Apple Strudel

Strudel fun facts.

Strudel is actually Austrian cuisine and its pastry is very elastic. It is made from flour with a high gluten content, little fat (butter) and no sugar. The pastry is rolled out and stretched very thinly over the back of the hand. Purists say it should be so thin that a newspaper can be read through it. The tale is told that the Emperor's cook decreed that it should be possible to read a love letter through it. Then the pastry is laid out on a tea towel and filled. Then it is rolled with the help of the towel and baked in an oven.

Traditional strudel pastry is different from strudels served in other parts of the world that are often made from filo or puff pastry. It probably had its origins in Turks or Middle Eastern pastries and is related to Balkan Burek.