Hello everybody, this lovely “Bread Dumpling Recipe” is perfect if you have some hardened, left over bread buns or stale bread! Here in Germany, we love to eat the bread dumplings as a side dish to classic, hearty dishes such as traditional “Bavarian Roast Pork with Crispy Crackling” and Sauerkraut or as a main dish with a fine mushroom sauce made from chanterelles or porcini mushrooms. In Germany, the bread dumplings are known as “Semmelknödel”. A true “Bavarian Classic”, these dumplings are very popular throughout the country and a highly favored addition to hearty meals.
Grandma’s Bavarian bread dumplings recipe
When I was a child, our parents often took us on vacation to Bavaria. We mostly stayed in a small village called “Roßhaupten” close to Füssen. All of us children were huge fans of the Bavarian Cuisine, and we absolutely loved the delicious bread dumplings. Because we just couldn’t get enough of them, my mother had no choice but to prepare these dumplings for us regularly at home, too, whenever there were enough dried bread/buns left over from the previous days.
I always make the classic bread dumplings myself, using leftover/dried buns that I cut into cubes and then soak in milk, as well as eggs, parsley and roasted onions. Really good bread dumplings should not be too firm, but have a rather tender consistency. Yet, they should not fall apart during cooking!
QUICK & EASY BREAD
DUPLINGS BASED ON TRADITIONAL GERMAN RECIPE
MAKE THE BEST CLASSIC BREAD DUMPLINGS
The classic bread dumplings are firmer than, for example, the classic “Serviettenknödel” which become a little airier with more eggs and butter. You can find my recipe for the “Serviettenknödel” (which can be best translated to “napkin dumplings”, named after the way we steam them tightly wrapped in a cloth napkin) in the link below the text. In Germany, we love to eat both varieties of dumplings and will mostly serve them with hearty and traditional dishes or basically everything that comes with gravy or sauce. You can perfectly prepare the dumplings in advance and serve them later. Plus, leftover dumplings can still make some super nice, quick dishes. Whenever I have leftover dumplings, I like to slice them and fry them in clarified butter. You´ll love it with a fresh green salad. It’s also no problem to freeze the dumplings and use them for a later occasion.
Roast Pork with Dumplings
My recipe for delicious “Classic Bread Dumplings” is simple and easy to make. To guide
your way to “Bread Dumpling Success”, I’ve put together some helpful advice, based on the
most frequently asked questions from readers of my “German Food Blog”.
- Bread and bread buns vary from country to country. German bread is a little firmer and
often has a crispy crust. The same applies to our bread buns (“Brötchen”), they usually have
a crust and are a little different from the soft buns (for example dinner rolls) that are popular
in other countries. If you feel that your dumpling dough texture is a little too soft or loose due
to fluffy bread, you can easily make up for it by adding some breadcrumbs. - To make sure your bread dumplings get a nice and smooth surface, wet your hands briefly
with water before forming each dumpling. - When making bread dumplings, it is very important to not cook them in boiling water. Once
your water is simmering, turn the stove to a lower heat and let the dumplings simmer for
about 15-20 minutes, depending on their size. They will rise to the water surface as soon as
they are ready.
I hope you enjoy reading, strolling through and trying out my cooking and baking recipes!
Simple “Bread Dumpling Recipe” for delicious dumplings prepared from stale bread and buns
with eggs, milk, onion and parsley. Follow my simple step by step instructions to make your
own classic Bavarian “Semmelknödel”.
Equipment
- 1 large pot
- 1 knife
- 1 cutting board
- 1 paring knife
- 1 Slotted spoon
- 1 Hand Mixer
Ingredients
- 10 stale bread buns, preferably Kaiser buns (or 450-500 g dumpling bread)
- 3 eggs
- 1 Onion Finely grated
- 1 Parsley Bunch of flat leaf parsley, finely chopped
- 1 tsp Salt
- 500 ml milk hot
- 1 tsp baking powder sprinkled
- 50 g butter
Instructions
- It is best to prepare all needed ingredients right at the beginning. You can do yourself a big favor by weighing and measuring your ingredients right from the start, too. Cut the dry stale buns or bread into small cubes. Peel the onion and wash the parsley.
- Finely grate the onion and sauté it in 20 g of butter until golden brown. Add the parsley and let cool.
- Boil the milk with 30 g of butter. Pour the hot milk over the diced bread and let cool. Add baking powder, eggs and cooled parsley onion mixture and salt to the soaked bread cubes.
- Leave the dumpling dough to sit for about 20-30 minutes. Stir the dough with a hand mixer until everything is well combined.
- In a large pot, bring water to a boil and add a little salt.
- Set up a bowl of cold water. Now wet your hands and form the dumplings and put them into the boiling water. Keep wetting your hands between forming each dumpling to make sure your dumplings receive a smooth surface. Let them simmer on low heat for about 15-20 minutes. Don't cook the dumplings in boiling water. Once your dumplings rise to the water surface, they're ready. The dumplings are lifted out of the water one by one with a slotted spoon and are then ready to serve.
