Should strudels be crispy or soft?

Crispy on the outside and softer inside, closer to the filling. I think phyllo is best, but I’m not certain.

I’ve had authentic German strudels and they’ve been as @Sunny2 describes; crispy outside but soft inside.

In “The Sound of Music” in the song “My Favorite Things”, the strudels are crisp.

Crispy and breaking off sheets in your mouth.

I agree, strudels are usually crisp here in Germany. At least my grandma’s are :)

I’m with @Sunny2

Crisp on the outside.

Both.

Interesting… So I would gather they´re definitely crisp on the outside…and whatever the dough may be called, it´s similar to phyllo. Your answers just made me hungry! I´ve made two strudels so far (fortunately the last one looks a bit more like a strudel than the first) , and your answers will help me make the third one the best and most authentic!

Trader Joe’s sometimes has a really good one, frozen, from Germany.

Strudels that are mass-market, like Entenmanns (at the grocery store in the white boxes) are not really anything like what a real strudel should be.

If you ever come upon a Hungarian pastry shop, they have excellent ones. There’s one in NYC near Columbia U., and they have excellent strudels, all types – apple, cherry, cheese, poppy seed. It’s a bit out of the way for tourists, unless you’re driving, but worth it.