Suet Dumplings, Plain
Ingredients
Directions
The book gives no cooking times; the times in the steps were added in transcription, so check for doneness rather than trusting the clock.
Make the dough
In a bowl, mix the flour, baking powder, and salt.
Stir in the shredded suet until well combined.
Gradually add cold water, mixing until a soft dough forms.
Shape the dough into small balls.
Cook the dumplings
Drop the dumplings into boiling soup or stew and cook for 15-20 minutes.
Transcribed from a scanned cookbook and modernised for today's kitchens. Where the book gave no heat or time, or said "a moderate oven", the temperatures and times here may be modern equivalents rather than the book's own figures.
Explore the science
What each ingredient does
- All-purpose flour
- Provides the starch and gluten network that gives dumplings their body.
- Baking powder
- Releases gas when moistened and heated, helping dumplings rise and turn light.
- Shredded suet
- Solid fat that melts during cooking, keeping dumplings tender and rich.
- Cold water
- Hydrates the flour to form a cohesive dough; cold keeps the suet from softening early.
The step that matters
Gradually add cold water, mixing until a soft dough forms. Adding water in portions lets you stop as soon as the dough is just cohesive. Too much water or overworking the dough makes dumplings sticky and tough, because mixing develops gluten in the flour.
“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.
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