Dumplings are a simple dish loved by both adults and children. Everyone can find a filling to their liking, be it potatoes, cottage cheese, cabbage, mushrooms or cherries. What subtleties in cooking dumplings do you need to know to make them tasty and appetizing?
Dough
The dough for dumplings should be elastic so that it sticks easily and does not tear when cooking. Knead it in very cold water, preferably in a cool room.
If the dough is made from durum wheat, then the egg does not need to be added to it. Instead of water, you can make dumplings with kefir or yogurt. Some people prefer to make this dish with choux pastry. If the filling of the dumplings is sweet, then the water can be replaced with milk, such a dough will turn out to be tender.
The flour for the dough must be sifted through a sieve to saturate it with oxygen.
To give the dough elasticity, you can add literally a few drops of vegetable oil there.
Dough for dumplings requires thorough kneading, at least 10 minutes. After kneading, the dough should be allowed to rest under a towel for about half an hour. It is important that the dough breathes.
Filling
For those who prefer potato filling, you can add garlic, onions fried in lard, mushrooms, peppers, fresh or dried herbs to it for piquancy. When forming dumplings, potatoes must be warm, but not hot.
To improve the taste and texture of the curd filling, yolks are added to it, and starch is added to the berry filling to bind the juice.
Molding
The dough is rolled out in one layer, circles are formed using a glass or mold. Filling is placed on the circles and they are pinched in the shape of a crescent.
During sculpting, the edges are smeared with water or egg white. In order for the dumplings to cook evenly, the edges should be thinner than the rest of the dough.
Berry dumplings are additionally twisted along the edges in the form of a flagellum, so that the juice does not flow out of them.
Dumplings with berries are prepared as follows: half a teaspoon of sugar and a pinch of starch are placed on the circle, several berries on top.
If the filling is dry, then the dough is rolled out thinly - about one and a half millimeters thick. For dumplings with berry filling, the dough should be thicker - about 2.5 millimeters.
Preparation
Boil dumplings in a wide large saucepan. When laying, the water is disturbed so that they do not stick together.
After boiling, the dumplings are cooked over medium heat for about 4 minutes. Ready-made dumplings float to the surface. Get them out with a slotted spoon.
