Czech Bread Dumplings

Czech "napkins" to soak up gravy or sauce!

• 1 package yeast
  
• 1 teaspoon sugar
  
• 1/2 cup milk, scalded and cooled
  
• 1 cup milk, warm
  
• 1 egg
  
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
  
• 3 1/2 cups bread flour

1. Mix the first three ingredients, let stand for 10 minutes. Mix the warm milk, egg, salt, yeast mixture and flour. Knead the resulting dough just as you would when making bread.

2. Let the dough rest in a warm place to rise. It should double in about 1 hour.

3. Knead again; divide into 4 long rolls, each about 1 1/2 " thick.

4. Quickly rub a minimal amount of warm water on the loaf as a glue to seal up the cracks and holes in dough. Once you've worked the loaf to where it's the right loaf shape and cracks are not deep, sprinkle some flour on your work surface and work the loaf in to a smooth and even shape. Repeat for a total of four loaves.

5. Let rise while heating water.

6. Drop the rolls of dough, one at a time, into a large kettle of boiling water. Boil gently for about 7 minutes, flip and boil another 7 minutes. Remove with slotted spoons and place on a buttered platter. Keep warm.

7. When ready to serve, slice the rolls into individual slices by using a length of thread. Loop it around one dumpling and pull tight to slice off a piece about 1/2 " thick. (This is the fun part! You can get pretty good at this garroting if you practice!!) You should end up with about 12 slices from each loaf. The cookbook says, "These freeze well - steam before serving."

Notes: If you are serving a pork roast with sauerkraut, I recommend bread dumplings.

Source: various sources

Servings/Yield: 48 slices, 4 loaves