Bavarian Dumplings Dampfnudel Food

BAVARIAN DUMPLINGS/ DAMPFNUDEL

Steps:

• Make the Dough for Dumplings: Combine all the ingredients. Knead for 4~5 minutes until a soft, pliable dough forms. Cover and rest for 1 hour or until the dough is double in size.
• Make the Poaching Liquid: Heat the milk with butter and sugar until both butter and sugar is melted. Cool the mixture and stir in vanilla crush. If using vanilla bean, then scrape the seeds out and add to the milk mixture along with the bean while heating. Discard the bean.
• Spray a 9"x9" square baking dish or a cast iron skillet.
• Once the dough is doubled in volume, punch it down gently and divide it into 9 equal pieces. Place the pieces in the prepared baking pan or skillet. Cover and let rise for another 40~60 minutes or until doubled.
• In the meantime, preheat the oven to 375°F.
• Pour the poaching liquid on the dumplings and cover the pan. Bake for 20 minutes. Uncover and bake for another 10~15 minutes or until the top of the dumplings are golden. If using a cast iron skillet, place the skillet on the stove and cook for 8~10 minutes to brown the bottoms. Cool slighlty before serving.
• For the Vanilla Sauce: I have seen recipes using vanilla pudding mix to make the vanilla sauce. I kept it really simple and added the vanilla crush to the cream, refrigerated it for a little bit, then beat it until light and fluffy along with sugar.

SWEET GERMAN DUMPLINGS (DAMPFNUDEL)

Steps:

• To make the dumplings, heat the milk to lukewarm. Be careful not to go any hotter or you risk destroying the yeast. Stir in 1 teaspoon of the sugar and the dried yeast and leave in a warm place for 10 minutes until bubbles begin to appear on the surface.
• In a large mixing bowl, combine the flour, the remaining sugar, egg, melted butter and the yeast mixture. Stir together with a wooden spoon at first, then using your hands once the dough starts to come together in a ball. Tip out onto a lightly floured work surface and knead for about 5 minutes until the dough is smooth and springy.
• Put the dough in a greased bowl, cover with cling film, and leave to rise somewhere warm for 1 hour, or until doubled in size.
• While the dough is proving, make the vanilla sauce. Put the milk and vanilla seeds in a saucepan and warm gently. In a separate bowl, whisk together the egg yolks and sugar. Pour the warm milk onto the egg yolk mixture, whisk everything together, then return the mixture to the pan and heat very gently, stirring all the time, until the mixture thickens. This might take up to 20 minutes over a low heat, so to speed things up, you could slake 2 teaspoons of cornflour with a splash of water, stir together, then add it to the sauce. Keep cooking until it has thickened to your liking.
• When the dough has almost finished proving, prepare the poaching liquid. Put the milk, sugar and butter in a large saucepan or deep sided frying pan, with a tight-fitting lid and heat until the butter has melted and the sugar is dissolved.
• Divide the dough into 8 equal portions and shape each portion into a ball, being careful to tuck the seams in underneath so you have a smooth top to each ball. Pop the dumplings into the poaching liquid, making sure they are all sitting on the base of the pan with a little space in between each dumpling, and put the lid on and don't remove it for the first 25 minutes of cooking time. Keep the heat low under the pan so the dumplings are poaching. After 25 minutes, check the tops of the dumplings feel firm to the touch, cook for a little longer if you need to, then remove the lid and cook for a further 5 minutes or until any remaining liquid has evaporated so that the dumplings develop their characteristic golden bases. Pour the vanilla sauce over the dumplings to serve.

DAMPFNUDELA STEAMED GERMAN DUMPLINGS

Steps:

• Heat milk a bit and dissolve yeast.
• Make a well in the flour and pour the yeast into the well.
• Let rest 1/2 hour.
• Add remaining milk salt and eggs.
• Beat vigorously til bubbles form.
• Knead well.
• Cover and put dough in a warm place Let rise for 1 hour.
• Cut off 1/2 fist size pieces on floured surface let rise 15 more minutes.
• In a deep skillet or dutch oven melt butter and add warm salted water to a depth of 3/4 inch.
• Add dumplings arranged in one layer touching each other.
• Put lid on pot, seal edges where lid rests with damp cloths to insure no steam escapage.
• Cook on med low heat about 20 minutes Dumplings should have a highly desirable brown crust on bottom. May be served with sauerkraut or canned fruit.