Steamed Fruit Dumplings – Recipe and Technique
This recipe is an ancestral favorite of mine. It reminds me of my grandmother’s cooking days and my Sunday visits to her with my mom.
This recipe dates back to my great-grandmother, who was of German descent, and most likely to her mother and grandmother, which would date back to the 1700s.
These Steamed Fruit Dumplings (referred to as Perizhky by my grandma) are much simpler to cook now than in my grandmother’s days. She used cheesecloth tied around a big pot of hot water, but you can use a steamer basket lined with a coffee filter.
You can use a variety of fruit fillings for these dumplings, such as shredded apples, plums, blueberries, cherries, etc.
My daughter bought me a jar of Tart Cherry Fruit Spread at Trader Joe’s, and my family enjoyed this filling. I also found dark sweet cherries at a local grocery store. I drained and cut them into smaller pieces, added a Tbs. of cornstarch, and had enough filling to fill 24 dumplings (1 tsp. each). My mom used to fill them mostly with shredded apples flavored with brown sugar and cinnamon, freshly picked blueberries, or other seasonal fruit from our orchard.
I love these fluffy dumplings (pampuchy, bukhty) because they are so light in texture and deliciously served with melted butter and sugar.
This recipe yields about 24 dumplings.
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A ball of dough, ready to rest.
The dough roll is about 1.5 inches in diameter and 15-18 inches in length.
Using a knife, cut the dough roll into 1.5-inch pieces.
Flatten slightly one piece at a time to form a dough circle ready for filling.
Filled balls are placed on a floured tea towel (they need to be covered with another tea towel to prevent them from drying out), ready to rest and rise in a warm place.
All risen and ready to steam.
The steamer is ready and filled with dumplings for steaming.
If you wish, you can also use a large pot covered with a double thickness of cheesecloth, fastened around the rim of the pot with twine, or a large rubber band. You need to make sure the water does not touch the bottom of the cheesecloth after the dumplings are placed on it. I would suggest not filling the pot with water more than 1/3 full.
Steamed dumplings are waiting to cool off.
Ingredients
- 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, sifted
- 2 eggs, well beaten
- 1/4 oz Active Dry Yeast (1 package)
- 1 Tbs sugar
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 3 Tbs lukewarm water
- 3/4 cup lukewarm milk, scalded
- 2 Tbs. butter, melted
- Fruit for filling (pitted canned plums, fresh chopped apples, dry prunes, fresh blueberries)
- Melted butter, sugar, cinnamon - for serving suggestions
Instructions
- Dissolve the sugar in the lukewarm water.
- Sprinkle the yeast over the sugar water.
- Let it stand for 10 minutes, to dissolve and activate.
- Scald the milk, and cool to lukewarm.
- Combine the lukewarm milk with the yeast mixture.
- Add the beaten eggs and salt.
- Stir in the flour, and mix by hand or with a mixer with dough hooks, for 10-15 minutes to form a soft dough. Add the melted butter during the last 3 minutes of mixing.
- Cover and let rise in a warm place, until double in bulk for about an hour. (see TIP).
- Cut the dough in 2 equal parts. For easier handling you can cut it into 4 equal parts
- On a floured work area, roll one part at a time into a long dough roll, about 1 1/2 inch in diameter and 15-18 inches long, or 4 logs 6" long each, which will make 6 equal parts for dumplings.
- Using a knife, cut the dough roll into 1 1/2 inch pieces.
- Flatten slightly one piece at a time to form a dough circle ready to fill. Place filling in the middle of the circle and seal edges together.
- Form a ball, and place seam down on a cookie sheet lined with a floured tea towel.
- Space the dumpling balls apart, so they to not stick as they rise.
- Repeat with the remaining dough pieces.
- Cover with another tea towel, keep in a warm place for at least 10 - 15 minutes so they rise again.
- Line the steamer basket with flat coffee filters or cheesecloth, then fill a steamer pot 1/3 full with water, to leave lots of room between the water level and the steamer basket, and bring to boil. Turn down the heat to a simmer, so the steam is not extremely hot. You many also a regular pot and cheesecloth tied over the top of the pot and make sure the water level is far from the cloth.
- Starting with the first dumplings completed, place 3-4 dumplings in the lined steamer basket without overcrowding them so they don't stick together.
- Cover the pot with a well fitted lid, and continue steaming for exactly 5 minutes without lifting the lid.
- Uncover.
- Gently remove dumplings, one at a time, onto a wire rack and brush the tops with melted butter and sprinkle lightly with granulated sugar. Let them cool off.
- Repeat this process until all dumplings are steamed.
- These may be served warm or at room temperature. Cold dumplings may be warmed up in the microwave for no more that 10 seconds one at a time. Excessive reheating will harden them and make them rubbery.
Notes
To speed up the process of rising dough, I cover the bowl with plastic wrap and a tea towel, and keep it in a previously warmed oven to 100 degrees F and turned off.
To prevent your dumplings from deflating once the pot lid is removed to take them out at the end of cooking, you need to follow these steps: Do not let them rise too long, so they don't develop a dry thin skin. Do not fill the pot with too much water, just about 1/3 - 1/4 full. Do not have the water boil vigorously, but rather simmer during cooking. Do not cook filled dumplings longer than 5 minutes, and unfilled ones no more that 10 minutes.
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