Strudel Dough.... why the eggs and oil?
If you are familiar with how to make a Strudel not using store bought pastry, its really a special dough. It's not laminated like puff pastry with butter, instead is stretched paper thin to the size of a dinning room table and buttered as its rolled up. Most recipes are very standard, flour, water, salt, egg and a couple of Tbsp of oil.
Here is my question, what is the oil for? I though that fats shorten or cap gluten strands. Since this dough has to be stretched so thin you can read a news paper through it, doesn't the oil make it more likely to tear? Why is it even needed?
What is the egg for? Don't they soften bread? Is it working as a dough conditioner relaxing gluten so that it can stretch or is it making it short so it bakes up flaky?