Dampfnudel and Germknödel

A Dampfnudel is a soft yeast dumpling cooked in a covered pot with milk, butter and sugar until the liquid has gone and a caramelized crust forms on the bottom. Its Austrian cousin, the Germknödel, is filled with plum butter and steamed or boiled, then drenched in melted butter and poppy seed sugar. Here is how they differ, where they come from, and a Dampfnudel recipe from our editors with a Germknödel variation.

What is a Dampfnudel?

The name means steamed noodle, but there is no pasta involved. According to the Bavarian culinary heritage register, GenussErbe Bayern, the word Nudel derives from Knödel, dumpling. The dough is an enriched yeast dough of milk, flour, yeast, salt, a little sugar and butter, sometimes with egg. The balls rise twice and then go into a pot with a tight lid. There they fry and steam at the same time: the top stays soft and springy, while the bottom, once the liquid has cooked away, turns into a golden, crackling crust.

In Bavaria, Dampfnudeln are cooked in milk and butter and eaten sweet, usually with vanilla sauce or a fruit sauce, as dessert or as a sweet main course. In the Palatinate they are cooked in salted water and fat and get a salty crust. There they are often a main dish, eaten with potato or vegetable soup and then, in a second round, with a sweet wine sauce.

What is a Germknödel?

Germknödel, often typed Germknodel in English, is the Austrian relative. Germ is the Austrian and Bavarian word for yeast and comes from the verb for fermenting. The large, half-round dumpling is filled with Powidl, a thick plum butter. Unlike the Dampfnudel, it never touches a hot pot bottom: it is boiled in salted water or steamed over boiling water. In the classic Viennese style it is served with melted butter and a mixture of ground poppy seed and powdered sugar; vanilla sauce is the other common topping. GenussErbe Bayern even calls the Germknödel the Austrian variant of the Dampfnudel.

History and a long-running dispute

Where the Dampfnudel was born is unclear, and both Bavaria and the Palatinate claim it. GenussErbe Bayern points to the Oekonomisches Handbuch für Frauenzimmer of 1811, which already contained a recipe for "Baierische Dampfnudeln" baked in milk and sugar. In 2008 the rivalry briefly turned official: after the dish appeared in a Bavarian database of regional specialties, the agriculture minister of Rhineland-Palatinate wrote a letter of complaint to his Bavarian counterpart. Munich replied that the Dampfnudel was not among the foods Bavaria wanted to protect EU-wide.

For many families these dumplings were everyday food. Flour dishes were the alternative to meat, which used to be scarce and expensive, and in Catholic regions they were long served as a matter of course on Fridays. GenussErbe quotes a saying from the Rottal in Lower Bavaria that asks heaven to keep the weather just as it is when it rains Dampfnudeln and snows Leberkäse.

Where to eat them in Munich

At the Auer Dult, Munich's traditional market fair held three times a year, the city lists Dampfnudeln among the sweet specialties, next to Auszogne and Bavesen. Germknödel, in turn, is a familiar dish in Alpine ski huts.

Dampfnudel recipe from our editors

Makes 8 Dampfnudeln, serves 4. Active time 35 minutes, rising time about 65 minutes, cooking time 30 minutes. You need a heavy pot with a tightly closing lid.

Ingredients

• 4 cups (500 g) all-purpose flour
• ¾ oz (21 g) fresh yeast, or 1 packet (2¼ tsp, 7 g) active dry yeast
• 1 cup (230 ml) lukewarm whole milk
• ¼ cup (50 g) granulated sugar
• 4 tbsp (60 g) soft unsalted butter
• 1 large egg
• ½ tsp salt
• finely grated zest of ½ unwaxed lemon
• ¾ cup plus 1 tbsp (200 ml) whole milk for the pot
• 3 tbsp (40 g) unsalted butter for the pot
• 2 tbsp granulated sugar for the pot
• 1 pinch of salt for the pot
• 2 cups (500 ml) whole milk for the vanilla sauce
• 1 vanilla bean
• 3 large egg yolks
• ¼ cup (50 g) granulated sugar for the sauce
• 2 tbsp (15 g) cornstarch

Instructions

1. Dissolve the yeast in the lukewarm milk with 1 tsp of the sugar. In a large bowl, mix the flour, remaining sugar, salt and lemon zest. Add the yeast milk, egg and soft butter and knead for 8 to 10 minutes until the dough is smooth, soft and pulls away from the bowl.
2. Cover and let rise in a warm place for about 45 minutes, until roughly doubled.
3. Divide the dough into 8 equal pieces of about 4 oz (115 g), shape them into smooth balls and let them rise on a floured board, covered, for another 20 minutes.
4. In a heavy 10- to 11-inch (26 to 28 cm) pot or Dutch oven with a tight-fitting lid, warm the milk, butter, sugar and salt for the pot until the butter has melted. Set the dough balls in it about ½ inch (1 cm) apart and put the lid on firmly.
5. Bring to a boil over medium heat, then cook on low to medium heat for about 25 minutes without lifting the lid. When you hear a soft crackling and smell caramel, the milk has cooked away; continue on low heat for another 3 to 5 minutes until a golden crust has formed on the bottom.
6. For the sauce, split the vanilla bean and scrape out the seeds. Bring 1⅔ cups (400 ml) of the milk to a boil with the seeds, pod and sugar, then remove the pod. Whisk the egg yolks and cornstarch with the remaining scant ½ cup (100 ml) milk, stir into the hot milk and simmer gently for about 1 minute, stirring constantly, until the sauce thickens.
7. Only now take off the lid. Loosen the dumplings from the bottom with a spatula and place them crust side up in deep plates. Serve with the warm vanilla sauce.

Tip: keep the lid on, because lifting it lets out the steam and the dumplings can collapse. Listen instead: the crackling tells you when the milk is gone. A heavy pot keeps the sugar from scorching before the dumplings are cooked through.

Related dishes are Kaiserschmarrn, apple strudel and the savory classics in our guide to Bavarian food; the German version of this page is Dampfnudel, with a separate page on the Germknödel.