Sour cherries are one of my favorite summer fruits. Unfortunately the picking season is very short in Ontario, but If I manage to time it properly I usually collect 5-10 kilograms. This year the picking window came unexpectedly early, thanks to the wonderful hot weather we were blessed with, and by the time I looked up when to go to the fruit farm it was already over. Not to be outdone I watched carefully supplies at Costco and sure enough I landed 5 kg pail of fresh cherries picked in Norfolk County, the cherry capital of Canada. Huh, that was a near miss!
I needed fresh cherries for the Austrian cherry strudel that I wanted to bake. The frozen cherries give off too much water during baking and make for a soggy strudel. My cherries from refrigerated pail were not as ideal as freshly picked but yet definitely better than frozen.
It is similar recipe to my Balkan style cherry strudel, but it definitely has a different kick. In this strudel the dough to cherry weight ratio dramatically increased in favor of the cherries. While cherry weight near doubled, the dough is a little over half the size of Balkan style cherry strudel. The toasted bread crumbs mixed with ground almonds also give the Austrian strudel a different flair. Overall it is a very nice strudel and if you have some freshly picked tart cherries, it is definitely something worth trying.
As a variation the tart cherries can also be substituted with the sweet cherries, but in that case add 2 tbsp of lemon juice to the recipe.
The recipe has been adapted from my favorite dessert recipes book: “Kaffeehaus – Exquisite Desserts from the Classic Cafés of Vienna, Budapest and Prague”.
| Prep Time | 30 minutes |
| Cook Time | 30 minutes |
| Passive Time | 60 minutes |
| Servings |
servings
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- 1 1/3 cups all purpose non bleached flour
- 1/8 tsp fine sea salt
- 7 tbsp filtered water + more if required
- 2 tbsp vegetable oil + additional for coating the dough
- 1/2 tsp apple cider vinegar
- 113 g unsalted butter melted, divided
- 1 1/2 cups fresh bread crumbs grind rustic bread pieces in a food processor
- 1/2 cup almonds finely chopped
- 900 g pitted sour cherries
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar
Ingredients
Dough
Filling
|
|
- Over medium high heat (8 out of 10) melt 3 tbsp of butter in a large skillet. Add bread crumbs and roast stirring frequently until toasted and golden brown, about 3-4 minutes. Transfer to plate and let cool completely.
- In a medium size mixing bowl add water, oil, vinegar and half of the flour, mix together. Mix in the salt.
- Add the rest of the flour and mix by hand until you create a compact mass. Take it out on the counter and knead it vigorously for about 10 minutes. Throw the dough often at the counter and then roll it up using the palm of your hand. Keep repeating that process until you obtain a soft, non sticky dough. This will greatly help in developing proper gluten structure.
- Form the dough ball, lightly oil the ball, cover tightly with plastic wrap and let it rest for 30-90 minutes, at room temperature. The longer the rest the better.
- Prewarm the oven to 205ºC (400ºF), rack placed in upper 1/3 of the oven.
- Line large baking pan with parchment paper.
- Choose a work area that is accessible from all sides, either 36" round table or 23" x 48" rectangular table and cover with table cloth. Dust the cloth well with flour.
- Place the dough ball in the center of the floured table cloth. Using a rolling pin, gently roll out the dough as much as you can.
- Stretch the dough to the full size of the table and let it drape over the table edges (see instructions below).
- Using a silicone pastry brush spread remaining 3 tbsp of melted butter onto the stretched dough.
- Sprinkle toasted bread crumbs over the dough, most of the crumbs concentrated in a 6" wide strip, 3" in from the short side of the stretched dough rectangle.
- Sprinkle the almonds over the strip of bread crumbs.
- Spread the cherries over the same 6" wide strip area.
- Fold the short end of the stretched dough onto the filling.
- Roll the strudel on itself by using the table cloth, starting from the folded short side.
- Pick up and transfer the strudel (don't worry it is sturdy enough) to the baking pan. If necessary curve it into a horseshoe shape in order to fit. Tuck the ends under the strudel.
- Brush the top of the strudel with melted butter and bake until deep golden brown, about 30 minutes.
- Cool for at least 30 minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature, cut into thick slices.
Dough stretching procedure:
Pick the dough up from the table cloth, being careful not to tear it. Put both of your hands in the middle, and let the dough rest on top of your wrists bent downwards, draping down over your knuckles. Gently spread your hands apart by 10-15 cm (4"-5"), stretching the dough. Rotate the dough and repeat. When the dough becomes too big and cumbersome to work with, place it carefully flat on the table cloth. Again insert your both hands under the dough in the same manner as before, having the dough resting on top of your bent down wrists. Only this time hands are not in the middle but 10-15 cm (4'-5") in from the edge. Stretch the dough by pulling gently both hands towards you. As you are pulling towards you, at the same time keep spreading hands apart from each other. This way you will be stretching the dough in two directions at the same time. Repeat the same process around the dough perimeter until only 10-15 cm from the dough edge remains unstretched. At that point, use the tips of your fingers, palms up, to gently pull on the edge in small increments as you work around perimeter until completely stretched. Don't lift it up; it is easier to work with if you maintain a low angle where stretching the dough is kept almost level to the table top.
Additional info with pictures on dough stretching technique is available on my blog post "Sour Cherries Strudel" .
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