Taming of the strüdel

Translated from German, the word "strüdel" describes a kind of small eddy or whirlpool in a stream. The famous Austrian pastry takes its name from being wrapped round and round a filling, as in apfelstrüdel.

Many chefs trained in the Anglo-French tradition do not realise that it is actually quite easy to make strüdel. Practice makes perfect, but even a first attempt should be successful and the result finer than the commercial filo pastry often used as a substitute.

Austrian chef Georg Fuchs, of London's Langham hotel, had learnt to make his national dish by the time he was 10 years old. In his native Vienna, the bars and bistros serve the pastry with savoury fillings (such as cabbage, potato and wild mushrooms) as well as sweet varieties (for example apple, plum, pear, cherry and grape).

Many cooks who would like to make strüdel shy away from it because they imagine that the process of stretching the dough requires some kind of supernatural sleight of hand. In fact, if the dough has been mixed, kneaded and rested properly, it is a knack as easy to acquire as, say, pulling sugar.

Strüdel is not a pastry that keeps. Once baked, if you are serving it hot, dish it up straight away while it is crisp. If it is used for pâtisserie, do not let it get tired and leathery. Freshness is all.

Requirements for making strüdel

You need to have a table around which you can work - not a fixed unit against a wall - about one metre long and at least half a metre wide. You must also have a tablecloth to cover it.

Flour: many strüdel recipes suggest using a strong bread flour. In fact, this is unnecessary. Fuchs uses a standard plain flour with 10% protein.

Dough: although it is useful to have a basic recipe that gives an idea of proportions, the best strüdels result from a feel for the dough.