How to sculpt dumplings by hand - quick ways and recommendations

2024 Author: Isabella Gilson | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:14

Dumplings are a unique dish. Firstly, properly cooked dumplings are a perfectly balanced food in terms of carbohydrates (dough), proteins and fats (minced meat). Secondly, it's just very tasty and easy to prepare food.

Since what is sold in stores is either tasteless and of poor quality, or very expensive, hand-made dumplings will be the best way out. Homemade meals are always better than store-bought ones, but in the case of dumplings, this difference is especially pronounced.

Preparing dough

Before sculpting dumplings, you need to prepare the original products. The recipe for the classic dumpling dough is extremely simple:

• flour - it is better to take the highest grade to make the dough more sticky and uniform;
• water - you need to use warm (about 400С);
• table s alt.

It is important to observe the optimal consistency of the dough - too steep will tear and stick poorly, and too liquid - stick to everything.

Sometimes the dough is made with chicken eggs or ghee for extra tenderness.

Preparation of minced meat

The content of dumplings is a rich scope forculinary fantasy. The filling can be minced meat of various compositions, as well as mushrooms, fish and much more.

Classic minced meat for dumplings consists of three types of meat: beef, pork and chicken in approximately equal proportions. The meat is mixed with finely chopped onion and garlic, seasoned with s alt and pepper.

Ideally, minced meat is done by hand - the meat is simply chopped very finely with a knife. If you use a meat grinder, then it is better to take a large mesh. Before sculpting, the minced meat should be slightly frozen to make it more crumbly.

With instrument

The most technologically advanced way to quickly sculpt dumplings by hand is to use a special machine, manual or electric. However, it is worth buying such a device if you are going to cook often and in large quantities, since even a mechanical version will cost 2-3 thousand rubles. An electric device can cost from 10 to 20 thousand. In addition, it is quite bulky, which should be considered in a small kitchen.

The device works like this: the prepared dough layer is folded in half and inserted between the rollers, a form is placed on top into which the minced meat is laid. Then the rollers are set in motion (manually or by electricity), inside the machine the dough is filled with minced meat and the layer is divided into pieces.

The output is a kind of perforated "panel", which is easy to divide into separate dumplings. You can leave them as they are orconnect the corners, giving a more beautiful shape.

With the help of dumplings

This device is familiar to many - a metal grill divided into hexagonal cells (usually 37 pieces) with sharp edges protruding upwards. Its cost does not exceed 200-300 rubles, and thanks to its flat shape, it will not take up much storage space.

Use the dumpling as follows: roll out two identical layers of dough with a thickness of about 2 mm. The first layer is placed on the grate, a ball of dough is placed on top with a spoon in each cell. After that, the dumpling is covered with a second sheet of dough and forcefully passed over it with a rolling pin. Seams under pressure are first connected, and then cut off along protruding sharp edges. At the same time, minced meat is pressed into the cells, forming even rounded shapes.

Then the dumpling is turned upside down and the resulting dumplings are carefully pushed out, which, as a rule, get stuck in the cells. This method of making dumplings is quite simple and productive, but requires some skill:

• important not to overdo it with minced meat, otherwise dumplings can get stuck "tightly", expanding from the back of the dumpling and pushing them back without damaging it will not work;
• The thickness of the dough layers is of great importance: too thin a layer can tear when the dumplings are “pressed” down, and too thick one will require more effort when pressing with a rolling pin.
• the dough should be sticky enough, otherwise the edges may not connect tightly and the dumplings willfall apart. You will have to double-check the result and fix the flaws manually.

With the successful application of this method of sculpting dumplings, you can get a whole pack of product in one go.

With a single mold

This device for hand molding dumplings resembles a hunting trap in its shape and principle of operation - a round mold with handles that folds in half. A piece of dough is placed on it, minced meat is added on top, then the mold is folded and squeezed by the handles, forming a dumpling, usually with decorative edges.

This method is a kind of "individual approach" to how to sculpt dumplings. It is painstaking and time-consuming, it will not work to make a large volume of product with it.

With the help of a glass, glasses

How to quickly sculpt dumplings by hand at no additional cost? To do this, you only need a glass, mug or glass, preferably with thin edges. The diameter of the dishes is selected based on the desired size of future dumplings.

A layer of dough of an arbitrary size is rolled out on a table or board. Then, by pressing with the edges of the selected dish, circles are cut out of it, filled with dough, and the edges are connected manually. The rest of the dough is collected and rolled out into a new layer.

The method is quite laborious if you work alone. But if there is at least one assistant, and preferably two, then you can sculpt dumplings like on a conveyor. Most often, the whole family is involved in the work,since even children will find something to do - it will be interesting for them to "cut out" circles from the dough.

This technology is good because it eliminates the possibility of "marriage", that is, poor connection of the edges of the dough, since everything is done by hand.

Another way - minced meat is laid out at certain intervals on the edge of a rectangular layer of dough. Then the edge of the dough is wrapped, and the dumplings are cut off with a glass in the shape of a semicircle. This method is faster than the first one, but there is a risk of poor connection of the edges of the dough.

Freezing Tips

It is important not only to know how to make dumplings correctly, but also how to freeze them correctly. The main thing is to ensure that they do not stick together. In no case should you put them in a bag - the output will be a homogeneous mass.

Dumplings should be laid out on a board or baking sheet, previously sprinkled with flour. Ideally, they should not touch each other at all. If there is not enough space in the freezer, you can lay the dumplings on top of each other, but then the layers need to be separated. You can use baking parchment, additionally rubbed with flour. After freezing, the product can be packaged in bags.

Interesting facts

The word "dumpling" means "bread ear" and comes from the language of Udmurtia. In the capital of the republic - Izhevsk - this dish is even established. But almost all peoples of the world have analogues of dumplings, their history can be traced back to Ancient Greece.

This dish is so common around the world that it has become part of folklore. In China, a person must eat a certain amount of dumplings in order to fulfill any desire. In Siberia, there is such a custom: having finished sculpting dumplings, as a rule, the hostess puts a special filling in the last of them. it can be greens, sugar, just dough or something else. Each filler means something to the eater who comes across such a dumpling.

It is curious to note that a coin caught in the filling symbolizes we alth, which is very useful to a person who has bitten such a dumpling. Dental services, alas, only grow in price.