Split and crusty crust

by Kellek
(Texas)

I made this strudel using the dough recipe here with one can of poppy seed filling for the first loaf and some homemade almond filling for the second loaf.

The poppy seed strudel split down the top pretty badly when it baked. Further, the dough developed a crispy crust. The inner layers are soft and delicious, but it's not as pretty as I would like and we are nibbling around the crust.

The almond strudel split just a bit, and also developed the thick, somewhat hard crust (perfect for a loaf of bread, but I was hoping for something more delicate here.) I have not cut that one yet.

Does anyone have any idea what may have gone wrong? I wonder if my oven was too hot or if the dough needed to rest right before the loaves when in.

This is the first yeast-dough baking I've done besides no-knead breads (which I LOVE with the hard crust).