Baking Traditional Austrian Treats

The Setting:

There were about 12 people in the class along with one instructor and one helper. The setting is this cool historic guardhouse carved into the rock of the mountain.

Tables were set up so groups of two to four could work together on the baking tasks, and the first one was the iconic Austrian treat apple strudel.

Part One: Apple Strudel

The instructor Johann explained the steps for making apple strudel: mixing the apple slices, raisins, and sugar together, thinning out the stretchy strudel dough and dousing it with butter.

The dough we used for our own strudels was pre-made because it needs two hours to set, but Johann explained how to make it at home.

We did all the mixing and dough-stretching at our table and Johann and his assistant kept an eye out making sure we didn’t mess up.

After we rolled up the apple slice mix into the dough and formed it into a burrito-looking thing Johann and his assistant put it in the oven.

Part Two: Salzburg Nockerl

I had never heard of nockerl before coming to Salzburg but apparently it’s a local favorite. As we discovered, it’s basically a soufflé whipped into the shape of mountain peaks.

Again Johann walked us through what we needed to do: beating egg whites and sugar with a hand mixer, and then carefully folding in the yolks without flattening the mix.

We dumped our concoction into the baking pan Johann provided, and then attempted to make peaks of our favorite mountains before they were taken to the oven.

Part Three: Lunch

For lunch we got to all sit together for a goulash soup which tasted very nice, although wasn’t very big. I guess it should be expected but you get way more dessert than savory lunch with this activity.

We also of course got to eat the creations we made as they came out of the oven. I really liked the strudel (if I do say so myself) but I didn’t care as much for the nockerl, which basically tasted like scrambled egg in some parts. I guess I’ll have to work on perfecting my technique for that one.

The lunch itself was fun and I enjoyed getting to know my fellow travelers, most of which were American. We even would meet up with one of our classmates for lunch and dinner the next day.

Drinks:

Okay so on the website it does say that drinks are not included, and there is a sign with drink prices on one of the walls, but I feel like a few of the participants (including me and Sev) were surprised after being offered/accepting wine, soda, egg nog, ice cream, coffee with our lunch and then being asked to pay for it in cash at the end.

Sev and I had the wine, ice cream, and coffee, and I also had the eggnog. I went wild, y’all. The egg nog was a nice touch though and it tasted different than the kind I am used to in the States.

I’m glad I tried everything, and it wasn’t expensive, I just would’ve liked to have been verbally reminded beforehand that it was going to cost more. Some participants were really caught unawares and had to go back to their hotels for cash.

Conclusion:

It’s probably a bit overpriced but Sev and I had a good time, ate good food, met good people, and took good pictures. I wouldn’t call it a Salzburg must-do but it was a memorable experience, and maybe we’ll even make some strudel at home!

Four snacks.