Strudel di MeleApple Strudel

Knead pasta tirata, dough stretched until translucent

• 1 From 200 g all-purpose flour, reserve 1 tbsp, about 8 g, in a small dish for dusting and sift the remaining roughly 192 g into a bowl.
• 2 Whisk 3 g salt into the sifted flour for 30 seconds.
• 3 Beat 1 whole room-temperature egg, add to the bowl and pour in 15 ml sunflower oil.
• 4 Pour 85 ml water at 35–40°C in 3 additions, mixing with a fork until no dry flour remains and the dough comes together.
• 5 Turn onto an unfloured worktop and repeatedly push away with the heel of the hand and fold back for 10–12 minutes.
• 6 Slap the dough on the worktop 20–30 times, knead another 2 minutes and form a ball with a taut surface.

Oil and rest the dough; soak raisins

• 1 MeanwhileWhile the dough rests, combine 50 g raisins and 40 ml dark rum in a small bowl, cover with plastic wrap and soak for 30 minutes.
• 2 Spread the remaining 5 ml sunflower oil thinly over the dough by hand.
• 3 Warm a bowl with boiling water, discard the water, dry and invert it over the dough.
• 4 Rest at room temperature, 20–25°C, for 40 minutes.

Toast pine nuts and butter-fry crumbs

• 1 MeanwhileWhile the crumbs cool, melt the remaining 60 g butter in a small saucepan and remove from the heat.
• 2 Dry-toast 30 g pine nuts in a frying pan over medium heat for 3–4 minutes, shaking constantly until lightly colored; transfer to a plate.
• 3 Melt 30 g butter in the same pan over medium-low heat.
• 4 Once the bubbles become fine, add all 50 g fine dry breadcrumbs.
• 5 Toast for 6–8 minutes, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon.
• 6 Spread the toasted crumbs in a tray and cool at room temperature.

Slice apples 3 mm thick and prepare aromatics

• 1 Peel and core tart apples to obtain 500 g net and cut into wedges 3 mm thick.
• 2 Grate only the yellow zest from 1 domestically grown, unwaxed lemon and add to the apples.
• 3 Drain the rum-soaked raisins in a sieve and press lightly by hand; the remaining soaking liquid is not used in this recipe.
• 4 Add drained raisins and the 30 g toasted pine nuts to the bowl and fold from below 2–3 times by hand.

Stretch until the cloth weave shows through

• 1 MeanwhileWhile stretching, preheat the oven to 180°C.
• 2 Spread a cotton cloth about 60 × 80 cm on the worktop and lightly sift over the reserved dusting flour through a tea strainer.
• 3 Place rested dough in its center and roll to a circle about 30 cm across.
• 4 Curl the fingers slightly, slide the backs of both hands underneath and stretch gradually from the center outward.
• 5 Rotate the dough gradually and shift your hands, spreading it to about 40 × 60 cm with an even thinness.
• 6 Pinch and pull the thicker edges, then trim off the remaining thick rim with a knife.
• 7 Patch any holes by stretching a trimmed piece thinly and overlapping it over the opening.

Add crumbs and filling, then roll with the cloth

• 1 Brush the entire dough thinly with 20 g of the 60 g melted butter.
• 2 Spread all cooled toasted crumbs in a band over the near 1/3 of the dough, leaving 3 cm clear on all four edges.
• 3 Add 70 g granulated sugar and 3 g cinnamon to the apples and mix quickly by hand for just 20 seconds.
• 4 Heap the filling in a log on the crumbs and lightly shape by hand.
• 5 Fold the left and right edges inward 3 cm to close the filling's ends.
• 6 Lift the near edge of the cloth with both hands and roll the dough through 3–4 turns.
• 7 Place seam-side down on a parchment-lined tray, curving into a crescent.
• 8 Brush the rolled surface thinly with 20 g melted butter.

Bake at 180°C, brushing with butter

• 1 Put the tray on the middle shelf of the 180°C oven and bake for 40–45 minutes.
• 2 After 15 minutes and again after 30 minutes, brush with 10 g remaining melted butter each time and return to the oven.

Let the baked pastry settle

• 1 Leave on the tray for 20 minutes to cool slightly.

Dust and divide into 6

• 1 Once the initial heat subsides, evenly sift 10 g icing sugar over the surface through a tea strainer.
• 2 Cut into 6 portions with a serrated knife and plate.