Real strudel pastry passes exactly one test when it is ready: you must be able to read newspaper print through it. That is how thin the dough is pulled in the original, and that is how thin we can get it at home, too, when the ratio of flour, oil, water and that hidden acid is right and the dough has truly rested for its 30 minutes.
We have been baking strudel regularly for years, and the pastry is the point where most people run into trouble. Either it tears while stretching, or it stays tough and rubbery. With the Thermomix®, the kneading stage is no longer an issue: 2 minutes on kneading mode and you are done. What remains is discipline during the resting time and the stretching, and that is exactly what this post is about.
Strudel Pastry with the Thermomix®
Ingredients 0 / 7 ✓
- 50 g sugar
- 370 g plain flour (type 405), plus extra for dusting a little extra for dusting
- 1 egg
- 40 g sunflower oil
- 120 g lukewarm water
- 10 g white wine vinegar
- 1/2 tsp salt
Instructions 0 / 4
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1
Kneading.
Add all ingredients to the mixing bowl, knead for 2 minutes / kneading mode to form a dough, then leave to rest in the fridge for 30 minutes.
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2
Oven.
Preheat the oven to 180°C top and bottom heat and line a baking tray with baking paper.
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3
Rolling out.
Roll the dough out very thinly on a floured tea towel and add your chosen filling.
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4
Baking.
Use the tea towel to roll up the strudel, transfer it to the baking tray and bake until golden to your liking.
Tip: You can fill this strudel pastry however you like, sweet or savoury.
You can freeze the dough ball and thaw it at room temperature when needed. Continue from step 2 once it has thawed.
Video
Nutrition per serving
Why this pastry works so well in the Thermomix®
- The acid makes the dough stretchy. The 10 g of white wine vinegar in the ingredient list is not a typo. Acid selectively weakens the gluten network so the dough can be stretched later without tearing. Without vinegar, strudel pastry becomes stubborn.
- Lukewarm water, not cold. The 120 g of water must be hand-warm. Cold water slows gluten development and the dough turns hard. Lukewarm means neutral against your wrist, neither cool nor hot.
- Kneading mode, not speed 4. The mixing bowl kneads on kneading mode exactly as a yeast dough needs, with a folding motion rather than a cutting action. This keeps the gluten structure intact and makes the dough elastic rather than shredded.
The 30-minute resting time after kneading is non-negotiable. During this time the gluten network relaxes, the flour fully hydrates, and the dough becomes stretchable at all. Anyone who rolls the dough straight out of the mixing bowl will get a tough disc that tears immediately when pulled thin. We wrap the ball in cling film and put it in the fridge, then the flour absorbs moisture evenly.
The damp tea towel is the key trick
The instructions say to roll out on a floured tea towel very thinly. We go two steps further: we dampen the large tea towel under the tap, wring it out firmly and only then dust it with flour. The towel sticks to the table from the residual moisture and does not slide away as we stretch the dough over it. Flour still adheres because the towel is only slightly damp, not wet.
To stretch the dough, we slide our hands with the backs of our hands (not our fingers!) under the dough and draw it outwards over our knuckles. Fingernails and rings must come off, otherwise you will poke holes through it. We work from the centre to the edges, turning the towel 90 degrees several times as we go. The thick border remains at the edge and is cut away with scissors before filling.
Where strudel pastry tears or becomes too firm
The dough tears while stretching
Most of the time the resting period was too short, or the flour is too low in protein. Type 405 plain flour works, but for extra security you can replace 50 g with type 550 flour or semolina. That adds more gluten protein and makes the dough more resistant to tearing. Our fix: At least 30 minutes resting time, ideally 45 minutes. And do not panic at the first stretch: small tears can be patched with a little dough from the edge.
The dough turns tough and rubbery
Kneaded for too long, or too much flour used when rolling out. On kneading mode, the 2 minutes from the recipe are exactly enough; kneading longer does not make the dough more stable, just firmer. When dusting the towel, a thin veil of flour is sufficient. Our fix: Set a timer and remove the dough immediately after 2 minutes on kneading mode. Keep the flour on the towel light and add a little more as needed.
The filling leaks out and the strudel goes soggy
With apple or quark fillings this often happens when the filling is too wet or sits directly on the dough. Apple pieces release juice, and so does quark. Our fix: We scatter a layer of 50 g toasted breadcrumbs directly onto the stretched dough before the filling goes on. The breadcrumbs absorb the moisture and the pastry stays crisp. For savoury fillings, plain breadcrumbs or grated hard cheese work just as well.
Sweet, savoury, in strips: what we make with this pastry
- Classic apple strudel: Grated apples, cinnamon, raisins, buttered breadcrumbs, done. We have documented our full strudel recipe for that.
- Quark strudel: Mix quark with egg yolk, sugar, vanilla and raisins. Before stretching, whisk the egg whites separately to stiff peaks and fold them in.
- Spinach and feta strudel: Blanch leaf spinach, squeeze it dry, mix with diced feta and a little nutmeg. Wrapped in strudel pastry this becomes a lighter take on spanakopita.
- Mini strudels in strips: Cut the stretched dough into squares, add a small filling and roll each one up individually. Practical for buffets and quicker to bake than one large strudel.
- Savoury mushroom version: Fry mushrooms in a pan, mix with ham and herbs, deglaze with a little double cream and roll up.
What goes well with strudel
With classic apple strudel made in the Thermomix® we serve vanilla sauce or a scoop of vanilla ice cream. For a classic Austrian touch, add a generous spoonful of whipped cream. Savoury fillings go well with a green salad and a light yoghurt and herb dip. Anyone looking for other basic pastry recipes from the Thermomix® will also find pancake batter, pasta dough and pizza dough on our site. Each of these doughs has its own logic; strudel pastry is the most delicate of them all.
Making ahead and storing properly
Strudel pastry keeps well when made in advance. Freshly kneaded and wrapped tightly in cling film, it keeps in the fridge for up to two days without losing quality. If you need more, you can freeze the dough in portions. We form balls of 200 g, wrap each one in cling film and place them in a freezer bag. The dough keeps for three months this way.
To use, thaw the ball overnight in the fridge slowly, never in a rush at room temperature. After thawing, the dough must rest for at least 30 minutes at room temperature, otherwise it will tear when stretched. We prefer not to freeze strudels that have already been filled and rolled, because the filling draws water as it thaws and the pastry turns soggy. Fully baked strudels keep covered for 1 to 2 days and can be refreshed in the oven at 150°C for 8 minutes; in the microwave they would go soft.
Goes well with: Cherries and vanilla sauce.
More basic recipes with the Thermomix®: pancake batter, pasta dough, pizza dough and our classic apple strudel.
