Making Dumplings

Basic Dumplings

Ingredients:

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 Tbs. baking powder
3/4 tsp. salt
1 cup milk
3 Tbs. butter

Preparation:

Combine the flour, baking powder and salt in a medium-size bowl. Heat the milk and butter together until simmering, then add it to the bowl with the other ingredients. Mix with a fork until just combined, or knead a few times.

Keep the pot covered when making dumplings. Drafts flowing through the kitchen may deflate them. Use a glass pie plate in place of the pot's cover to watch while the dumplings cook.

When cooking dumplings, the liquid they are being cooked in should be kept bubbling gently at all times. This will ensure that the dumplings don't absorb the liquid and come out heavy and soggy.

Cook them with the cover on for 10 minutes, then remove the lid and cook for another 10 minutes.

Tips

• Stale or leftover bread can also be turned into dumplings. Tear the bread into pieces. Combine four cups of bread, two tablespoons of flour and one or two eggs (figure B). Mix until it reaches a doughy consistency, form into balls and add to the top of a pot of boiling stew.

• Add herbs to give dumplings additional flavor. Add 1/4 cup of minced herbs such as dill, tarragon, parsley or chives to the dry ingredients.

• Use a commercial baking mix to make dumplings. Just mix two cups of the mix with 2/3 cup milk. Mix together, form into balls and drop into a hot pot of stew or soup to cook.

• Cornbread dumplings go great with chili. Mix two cups of cornbread mix with 2/3 cup of milk, form into balls and drop into a steaming pot of chili to cook.