Rétes is Hungarian strudel: paper-thin hand-stretched dough rolled around fillings such as sour cherry, apple, poppy seed, walnut or sweet cottage cheese.

Strudel is believed to descend from the Hungarian rétes, which developed from the Ottoman baklava during Ottoman rule; the rolled form developed in the Austrian Empire around the turn of the 18th century. The dough is stretched by hand over a cloth until very thin. In Hungary the most common fillings are cottage cheese with raisins, sour cherries, apples, poppy seeds and walnuts. Első Pesti Rétesház, open since 2007, shows guests how strudel dough is stretched.

Where to eat Rétes (Hungarian strudel) in Budapest

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Make it at home

Serves 13 hrAdvanced

Ingredients

  • For the dough: 300g strong white flour
  • 1 tablespoon sunflower oil
  • 1 egg
  • 1 teaspoon white wine vinegar
  • 175ml warm water
  • pinch of salt
  • For the apple filling: 1kg tart apples (Bramley or Boskoop) peeled and grated
  • 100g caster sugar
  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 100g sultanas
  • 80g toasted breadcrumbs
  • 50g chopped walnuts
  • 150g melted unsalted butter for brushing
  • Icing sugar to dust

Method

  1. Mix flour, oil, egg, vinegar, water and salt. Knead 10 minutes to a very soft, smooth, elastic dough. Brush with oil, cover, and rest 1 hour at room temperature.
  2. Cover a kitchen table with a clean cotton tablecloth and dust generously with flour.
  3. Place the dough in the centre and roll out as far as you can. Then slide the backs of your hands under the dough and stretch it gently outwards from the centre, working around the table, until the dough is paper-thin (you should see the tablecloth pattern through it). It should cover the whole tablecloth.
  4. Trim the thick edges. Brush the dough with melted butter and scatter the toasted breadcrumbs over two-thirds.
  5. Combine the grated apples, sugar, cinnamon, sultanas and walnuts. Spread along one long edge in a 10cm strip.
  6. Using the tablecloth, lift and roll the strudel away from you into a tight log.
  7. Transfer carefully to a buttered baking sheet, curving into a horseshoe if needed. Brush with melted butter.
  8. Bake at 190C for 35 to 40 minutes until deep golden. Dust generously with icing sugar before slicing.

Editor tip. Stretch the dough by hand over a floured cloth until you could read a newspaper through it.

Common allergens: Gluten, Dairy, Egg.