Semmelknödel

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Large mixing bowl
• •Small frying pan
• •Wide 4 to 5 litre pot
• •Slotted spoon

Instructions

1. 1

   Dry the bread

   Cut the stale rolls into 1cm cubes and spread them in a wide bowl. The bread must be dry through the middle, not just old at the crust, because dry bread drinks milk evenly and keeps its shape. Fresh bread turns to paste. If your rolls still feel soft, leave the cubes uncovered for a few hours, or dry them briefly in a low oven and let them cool.

2. 2

   Soften the onion

   Melt the butter in a small pan and cook the onion gently until soft and pale, about 6 minutes. Don't brown it; browned onion pushes the dumpling toward sweetness and bitterness, and this Knödel wants a clean bread-and-milk taste. Stir in the parsley at the end so it warms and stays green.

3. 3

   Soak the bread

   Warm the milk until it feels hot to the finger but is not boiling, then pour it over the bread cubes. Warm milk moves into dry bread faster than cold milk, but boiling milk makes the outside mushy before the centre has softened. Cover the bowl and let it stand 20 minutes, turning the cubes once with your hands or a spoon.

4. 4

   Bind gently

   Beat the eggs with the salt, nutmeg, and black pepper, then add them to the soaked bread with the onion, butter, and parsley. Fold with your hands, don't knead. You want a mixture that holds together when pressed, with some bread cubes still visible; kneading crushes the bread and builds glue. If it feels loose and wet, add breadcrumbs one spoon at a time and wait 5 minutes before judging again.

5. 5

   Shape and test

   Wet your hands and shape 8 round Knödel, each about the size of a small orange. Press them firmly enough to remove air pockets, because trapped air opens the dumpling in the water, but don't pack them like snowballs. Bring a wide pot of salted water to a boil, then lower it until the surface only trembles. Cook one test dumpling for 15 minutes. If it holds, cook the rest. If it frays, fold a spoon more breadcrumbs into the mixture.

6. 6

   Poach and serve

   Lower the dumplings into the trembling water and cook 18 to 20 minutes, turning them once so they set evenly. The water must not boil; a rolling boil knocks the bread apart before the egg has set. Lift them out with a slotted spoon, let them drain for a minute, and serve with roast gravy, mushroom sauce, or browned butter. Nicht aus dem Glas: if there is sauce, make it worth the dumpling.

Chef Tips

• •Use stale rolls with a pale, tender crumb, not sourdough rye. Rye belongs to another table here; Semmelknödel need wheat bread that softens without turning heavy.
• •Cook one test dumpling. It costs you 15 minutes and saves the whole bowl. A beginner who tests the first Knödel cooks like someone with sense.
• •Leftover dumplings are a gift. Slice them cold and fry them in butter until the cut sides go golden, then serve with egg or salad. Weggeworfen wird nichts.

Advance Preparation

• •Cut the rolls into cubes the day before and leave them uncovered so they dry properly.
• •Shape the dumplings up to 4 hours ahead, cover them, and keep them cold; bring them out while the water heats so they don't go into the pot icy.
• •Cooked dumplings keep 2 days in the refrigerator. Reheat them gently in barely simmering water, or slice and fry them in butter.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 100g)