EPISODE 3: MEDVEDNICA

Cherry Strudel

(for 4-6 persons)

Ingredients:

-250 g bread flour
-about 120 ml lukewarm water
-3 tablespoons of sunflower oil
-a pinch of salt
-1kg cherries, pitted
-200 g sugar
-zest of one lemon
-120 g butter, melted
-80 g finely chopped pistachios (almonds, hazelnuts, walnuts can also be used)
-icing sugar, for sprinkling at the end

Mix flour, pinch of salt, oil and lukewarm water. Mix by hand or with a mixer until well combined.

Add flour (if the dough is too dry) or water (if the dough is sticky).

Transfer the dough to a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth and compact. Form it into a ball, oil the top,return it to the bowl and cover with plastic wrap.

Let it rest for at least 2 hours, or preferably overnight in the refrigerator.

Mix the cherries with the sugar and lemon zest.

Prepare a table with a clean tablecloth, preferably with a pattern. Flour it lightly and roll out the dough into a large circle with a rolling pin. Then use your fingers and palm to stretch it into a sheet as thin as possible, until you can clearly see the patterns on the tablecloth. Use scissors to cut off the thicker edges and cut the dough into two approximate squares.

Preheat the oven to 200°C.

Drizzle the dough with melted butter and sprinkle chopped pistachios over it.

Place the prepared cherries in a strip (about 4 cm) along the bottom edge of the dough and roll everything up.

Drizzle the tops of the resulting loaves well with the remaining butter.

Bake at 200°C for about ten minutes, then reduce to 170°C and bake for another 20-30 minutes, until it gets a nice color and all the liquid released by the cherries has evaporated.

Let it cool before cutting and sprinkle with powdered sugar.