Apple Strudel

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Strudel Dough

By Shelly: simpleallergyfreeandglutenless.blogspot.com
Allergy Info: Gluten Free, Yeast Free, Egg Free, Soy Free, Corn Free, Tree Nut Free, Peanut Free

Ingredients

Dough

Dry
20g Authentic Foods SuperFine Brown Rice Flour
30g sorghum flour
20g ground flax meal
30g Authentic Foods SuperFine White Rice Flour
40g tapioca flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp c.o.t.
1/4 tsp baking soda
1 TBSP sugar

Wet
1/3 C water
2 TBSP melted butter

To Knead

20g tapioca flour

Filling

6 C apples
1/8 tsp salt
2 TBSP - 1/4 C brown sugar

To Fill

3 TBSP melted butter

3-4 TBSP coconut flour
2 TBSP melted butter

1 TBSP melted butter

Directions

Prepare Dough


  1. Mix dry ingredients
  2. Add wet ingredients
  3. Lighlty knead in up to 20g of tapioca until dough is tacky, but no longer sticky
  4. Form into a smooth ball
  5. Let rest in a greased bowl covered with plastic wrap at least 1 hour at room temperature

Prepare Filling


  1. Peel, core, and dice apples
  2. Cook over medium heat until soft
  3. Add salt and brown sugar
  4. Cover and Rest until completely cooled to room temperature

Form Dough

  1. Heavily flour a tea towel (18"x24" with no knap)
  2. Spread the tea towel out on a counter (you can place this over a rolling mat if you like)
  3. Uncover Dough
  4. In the center of the tea towel- shape dough into a rectangular disk
  5. Press as flat as you can with your hands
  6. Cover with a second, lightly dampened, tea towel 
  7. Let rest 5 minutes
  8. Using rolling pin (this is not the traditional strudel method, but necessary without the gluten) and dusting with tapioca flour as necessary to prevent sticking
  9. Lightly roll dough from center out in each direction until it no longer rolls easily
  10. Cover with a damp towel
  11. Let rest 5 minutes
  12. Repeat dusting and rolling (from center out in each direction) and resting
  13. Until dough is nearly the same size as the tea towel and as thin as possible without tearing (I like to use a printed tea towel and stop when I can just begin to see the towel through the dough)


This strudel dough is not going to be as paper thin and 'see through' as traditional strudel dough, and it is ok if you don't get it thin enough to see the towel beneath. As long as make the effort to roll and rest with the damp towel, you will not be unhappy with the end result. And the more times you use this method the easier it will become.

Fill Dough, Roll, and Bake


  1. Brush 3 TBSP butter evenly over the dough
  2. Mix coconut flour with 2 TBSP melted butter
  3. Sprinkle coconut flour mix in a 3 inch wide line along short edge, leaving a 2 inch border around outside of dough.
  4. Spoon apple filling over coconut flour mixture
  5. Using edges of kitchen towel fold short side of dough over filling.
  6. Tuck sides and continue using the towel to roll into a firm log.
  7. Use towel to carefully lift and roll strudel onto a parchment lined baking sheet
  8. Brush remaining 1 TBSP melted butter over top of strudel
  9. Dust with confectioner's sugar
  10. Cut four to six 1 inch long vents in the top of the dough with a paring knife
  11. Bake at 400 degrees in the center of the oven for 30 to 40 minutes
  12. Remove baking sheet to a cooling rack and let cool for at least 20 minutes before slicing


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Thoughts on Strudel....

The dough should be thin, paper thin, tracing paper thin.  When the strudel bakes, those thin, thin layers of dough turn into a perfect crispy complement to the soft, sweet, fruit filling you find hidden inside.

Gluten free strudel dough seemed like an impossible thing I didn't even dare dream about. Strudel dough requires stretch. Elasticity. Gluten. But recently a strudel dough recipe in a food magazine caught my eye. The dough looked...simple. No yeast. No eggs. No leavening. Could it be possible?

Thinking about the dough for my Tortillas, and my wontons, I was....hopeful. Maybe?

Now, there isn't anything wrong with apple pie. I love pie. But, the option of trying something different? I know people who don't like pie because they don't like pie crust. And pie crust, though a perfect companion to the pie filling, can be heavy. And strudel dough doesn't have that same level of fat content.

To make this work, it requires a lot of ground flax meal and tapioca flour.  This will not work without these ingredients.  The tapioca lacks much nutritionally, but the flax combined with the sorghum and brown rice work to counteract this. And it's dessert, not a daily staple.

A challenge? Yes. But one that was well worth the effort!




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