Štrudla sa Orasima/Walnut Strudel

Directions

• In a small bowl or mug, add the warm water, yeast, and sugar. Stir and set aside to proof.
• In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine the milk, kefir, the activated yeast, and the egg. With a dough hook, begin to mix the liquid at low speed at first and then slightly higher. Once the egg has been whisked/combined with the liquid, add in the vanilla sugar, vanilla extract, melted butter, salt, and lemon zest. Continue stirring until everything is incorporated.
• Once all of the wet ingredients have combined, slowly begin adding in the flour (1/3 at a time) until the dough comes together. You’ll know the dough is done when it begins to pull away from the sides of the bowl. It will still be sticky, but will have come together in a compact dough ball. On medium speed, this usually takes about 5-6 minutes. If the dough is still very sticky and wet after 5 minutes, add small amounts of flour until the dough is as described above.
• Once the dough has come together, carefully lift the dough out of the bowl with one hand and using the other drizzle a small amount of oil (anything but olive oil) on the bottom of the bowl. Put the dough back in the bowl, cover with plastic wrap and a kitchen towel, and let the dough rise for 30-40 minutes depending on the temperature of the kitchen. If your kitchen is very cool, put your bowl in the oven or microwave (turned off) to rise. The dough should double in size.
• Once the dough has risen, dust your work surface generously with flour and roll out your dough into a rectangle shape. How big you roll out your dough will depend on how you will be baking it. I like to use a bread loaf pan for this recipe, so I base my length on how long the pan is. If you’re doing a “free-standing” version, meaning baking it on a flat baking sheet, feel free to make it as long as you’d like.
• Once rolled to your desired size, spread the jam evenly on top of the dough, then sprinkle the ground walnuts on top. Pat the walnuts down slightly so they stick to the jam – this helps the walnuts stick and prevents them from falling out as much when you roll.
• Next, begin to roll the dough into a log. First, fold the left and right side of the dough towards the middle. Then, begin to roll the dough away from you. Use additional flour if needed to help with any sticky spots of dough.
• Once rolled, transfer the dough into your baking dish (I grease my loaf pan slightly with baking spray). If using a flat baking sheet or anything other than a greased loaf pan, use parchment paper to line it.
• At this point, preheat your oven to 350F/175 C. Brush your dough with egg wash generously and leave to rise again 15-20 minutes. This will give your oven enough time to preheat nicely.
• Bake the strudel for 30-40 minutes, depending on your oven. If the top begins to turn too dark, cover with aluminum foil and continue baking until the strudel has baked through. Test using a toothpick if you’re not sure. It may have jam on it when you pull it out of the strudel but it should not have any raw dough.
• Remove from the oven when baked and let cool completely. Dust with powdered sugar, slice, and enjoy!