Traditional Czech Bread Dumplings Recipes

HOUSKOVé KNEDLíKY - CZECH BREAD DUMPLINGS

Steps:

• Cut the stale white bread into ⅓-inch cubes.
• Combine the flour with 2 pinches of salt in a large bowl. Make a well in the center. Put yeast in the center, sprinkle with a pinch of sugar. Pour in ⅓ of lukewarm milk and stir with a little flour using a fork. Let it sit for 5 minutes until yeast dissolve.
• In a separate bowl, whisk the remaining milk with an egg. Add the mixture to the bowl with flour and yeast.
• Knead the dumpling dough until smooth. Use your hands (my choice) or a kitchen mixer with a proper attachment. Add a bit of flour if the dough is too sticky.
• Only now add cubed bread and combine.
• Cover the bowl with a clean kitchen towel and let the dough rise for 45 minutes in a warm place until double.
• Meantime, prepare a pot with low boiling salted water to boil the dumpling or a steamer in case you intend to steam the dumpling.
• Divide the proofed dough into two pieces, form a cylinder shape out of each piece. One loaf should be about 8-10 inches (20-25 cm) long and 3-inch (7 cm) thick.

KNEDLIKY - CZECH DUMPLING WITH SAUERKRAUT (ZELI)

Steps:

• In a large bowl, stir together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt and sugar. Make a well in the center, and pour in the eggs and 1 cup of milk. Stir to blend, and add enough additional milk to make a moist battery dough, not like pancake batter. Use a sturdy wooden spoon to beat the dough at least 200 strokes, rolling it over and over in the bowl until smooth and an occasional bubble appears on the surface. Add the dry white bread cubes, and stir into the dough until they disappear.
• Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Place the dough onto a cheesecloth or white cotton cloth, and form into a loaf shape. Wrap the cloth around the loaf, and tie the ends.
• Place the loaf into the boiling water, and cook for 45 minutes, turning the loaf over about half way through. Remove from the water, unwrap, and cover with a tea towel. Let stand for 10 minutes.
• Fry bacon in a small skillet over medium-high heat until evenly browned. Set aside. Place the drained sauerkraut into a saucepan, and add enough water to cover the surface. Bring to a simmer over medium heat. Add bacon, and season with salt, pepper and caraway seeds. Stir together the cornstarch and water; mix into the sauerkraut, and simmer for a few minutes before removing from the heat.
• Slice the dumpling loaf. Drizzle dumpling slices with some of the roast drippings from the pan. Serve with sauerkraut.

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.

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).

CZECH GOULASH WITH BREAD DUMPLINGS

Steps:

• Goulash:.
• Sauté onion and garlic in shortening until translucent.
• Add meat with spices and sauté till brown.
• Add water; simmer, covered, until meat is tender, about 1 hour.
• Add finely grated potato into the meat and simmer 5 minutes stirring often.
• Serve with dumplings or bread.
• Dumplings:.
• Mix together beaten egg, milk, flour, baking powder and salt until smooth.
• Add bread cubes to batter and mix well.
• Make two small loaves.
• Drop into large pot of vigorously boiling water. Cook 10 minutes, then roll dumpling over and cook an additional 10 minutes. Remove immediately from water and cut ends off to release steam.
• Cut into 1/2 inch slices and serve.