CZECH DUMPLINGS "knedliky"
By Simbooker on 24th September 2015
Files & Tags: recipes, index, rice and bread, dumplings and noodles
Potato dumplings and Bread dumplings are synonymous in Central and Eastern European cuisines. These dumplings are called Knedliky, and they are an integral side dish to many Czech dishes.
Dumplings served with Leftover Roast Duck
This kind of Knedliky is a bread dumpling and it is made using yeast. Although this is the case, in the Czech Republic these are not often considered as bread dumplings, probably because there is another type of dumpling where bread is actually used as part of the recipe. But there's no need for that. Yeast and flour already make bread.
Adding extra bread to this fantastic recipe is just unnecessary and involves extra work. I love these dumplings, they are versatile, easy to make, and go excellent with roast duck, goulash, roast pork or beef, and any Central or Eastern European meat dish that has gravy or sauce.
I love these dumplings with roasts, particular roast duck above and goulash pictured below.
These dumplings are easy to make, and contain ingredients that many of us would commonly have. Ingredients such as eggs, milk, flour ...I have to stipulate however that regular flour will not work with this recipe. If you do not live in Central or Eastern Europe and do not have access to the flour used in those countries to make them, then you have to substitute FINE SEMOLINA. Which is coarser than regular flour but not too coarse.
If you live in Western Europe as I do, more specifically in the UK then you should be able to find FINE SEMOLINA in your local supermarket. If not try ethnic markets or shops. NATCO and TRS brands both do FINE SEMOLINA, I will stick with the TRS brand as every time I've used this Semolina the dumplings have come out great.
KNEDLIKY RECIPE
Adapted from Kristyna's Czech Cookbook Dumplings Recipe
Adapted from Kristyna's Czech Cookbook Dumplings Recipe
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THE INGREDIENTS
3 cups of fine semolina UK, or Wondra Flour US , 1 cup of milk (a little bit more than you need), 1 tsp of granulated sugar, 1 desert spoon dsp of dry yeast, 1 room temperature whisked egg, 1 tsp of salt
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THE DIRECTIONS
1. First pour the cup of milk into a measuring jug and heat in the microwave for no longer than 1 minute. Once that's done, add the sugar and then the yeast and whisk briskly. Then cover the measuring jug and wait 15 minutes before use. It should be frothy when ready to use but still wait for 15 minutes so the yeast can thoroughly activate.
2. In the mean time, measure 3 cups of the flour into a plastic mixing bowl. I also use a measuring jug for this for accuracy. Then sprinkle the salt over the flour. Then take your hand and stir the salt and the flour together so the salt is evenly distributed. Then add in the whisked egg, and once again stir in the egg.
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3. When the yeast is ready stir and whisk the milk once again vigorously. Then slowly add the milk. Do not pour the entire contents of the milk into the flour all at once. See how the flour reacts and pour little by little. Form the flour into a soft dough ball. Once you have a soft dough, stop adding the milk. The dough should not be too sticky. If it is too sticky add a little more flour, if it's to dry add a little more milk.
4. Now cover the dough with foil or a towel, and leave it in a warm place for an hour to rise. I leave it in an unheated oven. After an hour, cut the dough in half and shape into small bread like loaves. As shown in the images above.
4. Now cover the dough with foil or a towel, and leave it in a warm place for an hour to rise. I leave it in an unheated oven. After an hour, cut the dough in half and shape into small bread like loaves. As shown in the images above.
5. Bring a large pot of water to a boil, Add as much water-as if you were making a large pot of soup. The dumplings need enough water to boil in. And they need to boil for 20 minutes turning halfway otherwise they will deflate and won't cook. So you need to keep your stove on a high temperature, covered the entire time, apart from when you turn them on the other side halfway. When the dumplings are done. Take them out gently and let them cool for at least 20 minutes before slicing them.
You can store the dumplings in an air tight container. They also freeze really well. Serve them with delicious European stews and roasts.
THE END
CLICK THE IMAGES BELOW TO VIEW RECIPES THAT GO FANTASTICALLY WITH KNEDLIKY
GERMAN ROAST DUCK
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CZECH GOULASH
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GERMAN ROAST PORK
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