Dough, Strudel

By fireandfrost

The 2 pounds of dough produced by this recipe can be stretched into a sheet about 6 feet square, enough for two 3-foot strudels. Any excess dough can be restretched. With practice in stretching the dough, you may be able to make a 6 foot square out of 1 pound of dough.

Ingredients

• 4 cups flour, preferably bread flour
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 2 eggs
• 2 1/2 cups water
• 8 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
• 1 teaspoon vinegar or strained fresh lemon juice (optional)

Preparation

Step 1

Sift the flour and salt onto a board or into a large bowl. Make a well in the center. Lightly beat the eggs with a fork, then beat in water and half the melted butter. Add the vinegar or lemon juice if desired. Pour the egg mixture into the well in the flour. Stir until all the flour is incorporated into the egg mixture and the dough is smooth. On a flour-sprinkled board, knead the dough for at least 10 minutes, or until it is smooth, shiny and blistered on the surface. Brush the dough generously with melted butter, place in a bowl, cover it with plastic wrap and let it rest for 30 minutes.
Cover a large table completely with a floured cloth. Place the dough in the center of the cloth and, working in all directions, roll out the dough as thin as possible. Spread a little melted butter over the dough, and stretch it with your hands, working carefully all around the table to aviod tearing the dough, until it is very thin, almost transparent. As you stretch, brush the dough with more butter as necessary. Cut off any thick edges, then let the dough rest about 15 minutes before using it.