Dumpling: Central Europe

In the region of Bavaria (see germany), austria, and Bohemia (see czech Republic and slovakia), the common material of dumplings is stale bread. This is broken into small pieces and soaked in water or milk, and combined with any available enriching ingredients: bacon, eggs, cheese, chopped liver, or herbs. There are sweet types stuffed with fruit. In some of the more refined kinds flour or semolina or (since the 19th century) potatoes are used in the basic mixture.

Another kind is the Nockerl, made from a softer dough of flour with butter, milk, and egg (or leftover noodle dough may be used). Because the dough is soft, it is not rolled into balls to make the dumplings; small pieces are picked off with the fingers and thrown into the boiling water (or the dough is spread on a Nockerlbrett, a thin wooden board from which little bits can be flipped into the water, using a knife). Small ones are sometimes formed by pressing the dough through a coarse wicker sieve, and used as garnishes in soup. This technique, the dough itself, and the name Nockerl, are clearly influenced by the Italian gnocchi. (Salzburger Nockerln are something different; not dumplings but sweet egg confections which defy any conventional classification.)