Best 7 Boiled Bread Dumplings Recipes

SEMMELKNöDEL (GERMAN BREAD DUMPLINGS)

Steps:

• Chop the hardened bread into small cubes and place them in a large bowl. Pour the hot milk over the bread, cover and let sit for 20-30 minutes or until softened.
• Heat the butter in a frying pan and cook the onions just until transparent, do not brown them. Add the cooked onions to the bread mixture along with the eggs, cooked bacon (if using), parsley, salt, pepper and nutmeg. Knead the mixture together with your hands until very thoroughly combined, breaking up as many of the bread cubes as you can until it's a soft and chunky-smooth consistency. If the dough is too wet, add breadcrumbs (not flour).
• Wet your hands to prevent the dough from sticking and form Knödel about the size of a tennis ball (they will expand slightly when cooked). Press the Knoedel between your palms to make sure they're nice and compact. Bring a large, wide pot of lightly salted water to a very light simmer - not boiling but just on the verge of boiling with tiny fizzy bubbles floating up. Carefully drop the Semmel Knoedel in the water and let them "steep" 15-20 minutes. Do not at any point let the water boil or you risk your Knödel losing shape or falling apart. Carefully lift them out with a slotted spoon. Serve with Rouladen, Sauerbraten, Senfbraten, Geschnetzeltes, Jaegerschnitzel, etc.
• To Freeze The Knödel: Let them cool completely, place them spread apart on a cookie sheet and freeze them, then transfer them to a freezer bag or container. To reheat, let them thaw and reheat them covered (to create some steam) in the microwave.
• Makes 6-7 Semmelknödel, depending on the size.

BREAD DUMPLINGS (SEMMELKNOEDEL)

Steps:

• Mix the eggs, milk, and salt. Pour the mixture over the sliced bread. Mix with your hands or a spatula until all bread is coated. Let it sit for a few minutes.
• In a small skillet over medium-low heat, melt the butter, add the chopped onions, and saute until golden brown, about 10 minutes.
• Add onion with the butter from the pan and chopped parsley to the bread mixture and knead it with your hands until no dry parts remain. The dough should be firm and slightly sticky. If it's too wet, add breadcrumbs, 1 Tbsp at a time and knead until combined.
• Form a ball and cut into 8 equal slices. With wet hands, shape each piece into a ball, slightly smaller than a tennis ball.
• In a big pot, bring water to a boil, add 1 Tbsp of salt. Lower heat until water is barely simmering. Using a slotted spoon, transfer bread dumplings to the pot.
• Cover the pot and let Bread Dumplings simmer for 20 minutes on low. Remove dumplings with a slotted spoon. Serve with gravy.

GOULASH WITH BREAD DUMPLINGS

Steps:

• For the goulash: Preheat the oven to 250 degrees F.
• Sprinkle the beef with 1/2 teaspoon salt and a few turns of pepper. Heat a Dutch oven over medium-high heat and coat with the oil. When the oil is shimmering, sear the beef all over in batches until deep brown, about 4 minutes per batch. Transfer the beef to a bowl and set aside.
• Add the onions and cook, scraping up any meat bits from the bottom of the pan, about 3 minutes. Add the carrots, garlic and a pinch of salt and saute until the onions are translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the paprika, tomato paste and caraway and stir to combine; cook for 2 minutes. Add the beef back to the pan, then add the broth, chopped tomatoes, Worcestershire sauce and bay leaves and stir to combine. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer. Cover, transfer to the oven and cook until the beef is tender and can be broken down with a spoon but still maintains its shape, about 2 hours.
• For the bread dumplings: Meanwhile, whisk together the flour, nutmeg, 3/4 teaspoon salt and a few turns of pepper in a small bowl. Whisk together the milk and eggs in a large bowl. Add the bread cubes, cheese and scallions to the egg mixture and stir to combine. Mix in the flour mixture. Let the dumpling mixture sit for 15 minutes.
• Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Using a 1/3-cup ice cream scoop, form firmly packed balls of the dumpling mixture. Add them to the pot and boil until cooked through, 15 to 20 minutes.
• Spoon the goulash into bowls and add a dumpling or two to each. Top with chopped parsley or scallions if desired.

BOILED OR PANFRIED DUMPLING DOUGH

Steps:

• Mix the Dough: Add the flour to a wide mixing bowl and stir in the salt. Stir in the water and egg white with your fingers. The flour will look shaggy, like biscuit dough; as the dough comes together, run an open palm around the edge of the bowl and fold the flour into the center, spinning the bowl with your other hand as you go, until it all forms a rough clump. It's fine if there are still pockets of dry flour.
• Knead the Dough: Coat your work surface with a fine dusting of flour and turn the dough out of the bowl. Dust your hands with flour and shape the dough into a fat log about the width of your hand. Knead the dough by pushing your hands and wrists into the log and rolling it forward. Then roll it back and push again. Repeat a few times until the log moves easily, adding more flour if it sticks, then spin the log 90 degrees, shape it into a horizontal log again, and knead a few more times, adding more flour if necessary. Use no more flour than you need to keep the dough from drying out. As you knead, the dough will get firmer and tougher with a texture reminiscent of a gummy bear. It's ready when it's smooth to the touch, like the surface of a pearl, not tacky, with no cracks or pockets of dry flour. There may be some lumps. Put the dough back in your work bowl and cover it with a sheet of plastic wrap. Let it sleep for 15 to 30 minutes. While it relaxes, you can prepare your filling.Knead Again: Dust your work surface with a little more flour, then knead it as before. Work out all those lumps; after kneading about ten times you should have satin-smooth dough that forms a clean ball you can easily push into, like the gel of a shoe insert.Portion the Dough: Form your dough into a log, dust a dough scraper with a little flour, and cut the dough into four equal sections. Roll each section into a log and chop it into six pieces for a total of twenty-four balls of dough, each about an inch in diameter. Toss the balls with a light coating of flour and cover with a lightly moistened towel.Roll the Dough Into Wrappers: Gently smash the balls of dough into flat disks, then lightly roll an Asian-style rolling pin across them to flatten them out a bit more. Hold one disk by its edge and firmly but gently roll your pin from the disk's edge to its center. Roll the same edge a few more times, using more pressure at the edge than at the center. Use your other hand to turn the dough disk and reveal a new edge of the disk; roll again. Continue until all edges are rolled out and the wrapper is about 3 to 4 inches in diameter. Hold your rolled-out wrapper up to a light. If you can see through it faintly, your wrapper is ready to go. Otherwise, keep rolling. Roll the edges to half the thickness of the center of the wrappers. As you get faster, you'll notice that all your active hand needs to do is roll the pin back and forth while your other hand just rotates the wrapper. As long as your hands stay in these fixed motions, you'll easily make even, round wrappers though they don't need to be perfectly uniform. Place freshly rolled wrappers under a lightly moistened towel to keep them from drying out.

CZECH BREAD DUMPLINGS (KNEDLíKY)

Steps:

• Combine warm milk, sugar, and yeast in a bowl. Let sit and bloom for about 10 minutes.
• Add egg and kosher salt to the yeast mixture. Pour in 2 ¾ cups flour. Stir with a wooden spoon until it starts to pull away from the sides of the bowl and forms a dough.
• Knead on a lightly floured surface until dough is smooth and slightly elastic, about 3 minutes.
• Transfer to a lightly oiled bowl, flipping the dough to coat the top in oil. Cover and let rise in a warm spot until doubled in size, about 2 hours.
• Transfer back to your work surface; press out the excess air and form dough into a relatively uniform ball.
• Cut dough into two equal pieces. Form each piece into a uniform ball. Roll each ball into a tube, 2 to 2 ½ inches wide.
• Cover with plastic wrap or a clean kitchen towel and let proof for 20 to 25 minutes.
• Meanwhile, bring a large pot of salted water to a steady simmer.
• Carefully pick up a risen piece of dough and transfer to the simmering water. Bring back to a simmer. Cover tightly and let simmer for 10 minutes. Uncover, flip, and continue to simmer for another 10 minutes.
• Transfer to a plate and poke all over with a toothpick or wooden skewer, which releases the steam from the center.
• Use a piece of string or thread to cut into 3/4- to 1-inch dumplings. Transfer to a serving plate.
• Repeat Steps 9 to 11 to cook remaining dough.

TRADITIONAL CZECH BREAD DUMPLINGS

Steps:

• Gather the ingredients.
• Whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl. Set aside.
• Whisk together egg yolks and milk in a separate medium bowl.
• Pour the egg-milk mixture into the bowl with flour.
• Work the dough-with a Danish dough whisk, hands, or a stand mixer with the dough hook-until it no longer sticks to the sides of the bowl.
• Cover and let stand for 1 hour.
• Bring a large stockpot of salted water to a slow boil.
• Work the 4 cups of bread cubes into the batter by hand or in a stand mixer with the dough hook until well incorporated.
• Shape the dough using floured hands into 3 or 4 rolls that are about 8 inches long and 2 1/2 inches wide.
• Carefully slip the rolls into the water once it is boiling, giving them a stir so they don't stick. If the pot doesn't comfortably fit all the rolls, boil them in batches.
• Reduce heat, cover, and cook 10 to 15 minutes. Cooking the rolls at a rapid boil can cause them to disintegrate.
• Remove 1 dumpling from the pot using a slotted spoon after 10 minutes of cooking and test for doneness by cutting through the middle of the dumpling with a thread or sharp knife. The dumpling is done when the knife comes out almost clean after slicing it.
• Remove the dumplings one by one when done and slice into 3/4-inch pieces using either a thread or sharp knife. Repeat until all dumplings are removed from the water and sliced.
• Serve warm with gravy and garnish with fresh parsley.

BREAD DUMPLINGS

Steps:

• Sift flour, baking powder, and salt together in a large bowl.
• Add beaten egg.
• Add the lukewarm water and mix well with wooden spoon.
• Add bread.
• Mix well and roll into oblong dumplings.
• Place into boiling water, cover and cook about 20 minutes, stirring once.
• (We just used two teaspoons to drop pieces of dough into the water without shaping them first, and it worked fine).