High volume dumpling dough

[spacemonkey101]

Hi there

 

I was wondering if anyone would have any ideas on how I could efficiently streamline production for dumplings or siu mai using a pasta machine, or a dough sheeter. (if this is possible)

 

I was thinking I would be making the dough in a hobart mixer, resting and then working the dough through a machine until I achieve the right thickness, then have the assistants scoop filling onto the bottom and then sheeting some more dough and arranging on top, then pressing down and then cutting out- much the same as making ravioli to a certain extent.

 

I would want them to be quite large. I know it seems quite unusual practise but i would want to make high volume for catering event regularly and i don't really want to have someone standing there rolling out piece by piece by hand.

 

thanks in advance for any suggestions

[pastrygirl]

I don't know, I've never made dumplings myself.  If it is a softer dough, it might not sheet as well.  You'll also have to weigh whether the labor and waste of the ravioli method is really more efficient than making by hand.  Or use wonton wrappers   I've eaten a lot of dumplings though, and aside from ravioli, they all seem to be formed from one piece of dough rather than two.  So depending on what cuisine you are claiming to replicate, it may be confusing to your clientele to receive something that looks like ravioli but is supposed to be xao long bao, or shumai, or wontons, or momos, etc.  Just something to consider.  Good luck!

 

[Okanagancook]

I make my dumpling dough using the pasta rollers all the time.  I would just do a tester for the thickness, I think I use #4 on my KitchenAid Rollers.  Great idea.  Love dumplings.

[spacemonkey101]

thanks for the replies, I guess im just thinking out of the box. i also would consider, running the dough through the machine and over muffin moulds, then pressing in with the mix and using a cutter, then settin in the fridge instead of using the 2 sheet process.

[Shalmanese]

It's certainly possible although it seems like the worst of both worlds compared to hand rolled dough or pre bought wonton wrappers. Two experienced dumpling makers can turn out about one dough round every 5 seconds. Unlike machine made doughs of uniform thickness, hand made dough will be tapered so that the fluted edges will be the same thickness as the bottom. Between the sheeting and the cutting, machine made dough seems like it would take longer, need more space and produce an inferior product. If you have staff primarily trained on European technique and aren't willing to get the muscle memory down for high throughput, I can see how sheeting can seem like a time saving but at that point, why not just go for pre made wonton wrappers and cut that production step out entirely?

 

Go to a high volume dumpling restaurant like Din Tai Fung to see how the are set up for high throughput without compromising quality. It requires a bit of training to get people up to speed but once you reach that point, the old ways of doing things beat any mechanical improvement you could add to the process.