
The Daring Bakers recipe this month, hosted by Linda of make life sweeter! and Courtney of Coco Cooks was strudel, and while the original recipe was apple, we were allowed to fill it however we wanted. I decided to do a savory version, based on a filling from a mushroom barley pie from Smitten Kitchen. It turned out pretty well, although the filling could use a little more oomph. Matt suggested it needed sausage, which I think would be a good idea.

The strudel dough was actually easier to make than I was expecting. You just mix flour and salt, water, oil, and a bit of vinegar. The dough has a very nice feel and is easy to knead — not sticky at all. However, stretching it was a little harder. I pretty easily got it out to about a foot by a foot. But, as I continued to stretch it, it started to get holes, especially on the edges, and I never was able to get it as big as the 2 foot by 3 foot recommendation. This may partly have been because the directions suggest stretching it on a floured tablecloth, but I don’t have any tablecloths, so I just used my kitchen counter. At any rate, it was still tasty, but I think it would’ve been better if it had been thinner.

I’m not sure it’s quite worth the trouble of making the dough again, but I did like the concept and the filling, so I think I might try it again sometime, but take the easy way out and just use pre-made phyllo dough or even puff pastry.
It was definitely a fun challenge, and thanks again to Linda and Courtney for hosting!
The May Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Linda of make life sweeter! and Courtney of Coco Cooks. They chose Apple Strudel from the recipe book Kaffeehaus: Exquisite Desserts from the Classic Cafés of Vienna, Budapest and Prague by Rick Rodgers. (more…)