Recipe. Yeast dumplings

Yeast dumplings are large, semi-spherical dumplings made from yeast dough and filled with Powidl (plum jam). After cooking and just before serving, they are traditionally prepared in the Austrian style by pouring melted butter over them and sprinkling them with a mixture of ground poppy seeds and icing sugar.

Another variation involves pouring butter and/or vanilla sauce over them.
Germknödel are boiled in salted water or steamed over boiling water.

Fluffy, soft and delicious: that’s how a Germknödel should taste! A Germknödel is simply a must when stopping off at a ski hut or alpine pasture in the Tyrolean mountains. Here is the popular Germknödel recipe to try at home:

For 4 people, you will need the following ingredients:

• 300 g plain flour
• 20 g sugar
• 1 egg
• 100 g melted butter
• 100 ml lukewarm milk
• 1 packet of dried yeast or ½ cube of fresh yeast (Dampfl)
• 1 egg yolk
• a pinch of salt
• 100 g Powidl (plum jam) for the filling
• 50 g ground poppy seeds and 3–4 tbsp icing sugar to serve
• Vanilla sauce

Here’s how to make the yeast dumplings:

Sift the flour into a bowl. Knead the milk, sugar, egg, egg yolk and yeast together with the melted butter and a pinch of salt to form a smooth dough. Cover and leave to rise in a warm place until the dough has doubled in size (approx. 30 minutes)

Then, on a floured work surface, quarter the dough, shape into dumplings and make a hollow in the centre of each one. Now place a quarter of the plum jam into each indentation. Then press the dough firmly over the filling to seal it. Cover and leave to rise for a further 20 minutes.

Bring water with a pinch of salt to the boil in a large saucepan. Carefully place the dumplings into the boiling water and leave to cook for about 10 minutes.

Tip: The yeast dumplings turn out best when cooked in a steamer or in a steamer basket over boiling water. To do this, add just a little water to a saucepan and cook the yeast dumplings in the steamer insert for about 10 minutes as well.

Serve with poppy seeds and icing sugar, and perhaps some melted butter or vanilla sauce, and serve immediately.