Boiled Dumplings (Dough Recipe)

Dough for Boiled Dumplings

Boiled dumplings stand apart from every other kind out there. These are perfect for sauces, soups or stews. The dough is strong enough to hold shape in liquids, yet keeps the tenderness we all love when we bite into dumplings. This is an easy recipe, few ingredients, simple instructions and you will use it for all kinds of stuffed mini bites!!

Dough for Boiled Dumplings

I tend to like dumplings that boil inside a delicious sauce. The dough absorbs all the goodness you cook up!

Boiled dumplings are present in so many recipes and several cuisines. I absolutely love Russian pelmeni and Polish Pierogi - awesome! But my favorite, biased as it may be, is Shishbarak.

I grew up eating Shishbarak, a gorgeous Palestinian curry yogurt soup with awesome lamb stuffed dumplings. Usually a Sunday comfort food that we all looked forward to. I, especially, learned to love those dumplings, saucy, and tender. There are endless possibilities for these babies, that’s why I decided to share the recipe for this beautiful dumpling dough.

Making Boiled Dumpling Dough is easy. Just a few simple ingredients make for a perfect dough. You can use a mixer with a dough hook or knead this dough by hand.

When you add the water to the dough make sure you start only with 1/4 cup. Then gradually add more, by teaspoonfuls, until you end up with a smooth dough that completely separates from the bowl. Knead by hand 3 minutes, no more than a minute in the mixer. Just enough to smooth out the dough.

As soon as the dough is ready, place it in a plastic bag, or wrap with plastic wrap. The resting part is very important. The gluten that has been activated should be allowed to rest for easier rolling.

Dough for Boiled Dumplings

It’s easy to make and easy to work with. Roll it out and cut it into squares, using a knife; or into circles, using a donut cutter or glass. And stuffing? Go ahead and go crazy! Veggie? Meat? Mix? Or Cheese… oooh cheese!!!

Depending on how big or small you want your dumplings, this dough will yield between 40 and 50 dumplings. After resting the dumpling dough, cut it into 4 pieces. Roll one piece at a time, keeping the resting pieces inside the plastic bag to prevent the dough from drying.

The cut pieces of dough can be stacked, but make sure you flour the surface generously before doing so.

Follow the short video below to see how easy it is to stuff and fold dumplings! Make sure to pinch those edges tightly to avoid your stuffing swimming out during the boiling.

All you need to do now is stuff! Fold! Boil! Eat!!

Yield: 40-50 dumpling wraps

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Dough for Boiled Dumplings

This is a fabulous recipe for boiled dumpling dough. If you are in the mood for Shishbarak, Pelmeni, Pierogi or Cheesy tortellini, this is an easy one! Boiled dumplings are hearty and the stuffing possibilities are endless!!

Ingredients

• 2 Cups All purpose flour + more for dusting
• 1 Egg
• 1 tsp Salt
• 1 Tbsp Olive Oil
• 1/2 Cup water (max)

Instructions

To make the Dough for Boiled Dumplings

1. In a mixer bowl mix all ingredients. Start only with 1/4 cup of the water
2. Use the kneading hook attachment to knead the dough. Start on low speed to avoid flour flying out of the bowl. As the dough starts to come together increase the speed to medium
3. Add more water as needed, 1 tsp at a time. Be careful to not add too much water. Let the water you add have time to mix in before adding more. You will need a solid dough that pulls off the sides of the bowl completely. If the dough seems too wet and keeps sticking to the sides you have added too much water. A teaspoon more of flour will correct this.
4. Remove the dough from the bowl and form into a ball. Place inside a sealable bag or wrap in plastic wrap. Let it rest for 1 hour.
5. Take out the dough from the bag, cut into four pieces. Return the remaining pieces to the bag, while working with one piece
6. On a floured surface, roll out the dough to form a rough rectangle, as thin as possible. The thinner the better. Cut this rectangle into 8 squares, or cut out 8 circles with a cookie cutter or a glass, 6 to 8 cms in diameter.
7. Remove the excess dough and roll into a ball to use again. Store in the bag to rest before using rolling it out.
8. Flour the squares (or circles) generously. Stack them on top of each other and set them aside... they are ready to be used! *

How to Cook Boiled Dumplings

1. Stuff each square with whatever meat you want, or cheese, or veggies.. Seal by pinching sides together in whatever shape you wish. You can freeze the raw stuffed dumplings** or use right away.
2. To cook, in a big pot boil enough water to let the dumplings swim and dance in the rolling water, much as you would do for pasta. Add water and olive oil to taste.
3. Once the water comes to a strong boil, dump the dumplings in the water, let the water regain boiling strength and cook for 15 minutes.
4. Scoop out the dumplings and place them on a plate separately and let them cool a bit before adding them to any sauce or soup.***

Notes

*You can freeze the wrappers too! You will need to do one of two things:

1. Place them on baking sheets separate from one another and place in the freezer for one hour. Then stack them and place in a sealable bag. Store the wrappers in the freezer for up to two weeks.
2. Cut squares of baking paper to place between each dough square. Stack alternately. Place the stacks in a sealable bag and store in the freezer for up to two weeks.

**Place the raw dumplings on a tray (one layer) and place the tray in the freezer for one hour. Then put all the frozen dumplings in a sealable bag and store in the freezer for up to 1 week. The dumplings can be put frozen into the boiling water. Let the water come back up to a boil before setting the timer to 15 minutes.

***Take into account the starchiness of the dumplings when adding to soups or sauces. Once you put the dumplings in, the sauce or soup will thicken considerably after simmering a bit.