Winter is Germknödel Time

The wintry landscape and the fresh, cool air have inspired me to share a great, simple recipe for yeast dumplings today. It’s also great for freezing: Just place the risen yeast dumpling dough pieces on a plate, flash-freeze them, and then store them in a well-sealed container in the freezer.

This recipe is a hit even without a Thermomix or a steamer—and it tastes absolutely divine!

Ingredients:

100 g milk, 10 g sugar, 20 g yeast (Germ), 270 g wheat flour, 1 whole egg, 130 g butter, 1/2 tsp salt, 40 g jam or to taste, 500 g water for cooking the dumplings.

40 g poppy seeds, 30 g sugar

Mix poppy seeds and sugar and set aside.

Prepare the yeast dough: it turns out best when all the ingredients are at the same temperature, so simply take all the ingredients out of the refrigerator first thing in the morning. Put the milk, 10 g sugar, and yeast in a pot and warm gently. Add the flour, egg, 30 g butter, and salt, then pour in the milk-sugar-yeast mixture, knead into a dough, and let it rise a little.

Divide the dough into four pieces (I usually make 6 small yeast dumplings out of it), flatten them, place a generous amount of jam (our family prefers blueberry jam or Powidl) right in the center, and shape them into dumplings (make sure the jam stays nicely in the center—don’t use jam that’s too runny!). Shape the yeast dumplings and let them rise in a warm place for 30 minutes. You can also make double the amount and then freeze half of it after it’s set—it works great!

Fill a wide pot halfway with water, then take a diaper or a dish towel and secure it around the rim of the pot with a sturdy rubber band or string. Bring the water to a boil, place the yeast dumplings on top of the dish towel, and then cover with a tall lid. I learned this simple method from a good friend—it works really well.

Meanwhile, put some good farm butter in a pot, let it melt, and prepare the poppy seed-sugar mixture in a small bowl. After about 10 minutes, the yeast dumplings are ready! Enjoy your meal!!!

The next farm stories will probably include a Christmas baking recipe. :-)

Wishing you a lovely Sunday evening, Katharina from Zittrauerhof