends to a "strudel stretch").

THE PASTRY
3 cups all-purpose flour
2 eggs
l/2 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons oil
3/4 cup warm water
l/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon melted butter
Toasted bread crumbs or cinnamon sugar
THE APPLE FILLING
10 large tart apples, pared, cored, and sliced
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 cup sugar
2 teaspoons cinnamon
Nutmeg

To prepare pastry, put flour into a large bowl and make a well
in the center. Combine the eggs, salt, oil, and water. Whip mixture
with a fork until blended, and pour into the well of flour. Stir until
a soft dough forms. Pick up the dough with one hand and slap it into
the bowl or onto a breadboard about 100 times, or until it becomes
very elastic and is no longer wet and sticky but leaves the board and
your hands clean. The dough is very sticky in the beginning, but as
you work with it, it becomes less sticky. Let dough rest for 5 to 10
minutes.
Cover a table with a clean tablecloth or sheet (a round table about
5 feet in diameter is ideal). Dust lightly with flour. Dust the ball of
dough with flour, and place it in the center of the cloth. Roll out the
dough with a rolling pin to make a circle about 20 inches in diameter.
Starting with one person stretching the dough, reach under the
dough with palms up. Turn hands sideways making fists of your hands,
and very slowly rotate fists outward under the dough to stretch it.
When it is about 24 inches in diameter, set dough back onto the cloth.
At this point, it is helpful to have several sets of hands working.
Very carefully, hands under the dough with palms up and fingers
straight out (not curved upward), stretch the dough evenly and very
slowly from the center outward. Keep pulling evenly in all directions
until it is tissue-thin and almost transparent. It should be about as thin
as the membrane of an egg. The dough should be 4 to 5 feet in
diameter. A thick edge will remain; cut it away with a knife and save
it for making noodles.

Preheat oven to 400°F.
Brush dough all over with l/2 cup melted butter and sprinkle
with toasted bread crumbs or cinnamon sugar.
To make the filling, put the apple slices in a mixing bowl. Sprinkle
with the lemon juice, sugar, cinnamon, and a dash of nutmeg. Toss
lightly.
Sprinkle filling over two-thirds of the dough, leaving one-third
free (this will be the end of the roll). Fold the two sides perpendicular
to the free end about 4 or 5 inches over the filling, to hold it in the
ends when the strudel is rolled.
Starting with the filled end, gently lift the cloth to roll the strudel,
rolling toward the empty end. Place the roll on a buttered cookie
sheet, bending it into a horseshoe or wreath shape. Brush it with about
1 tablespoon melted butter, and bake 35 to 45 minutes, or until
golden brown.

CHERRY FILLING: Combine two 16-ounce cans drained, pitted sweet
cherries with !/2 cup sugar, 1 cup raisins, 1 cup finely chopped toasted
almonds, 1 teaspoon grated lemon peel, and 1 teaspoon cinnamon.
Mix well.

POPPY-SEED AND ALMOND FILLING: Simmer 1 cup poppy seeds in
l/2 cup milk until milk is completely absorbed, about 30 minutes.
Whirl 1 cup blanched almonds in a blender or food processor until
fine. Add the finely pulverized almonds to the poppy seeds, and mix
in 1/2 cup honey, l/2 cup sour cream, l/2 cup sugar, 1 cup raisins, 2
teaspoons grated lemon peel, and 1 teaspoon cinnamon.