Dampfnudel

The bottom fries to a crust as the liquid boils away and the tops stay white.

Egg. Vegetarian, but not vegan — contains egg, dairy (butter), dairy (milk).

Ingredients

• 500 g plain flour
• 7 g dried yeast
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 60 g butter, softened
• 250 ml milk, warm
• 1 egg
• 300 ml milk, for cooking
• 60 g butter, for cooking
• 2 tablespoons sugar, for cooking

Method

1. THE BOTTOM FRIES TO A CRUST AS THE LIQUID BOILS AWAY AND THE TOPS STAY WHITE. That is the whole trick and the article states it: the balls are COOKED IN A COVERED POT, PREFERABLY A HIGH-RIMMED IRON PAN WITH A LID, either in a mixture of MILK AND BUTTER or SALT WATER AND FAT, UNTIL A GOLDEN-BROWN CRUST FORMS AT THE BOTTOM AFTER THE LIQUID HAS EVAPORATED. THE TOPS REMAIN WHITE.
2. SO ONE DUMPLING HAS TWO TEXTURES, and both come from the same pan in the same twenty minutes. Steam above, frying below, and the switch between them happens by itself the moment the liquid runs out.
3. WHICH MEANS THE LID DOES NOT COME OFF. Lift it to look and the steam goes; the tops set dry and the dumplings stop rising.
4. AND IT MEANS THE PAN MATTERS MORE THAN USUAL. The article's own preference is a heavy high-sided pan with a tight lid. A thin one burns the crust before the liquid has gone.
5. TWO VERSIONS, AND THEY ARE OPPOSITES. Milk, butter and sugar give a sweet dumpling with a caramel base -- the article calls this the Bavarian style. Salt water and fat give a savoury one with a salty crust, which it calls the Palatinate style. Pick one before you start; they do not mix.
6. MAKE A SOFT ENRICHED DOUGH AND PROVE IT WELL. Sixty grams of butter in half a kilo of flour is enough to slow the yeast; give it an hour and a half.
7. SHAPE BALLS THE SIZE OF AN EGG, which is the article's measure, and prove them again on a floured cloth until they hold a fingerprint.
8. SET THEM IN THE PAN WITH A GAP, because they will double. Crowded, they fuse into a single loaf and the crust forms only at the edges.
9. POUR THE LIQUID ROUND THEM, NOT OVER THEM. A wet top never goes white.
10. TWENTY-FIVE MINUTES ON A LOW HEAT, AND LISTEN FOR IT. The sound changes from a quiet bubbling to a distinct sizzle when the liquid has gone -- that is the crust starting, and it needs two more minutes and no more.
11. SERVED AS A MAIN COURSE, which the article is firm about even for the sweet one: in Bavaria they are the main dish though normally served sweet. It names cabbage, gherkins, lentil soup and mushrooms in béchamel on the savoury side, and vanilla custard or stewed fruit on the other.

Our own recipe. This one was written for this site rather than taken from anywhere, so there is no source to point you at. The quantities and the order of the steps are choices, not the only way to do it.

Filed under Germany · All recipes