Apple Strudel

Preheat oven to 400°. Put apples into a bowl and toss with lemon juice. Put raisins and rum into a small bowl and let raisins plump. Melt 6 tbsp. of the butter in a small skillet over medium-low heat and cook until lightly browned. Pour clarified butter into a small bowl, discarding milk solids. Wipe out skillet and return to medium heat. Add remaining butter and bread crumbs and cook, stirring, until crumbs are the color of walnut skins.

Roll and stretch strudel dough. Position dough and cloth with a long edge parallel to edge of work surface closest to you. Brush dough with half of clarifi ed butter. Spread bread crumbs along edge of dough closest to you, 3" in from long edge and 1" in from shorter side edges, covering about one-third of the dough. Pile apples on bread crumbs. Combine demerara sugar and cinnamon and sprinkle over apples. Drain raisins and sprinkle over apples, then scatter walnuts on top.

Brush long edge of dough farthest from you with clarified butter. Lift up long edge of cloth closest to you with both hands and carefully roll strudel over on itself. Fold side edges of dough over, then roll strudel over again and once more if you can, folding side edges over with each roll. Line a large sheet pan with parchment paper. Using the cloth, lift strudel and gently tip it onto pan, seam side down. (If pan is small, curve strudel into a J or C shape.)

Brush strudel with clarified butter and bake until golden brown, 30—35 minutes. Dust with confectioners' sugar and let cool for at least 10 minutes. Dust with more sugar before serving. Slice into 2"–3" pieces and serve warm, with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream, if you like.