Knedlíky I
Traditional Czech dumplings
Servings: 6
Ingredients
- 4 slices rye, sturdy white or whole grain bread 5 oz before drying
- 1 cup milk
- 1 packet yeast instant or active dry
- 1 tsp sugar
- 1½ cups all-purpose or cake flour divided
- 1 cup semolina flour
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 egg
Instructions
- Lighlty toast or dehydrate 5 oz of bread.
- Warm milk on stovetop or microwave and cool to about 100°F. Stir in dry yeast and sugar to dissolve. Set aside while combining remaining ingredients.
- Put 1 cup all-purpose flour, semolina flour, salt and egg into bowl of mixer fitted with dough hook.
- When yeast mixture is bubbly, add to mixer bowl and turn on to low setting.
- Tear dried bread into small pieces and add to the dough in mixer.
- Knead the dough until well combined. Scrape sides of bowl if necessary. Add a little bit of the reserved half cup of flour until dough starts to come together and cleans side of mixing bowl.
- Sprinkle any remaining flour onto a clean, dry work surface and turn out the dough. Knead by hand a minute or so until dough is soft and supple.
- Spray the mixer bowl with nonstick spray, place the dough ball into the bowl and spray the top of the dough. Loosely cover the dough with a piece of plastic wrap and then cover the bowl with a kitchen towel. Set in a warm place to rest and rise for about an hour.
- After the dough has nearly doubled in size, turn out onto a lightly floured surface. Gently deflate the dough and divide into three equal pieces.
- Roll each piece with the palms of your hands into a log of 2 inches in diameter. Working from the center of the piece towards the end, roll it back and forth until smooth and of even thickness along the length. Repeat with the other two pieces.
- Leave the logs to rest covered loosely with the plastic wrap while you bring a pot of water to boil. Use a pot large enough to accommodate your dumpling logs without bending them.
- When the water comes to a full boil, turn the heat down to a gentle boil and gently slip the dumpling logs into the water. Move them carefully to prevent sticking and let them slowly boil on one side for 10 minutes.
- Gently flip the dumpling logs onto the other side and boil and additional 10 minutes on the second side.
- Remove the logs from the water and let them cool for at least 5 minutes before slicing.
- To slice the logs, slip a piece of dental floss under the log about a half-inch from the end. Bring the ends of the floos up over the top, cross them as if you were going to make a bow and then pull quickly on each end in opposite directions. This will make a clean cut through the dough log. Repeat down the length of each log.
- Use your warm dumplings right away or wrap tightly and freeze for future use.
Notes
You can use 2½ cups instant mixing flour (eg, Wondra brand flour) instead of a mixture of all-purpose and semolina flours. Instead of boiling you can steam the dumplings by placing a steamer insert into your pot of boiling water. Make sure the dumplings sit high enough to be above the water, not touching it. Steam them covered for 20 minutes. No peeking. Spray them with nonstick spray or brush with olive oil after removing them from the water as they will be considerably drier than boiled dumplings. You can slice your dumpling logs with a serrated knife if you choose. Be careful not to push down too hard or you’ll smoosh your dumplings.
