Dishes cooked thin dough stuffed with meat in almost every national cuisine. In Russia it dumplings, Italy - ravioli, Georgia - khinkali in Armenia - Boracay in Central Asia - manta rays, China - Wonton, in Buryatia - poses, Belarus and the Baltic States - koltunay (sorcerers). Except for the name, they are different shapes, sizes, types of meat for the filling, molding methods, traditional for a country's spices and laborious preparation. Major Asian dumplings are prepared, for example, much faster than the small Wonton Chinese or Russian dumplings. But in virtually all of this apparent diversity of the basic recipe of all: in the middle of a piece of thick, thin dough, to put minced raw meat with onion and spices, and close up the dough around the edges.
Requirements for filling in these dishes are only two: it must be tasty and juicy. But the test is presented much more demanding. It should not only be delicious as a finished product, but also:
easy to mix,
does not stick to your hands,
be flexible (in order that it can be thin to roll)
be supple, soft and sticky enough (to from it was convenient to sculpt dumplings)
be strong (not to break during rolling and molding)
be tight (to the dumplings fall apart during cooking).
People often complain that the dough made strictly on prescription (though proven recipe - with friends or family cooked for him the dough is obtained excellent), but it did not happen. The fact that the recipe, taken from a cookbook, with the site or with relatives and friends, usually contains a list of products, the number and order of addition and looks something like this: "... take 2 cups of flour, three-fourths cup water, 1 egg ... etc". But the quality of these products and most of the properties that gets the dough by adding each of them, it usually is not. Therefore, it is impossible.
The dough for the dumplings can be made from many products. It may be "poor", only of flour and water, and the "rich" with addition of eggs, butter, dairy products and disintegrants. But properties are always in direct proportion to the quality of products that are used for it. And do not be surprised that some dumplings from the "poor" test well produced, and others from the "rich" are not molded and falling apart. The main ingredient - this meal. If it is of poor quality (as a party of flour may even have a good manufacturer) and it does not take into account during the preparation of the dough and add the right ingredient or did not choose the recipe that is suitable for a meal, it will not be a good result.
Back to contents
Products for the test and their properties
In order to make good dough for ravioli, it is important to know which properties will give him one or another product.
Realizing that gives each ingredient, you can always add the one that "asks" your dough, even if it is not included in the recipe. And also be able to generate a prescription based on their preferences (someone who likes the dough more gently, someone - more tightly, someone - with egg taste, someone - with milk, someone - with spicy) or the presence of products under hand.
Wheat flour - contains gluten. The flour of poor quality it is not enough.
Buckwheat flour - buckwheat imparts color and flavor, but does not contain gluten, so it can be used only in a mixture with wheat flour in a ratio: 3 parts 1 part of wheat flour buckwheat flour.
Semolina - contains a large amount of gluten and starch, it is necessary to add to the flour of poor quality, which "floats" because it does not contain enough gluten.
Water.
Mineral water - contains carbon dioxide, which loosens the dough so the dough on mineral water turns sweet.
Eggs - the protein has an excellent fastening properties, and gives the egg yolk flavor and tenderness.
Oil - gives softness and suppleness.
Milk - gives strength, ductility and white.
Dairy products: yogurt, yogurt, fermented baked milk, sour cream, whey - are products of fermentation, so they are slightly loosen the dough and make it more tender.
Soda - loosens dough not only in an acidic environment but also under temperature influence, however specifically extinguish vinegar it is not necessary, even if a recipe does not contain acidic products.
Vodka - a product of fermentation, therefore acts as a leavening agent.
Sol.
Sugar.
Vegetable juices - spicing up the taste (onion juice) and color (tomato, carrot, beet).
Herbs - give color and flavor.
Back to contents
The main proportions and general rules
Besides the quality and properties of products must take into account that the number of products that contain one or the other recipe, almost never can be true. Flour, depending on the quality, may absorb moisture in different ways. Therefore, it is not excluded that the recipe contains 2 cups flour, and to bring the dough to the right consistency, you need 3. This does not mean that a bad recipe - just another meal. Eggs are quite different in size, so it is possible such that the recipe contains two eggs, you'll need one or three.
Furthermore, good quality ingredients one can allow without sacrificing quality prescription excluding other ingredients. Dairy products, for example, may have a fat content of the oil, part of the recipe to be added is not necessary. Given these characteristics, when preparing the dough for ravioli can be guided by these proportions:
1 kg of dry food (wheat flour, a mixture of different types of flour, the flour mixture with semolina). One cup (200 ml) contains 160 g of flour.
400 ml of liquids (water, dairy products, eggs, juice, butter, vodka).
Knead dough, adding flour gradually, you need to until it stops sticking to your hands. If you stick to the hands ceased, but seems too soft, then peel off a small piece and try to unroll it. By the way it is rolled out (whether it can roll out thinly, if it does not break at the same time), you'll need it further knead flour or not.
Try to sculpt the edges of dough, how easy is molded, if modeling is not at odds. Check desirable and cutting - on the cut should not be flour. If you make the dough too thick, then, firstly, it will be difficult to roll, and secondly, the edges are poorly connected with the modeling of ravioli and expenditure during cooking.
When testing, remember that after mixing the dough will need to lie down in a cool place at least an hour - "rest"!
During this time, swelling the gluten contained in the flour and gives elasticity. The dough becomes softer, and it will be easier to roll out!
Back to contents
3 basic ways to prepare the dough
Cool - in this method the dough is kneaded product from room temperature (or cold). It's a classic recipe of the dough.
Custard - if this method is added to the flour first hot liquid (hot water or boil milk), and then entered the other ingredients (eggs, butter) at room temperature, if the recipe contains them. Choux pastry boil faster than cooked cold way, it turns tender.
"Custard" - this method is used for the "rich" test. With this method, mix all liquid ingredients added to them a small amount of flour (to get the consistency of a dough that is used for a batch of pancakes). Then batter is put on low heat, and with constant stirring, heated to thicken, but not to the point (because at reflux rolled egg white). And on this hot dense mass, which resembles custard, kneaded dough for ravioli. Here is an example of the recipe:
To add one egg milk so as to obtain a glass (200 g) milk-egg mixture and salt.
Pour into a small cauldron 2 tablespoons of flour, add a little milk-egg mixture and stir until smooth.
Add the remaining mixture, put on a little fire and, stirring constantly, heat until thickened.
In a shallow dish or cutting board pour 3 cups of flour and infusing into it the thickened mixture, kneading the dough until then, until it no longer sticks to the hands, if necessary podsypaya flour.
Wrap the dough in plastic wrap or a plastic bag and put in a cool place for 1 hour for swelling of gluten. Only then can of ravioli to stick out of it!
Back to contents
"Poor" recipe of flour and water
The composition of such a recipe contains only flour, water and salt. You can add or raising agents - soda or vodka. Prepare the custard batter convenient way - it turns out soft and sticky. Modeling dumplings out of it - a pleasure. It can not even roll out and cut a small piece of each Dumplings and knead in hand. The dough is very fast boil, but as a finished product is translucent, so the dumplings out of it best served with sour cream or kefir sauce. Traditionally used for Belarusian and Chinese dumplings.
Back to contents
"Rich" recipe - put whatever we want
Using the "rich" recipe, you need to remember about the basic proportions. It is convenient to first mix all liquid ingredients, check their total number and then mix them with the flour. It can be used alone, and two products, three, four - as you like. You can add only instead of eggs yolks, and you get rich egg flavor and yellowish color, and you can only proteins, if someone from your home and you can not have guests yolks. Kneading the dough can be only on milk or whey, and another - their mixtures. You can add vegetable oil, and melted or softened butter, and you can do without it. Knowing the taste of each product and understanding the features, you can create each time a new recipe. The classic recipe for the "rich" test is as follows:
1 egg, 1 egg yolk, 1 tbsp. a spoonful of vodka or 0, 5 tsp. baking soda, 2 tablespoons. tablespoons melted butter or oil mix, add milk as whole mixture turned to a glass (200 g).
in a shallow dish or cutting board to pour 3 tablespoons. flour and gradually infusing a liquid mixture in a flour dough to the kneading until it stops sticking to the hands, if necessary podsypaya flour.
Back to contents
With oil - are so fond of the Italians
For the ravioli dough can be done without water, milk or dairy products. Kneading it in a mixture of egg, in which salt is added, and vegetable oil in equal proportions. From this test, make Italian ravioli. Instead of vegetable oil can be put and melted butter. Then dumplings will have a pronounced creamy taste.
Back to contents
With baking - soda and vodka
Leavening agents are added to the dough for the dumplings were softer - then out of it more convenient to sculpt dumplings. In addition, it will taste sweeter. They can be added in a simple test, which consists of flour and water, and complex independently of the other ingredients. If the dough is made only egg whites, then no baking powder, it can be harsh.
Back to contents
Multi-colored and black dumplings
If you want to surprise your guests, or children, for the preparation of dumplings and color can make a dough. Green can be achieved using water or milk instead of spinach juice, shades of red, using tomato, tomato, pepper and beet juices. Yellow give turmeric and carrot juice. Brown - buckwheat flour. You can boil the dumplings in broth onion peel. You can even make black ravioli, adding squid ink - a natural product, which is used as a seasoning and is a member of certain medications. Particularly interesting are those dumplings with chicken white meat or fish.
Back to contents
2 ways to do a good test of a bad meal
If you bought turned out to be of poor quality flour and you see it in its color and feel to the touch, then:
1 cup flour, add 1-2 tbsp. spoons of semolina (it contains gluten, which is missing in the flour of poor quality);
Use this flour brew method.
If you do not pay attention to the quality of the flour before kneading the dough, and a ready-made "floats", glued to the hands and spreads over the surface, then add the item 2-4. spoons of semolina, leave for 10-15 minutes. Semolina absorbs excess moisture and adds missing gluten, and then kneaded with flour until it is ready.
