Quince and apple strudel

Recipe:  Quince and apple strudel.pdf

Makes:  2 strudel to serve 10 people

Dough:

290g high protein white flour

pinch of salt

145g water

1 egg

100g melted butter

Filling:

1 tbsp butter

3 large Bramley apples

1-2 tbsps white sugar, or to taste

3 large quinces, peeled, quartered, cored and poached

3 or 4 eating apples, depending on their size

1 orange

1 lemon

c.70g currants, soaked overnight in rum

nutmeg

c.3 tbsps Demerera or white sugar

c.50g flaked almonds

icing sugar, to serve

1. Sift flour onto work surface or into a wide bowl.  Sprinkle over salt and make a well in middle.
2. In a jug whisk together water, egg and 1 tsp of the melted butter.  Pour most of it into the well and start combining to make a dough, as you would for pasta.  As the dough comes together add the remaining water if possible.  The dough will be very sticky but should not be sloppy.
3. Let ball of dough rest on work surface for 20 minutes.  After this time it should feel less sticky.
4. Knead dough by throwing it about, stretching and folding, for 5-10 mins, until it is smooth, stretchy and supple.  Wrap in clingfilm.  Leave to rest 1 hour at room temperature while you make the filling.
5. Melt butter for filling in a frying pan.  Peel, quarter, core and chop the Bramleys and cook in butter over medium heat until mostly disintegrated.  Add sugar to taste but do not make it too sweet.  Turn off the heat. 
6. Chop quince pieces into small chunks.  Peel, quarter, core and chop eating apples into same size chunks.  Add both to the apple puree.  Zest over orange and lemon and combine.  Let cool.
7. Heat oven to 180C fan.  Line a baking tray with paper and brush with melted butter.
8. Cover a table or large area of work surface with a clean tablecloth.  Dust with flour, as well as a rolling pin.  Unwrap dough and roll out to a rectangle the size of A3 paper.  Now switch to your hands and gently stretch the dough out in all directions to cover the space.  It should be so thin it is transparent, and reach a rectangle of at least 60cm x 90cm.
9. Brush the pastry with melted butter.  Scatter over the Demerara.  Spread the filling over the front half of the pastry (nearest you).  Drain the currants and scatter over the filling.  Now grate over a little nutmeg.
10. Roll the pastry up way from you into a roulade, not too tightly as the filling will expand in oven. 
11. Cut into two pieces, trim the ends if needed and transfer to the baking tray.  Brush with butter and scatter over the almonds.  Transfer to oven immediately.
12. Bake until nicely browned and the outer layer of pastry is crisp, around 45 minutes. 
13. Serve lukewarm, dusted with icing sugar, with cream, custard or ice cream.