Bread Dumplings - heavy sinkers, need a recipe

[sladeums]

Today we made Swiss Steak which we usually serve with a heavy, thick and dense bread dumpling.

To this point we have always purchased frozen (yes, horror - I know) and I don't even remember the brand.

I just need some tips on how to make these.

Any thoughts or help is appreciated.

Thanks.

Edited November 14, 2004 by sladeums (log)

[patti]

I've never made them, but there's a current discussion about them in the Southern Food Culture forum, here: Dumplins

EDIT: Oops, never mind, I see that you've posted to that thread.

Edited November 14, 2004 by patti (log)

[sladeums]

Yeah, thanks - I'm sure it's easy as shit, but I don't even have the simple cooking know-how to make these.

All my cookbooks are in the 'ethnic' category (Latin and Indian mostly) so I have no resource at hand for help.

I balked at the simple google since it turned up mostly Asian dumplings and plus I figured this would be the best place to ask for the tried and true.

[fifi]

Well... I am not so sure it is all that easy. Like Sam says here, on Chicken and Dumplin's there are tricks and techniques that make a lot of difference. Those are usually handed down, well explained in an obsessively explanatory book, or arrived at by trial and error.

I am having a bit of trouble with your terminology, "bread" dumplings. In my limited experience, I put dumplings into two groups... The Asian style that is more like what I call a noodle. Then there is the southern US style that is usually based on a biscuit type of dough.

Then you can divide the southern style into what I would call floaters and sinkers. The floaters are rather light and ride on top of the pot. They are typically laid on the top of the pot and allowed to simmer gently. The sinkers are the ones that are heavier, usually cut into squares or strips, and sink to the bottom of the pot when gently simmered. They have a definite substance to them when you bite into them. I think that the difference is in how you work the dough. When I first tried Mayhaw Man's Chicken Pie, My mind was in "biscuit mode" and I didn't work the dumpling dough much at all. The dumplings were way to fragile and tender for the pie. Next time out I reverted to my smashed out cheap biscuit trick and they were perfect. Technique here. Of course, we know that our great aunt didn't use cheap biscuits. We can remember her "working" the dough on a floured board before cutting it up. Sometimes she would dip a little broth out to make the dough but we also think she used some buttermilk. Working the dough a bit would bring out the gluten and make for the sinker style. That is where you get into the nuances of technique that can be so difficult to instruct.

Suggestion... Try the cheap biscuit trick and see if that is what you are looking for. Get the store brand and smash on the floured board with the heal of your hand. I shoot for 1/8 to 1/4 of an inch thick. Shake off excess flour. (Oh... I already told you that.)

[Gifted Gourmet]

I had bread dumplings at a local restaurant here in Atlanta, Slovakia, and spoke to the chef about how he prepared them .. he confided in me that they took a good amount of the day but were a requisite part of his eastern European cuisine... and so he continured to prepare them ... after eating them, I could easily understand the entire process ... and his thinking!

[fifi]

Soooo... What is a bread dumpling, GG. Describe please. I am sensing that it is a different animal than our biscuit based southern dumplings. If it is an eastern European thing, I am not surprised at my ignorance since I know just about diddly about that cuisine.

[Gifted Gourmet]

Right from Czechoslovakia .... It was, if I recall correctly, a spongy, cut in a thick oval white slice, bready dumpling resting on the meats and gravy in this dish.... wish I had a picture for you .. it was not a biscuit in any way, shape, or form ... not a flake to be seen!!

Okay, here on the Slovakia websiteChef Stephan Benchik has photographs of the dumplings .. click on dinner menu first .. then on Duck "Europa" or on Svieckova in a separate window, you will see the dumplings ... spongy white ovals ...

[fifi]

It was, if I recall correctly, a spongy, cut in a thick oval white slice, bready dumpling resting on the meats and gravy in this dish.... wish I had a picture for you .. it was not a biscuit in any way, shape, or form ... not a flake to be seen!!

←

Hmmm... I am wondering if it is really just a piece of dense bread soaked in the liquid. "Spongy" is what makes me think that. From what little I know, that would make some sense. A lot of cuisines, especially old ones, use bread in that way.

BTW... My sinker dumplings are anything but biscuit like. Not a flake in sight. You have to chew those puppies. Aunt Minnie would be proud.

[Gifted Gourmet]

Hmmm... I am wondering if it is really just a piece of dense bread soaked in the liquid. "Spongy" is what makes me think that.

←

Nope, he told me how he made them and they had yeast in them and rose much like bread, then he sliced them and, I think, poached them ... .. but they were not bread soaked in anything from the way they appeared and tasted ... will give him a call to ask ...

[fifi]

Nope, he told me how he made them and they had yeast in them and rose much like bread, then he sliced them and, I think, poached them ... .. but they were not bread soaked in anything from the way they appeared and tasted ... will give him a call to ask ...

←

Oh my... yeast raised dumplings. That sounds really good. Please do ask and report back.

[sladeums]

fifi, I mentioned bread dumpling to differentiate from say, a potato dumpling (which is what we ended up with last night).

Right from Czechoslovakia ....  It was, if I recall correctly, a spongy, cut in a thick oval white slice, bready dumpling resting on the meats and gravy in this dish.... wish I had a picture for you .. it was not a biscuit in any way, shape, or form ... not a flake to be seen!!

Okay, here on the Slovakia websiteChef Stephan Benchik has photographs of the dumplings .. click on dinner menu first .. then on Duck "Europa" or on Svieckova in a separate window, you will see the dumplings ... spongy white ovals ...

←

Yes, these are exactly what I'm looking for.

Please post back if you learn anything else - thanks!

[Gifted Gourmet]

Please do ask and report back.

←

Meeting with the chef tomorrow afternoon to gain insight into the mystery of a proper Czech bread dumpling ... back later to spill the beans, or dumplings, as it were ...

Correction: not Czechoslovakia any longer .. Czech Republic now... I ought to have known better... I was in Prague just last fall ...

[fifi]

Oh my those are lovely. Are they the same yeast raised dumplings you were talking about? I would love to know how to make those.

[sladeums]

Please do ask and report back.

←

Meeting with the chef tomorrow afternoon to gain insight into the mystery of a proper Czech bread dumpling ... back later to spill the beans, or dumplings, as it were ...

Correction: not Czechoslovakia any longer .. Czech Republic now... I ought to have known better... I was in Prague just last fall ...

←

Thanks for the field work GG, it's much appreciated.

I'm looking forward to hearing what you discover.

[Gifted Gourmet]

What I will discover doing my "fieldwork" is that I ought to come to his restaurant hungry .. the food is divine and not too light .. and I would love to try everything on his menu ... so I will stagger back to my computer, struggling to report, while fighting the need for a nap!!

[ludja]

Bread Dumplings are common in Austrian and German cooking, called "Semmelknodel" in Austria.

A semmel is a basic bread roll (white bread, thin, crisp crust) and knodel is german for dumpling. This recipe is an Austian version. In Germany, it may be called "Brotknodel" or bread dumpling; I'm not sure if the recipe would be different or not.

A basic bread dumpling is as follows:

10 medium sized white rolls

2-4 Tbs cup minced onion

2-4 Tbs cup minced parsley

1/4 cup fat or butter

1 1/2 - 2 cups milk

2 eggs

s&p

1/3 -2/3 cup flour

Dice rolls. Sautee onion and parsley in butter. Add dice rolls and continue cooking until bread is slightly toasted and crisp. Put contents of pan in a bowl. In a seperate container mix milk, eggs and salt. Pour over rolls. Blend in flour as needed. (This you have to do by eye; may need less thant the 2/3 cup). Form dumplings and cook a test dumpling in salted and gently boiling water for ~ 10 min. They will rise to the top as they're done. (if dumpling doesen't hold together can add some more flour; it's better to ere on the underside first; then add in if needed). Should also test the seasoning on the "test dumpling and adjust if needed).

Another famous variant is the "Tyroler Speckknodel". It has "speck" in it, which is a special double smoked and salted bacon/ham from Austria, Switzerland and N. Italy. (Tyrol is the the alpine state of Austria with Innsbruck as its capitol, Sud Tyrol is the northern part of Italy that used to Austrian.) Substiute could be cooked bacon or ham. Also could substitute other smoked sausages as well, like a smoked kielbasa--not the same as a Speckknodel but very good.

You can make them using the recipe above; cooking the meat first. (Speck dosen't need to be cooked ahead of time). Other potential flavorings are chives.

Sorry the amounts are not more definate; I make it by eye now; this is similar to the recipe I got from my Mom as a starting point. They aren't difficult to make though... Hope this helps!

Note: Slightly stale bread is fine for this; probably better. This is one of the ways Austrians would use up their extra bread... akin to Tuscan bread soups and salads, bread puddings, etc

Edited November 15, 2004 by ludja (log)

[Toliver]

My mom, who is of Bohemian descent, always uses Bisquick to make the dumplings for her pork roast and sauerkraut. There's a recipe for them in her Bisquick cookbook and I'm sure you can find a similar recipe online somewhere. It may be heresy to some to use a mix but that's the way she learned so I think it's valid. Besides, they come out fluffy and almost but not quite cake-y and they taste good which is what counts.

[Beebs]

Dredging up this thread from the really, really dead....

 

So this past spring I travelled to Prague. One of the many things I ate was Czech goulash and bread dumplings. It's been a few months, but now I have a hankering for those bread dumplings again. These dumplings are not like any dumplings I've ever had - they're fluffy and bread-like, with bits of old bread mixed in, and the whole lot is either steamed or boiled (not sure which). They're formed into logs, and thick slices are cut to accompany meat dishes. They're fabulous for soaking up the goulash gravy...mmmmm!   They taste a lot like the plain Chinese steamed buns, man tou, but fluffier. I think it's a yeast flour dough, no potatoes in there. 

 

Anyway, noodling around on The Google for "Czech Bread Dumplings", there's quite a varied bunch of recipes & versions of bread dumplings. But I don't know what's a reliable recipe or one that's worth trying or where even to start. 

 

Any suggestions?

 

Also, if anyone has a delicious Czech-style goulash recipe they're willing share, please do!