When Pies Fly by Cathy Barrow

Author:Cathy Barrow [Barrow, Cathy]
Language: eng
Format: azw3
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
Published: 2019-09-16T16:00:00+00:00

STRETCHING THE DOUGH

Set up the strudel stretching table or countertop with a linen or cotton cloth, tablecloth, or an extra-large cotton tea towel. The final size of the pulled dough will be about 20 by 24 inches and the cloth should be larger by at least 2 inches all the way around.

Flour the cloth heavily, using the heel of your hand to rub the flour into the surface of the cloth. Brush away any excess. Remove the strudel dough from the ziptop bag and with floured hands, place it on the towel, turn it to get some flour on each side. Lift the dough and let it fall away, turning it so it stretches from the edge. Next, use a rolling pin to roll the dough to about 10 by 10 inches. Now lift the dough and with your hands forming fists and thumbs tucked in (and rings off!), let the edge of the dough ride your knuckles while also slowly spinning it, so the weight of the dough itself causes it to stretch. Imagine you are making pizza in the window of a pizzeria, because it’s the same action. Use the weight of the dough to stretch it, and then knuckles and fingertips to tap and pull and lightly, gently expand the dough to a rectangle thin as air.

Once the dough is about 16 by 16 inches, place it down on the floured towel and continue to stretch, placing one hand lightly on the surface of the dough, and working with the other hand from the underside, the knuckles of your loose fist stretching the dough to the edge to get to the 20- by 24-inch goal. You’ll see the dough become increasingly translucent. You may get a hole here and there. Just move away from that area and move to another spot that needs thinning. Once the strudel is rolled, those holes won’t matter. This whole process doesn’t take long at all, just 5 minutes or so, once you’ve done it a few times. Pull the dough until it’s possible to “read a newspaper through it” or some close approximation of that idea.

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