Trentino — apple cultivation in the Trentino valleys is one of the most important agricultural traditions; Mela della Val di Non DOP is the designation for the most celebrated zone. The strudel tradition arrived from Austria during the Habsburg period and became fully naturalised.
Strudel di mele trentino (strucia in the Trentino dialect) is the Trentino version of the most celebrated Alpine pastry — thin, unleavened strudel dough (pasta strudel, an Italian interpretation of the Austrian filo) stretched to translucence over a kitchen cloth, filled with thinly sliced apples from the Trentino DOP orchards (Mela della Val di Non DOP, grown on the floors of the Non and Sole valleys), raisins, toasted pine nuts, cinnamon, and a little Trentino grappa. The Trentino version differs from the Viennese in that the dough is slightly thicker and more bread-like, and the apple filling uses the local golden rennet varieties.
Strudel di mele trentino warm from the oven is golden, fragrant with cinnamon and apple, the pastry crackling at the score lines. The apple filling inside is soft and sweet, with the raisin's grape sweetness and the pine nut's crunch. The grappa note is gentle but present. Dusted with icing sugar, served with a knob of whipped cream, it is the Alps in dessert form.
Strudel dough: 250g 00 flour, 1 egg, 50ml warm water, 1 tablespoon olive oil, pinch of salt. Knead until silky (10 minutes); rest covered 30 minutes. Working on a floured cloth, stretch gently from the centre outward with the backs of floured hands — pulling from the inside, not pushing from outside — until the dough is paper-thin and nearly translucent. Filling: 4-5 Trentino rennet apples (peeled, cored, sliced thin), 50g raisins soaked in grappa, 50g pine nuts (toasted), 2 teaspoons cinnamon, 2 tablespoons fine breadcrumbs toasted in butter. Brush stretched dough with melted butter; scatter breadcrumbs. Lay filling along one edge. Roll using the cloth to guide. Seal ends. Brush with egg wash. Bake at 190°C for 35-40 minutes until golden.
The breadcrumb scattering (toasted in butter) before the filling is essential — it absorbs the apple moisture during baking and prevents the dough from becoming soggy. Mela della Val di Non DOP (golden delicious and renetta apple varieties from the Trentino valley) are ideal; a mix of Cox and Braeburn approximates the flavour in the UK. The grappa in the raisins is the Trentino signature — use local Trentino grappa if available.
Stretching the dough too aggressively in one spot — the dough tears if pulled too hard at one point; work slowly and evenly from the centre out. Apples too thick — thick apple slices don't cook through in the baking time; 2-3mm maximum. Filling too wet — if the apples have been macerated in sugar, they release water and make the base soggy; use the apples directly without macerating.
Slow Food Editore, Trentino-Alto Adige in Cucina; Anna Gosetti della Salda, Le Ricette Regionali Italiane