I've been craving chicken and dumplings (like the kind you get at Cracker Barrel), but have never tried to make them gluten, dairy, and egg free before. The recipes I was finding either used lard, which I didn't have on hand, egg, which we can't have, milk and/or butter, which again we cannot use, and wheat, which is totally out for us. So.... I searched for the recipe that was the easiest to modify. I ended up using a recipe from tastykitchen.com that you can find here: http://tastykitchen.com/blog/2011/11/homemade-chicken-and-dumplings/. I was very worried about the dumplings holding together and turning to mush, but they actually did great! I found that the taste of the thicker dumplings wasn't my favorite, but the thin ones were pretty good. I think next time I might add a little salt and pepper to the dough to flavor them a bit more. Anyhow, here's the recipe I used and how I changed it:
2 cups Flour (so for this I wasn't fully sure what to use, but thought I need a flour with a little starch in it, so I ended up using 1 cup brown rice flour, 1 cup Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free flour mix, and 1 teaspoon of xanathan gum. The flavor was pretty good, but I think I'll try something else next time and see if I can get an even better flavor ;)).
½ teaspoons Baking Powder
1 pinch Salt
2 Tablespoons Butter (we used a vegan butter)
1 cup Milk, A Bit Less Than A Full Cup (I actually used chicken broth instead of milk. I added it slowly and found letting it be slightly sticky, but then working with a floured surface and floured rolling pin worked well)
2 quarts Chicken Broth (I used a whole chicken and cooked it in the crockpot, so instead of using canned chicken broth, I used the broth I got from cooking my chicken)
3 cups Cooked Chicken (I cooked a whole chicken in the crock pot, so I just shredded that and used that)
** Additions- I cooked my chicken in the crockpot with a bay leaf, then later added carrots, celery, garlic, and onions. I took these out when I took out the chicken but saved them (minus the bay leaf which I threw away) and added them back in after the dumplings were cooked, when I was adding the chicken back in. I also made a slurry of corn starch and water that I added once the dumplings were cooked, before I put in the chicken and veggies, just to thicken the broth a little more)
Directions:
In a bowl, combine the flour, baking powder and salt (and xanathan gum if GF). Cut the butter into the dry ingredients with a fork or pastry blender. Stir in the milk (or chicken broth), mixing with a fork until the dough forms a ball (I liked using my hands better).
Heavily flour a work surface. You’ll need a rolling pin and something to cut the dumplings with. I like to use a pizza cutter. I also like to use a small spatula to lift the dumplings off the cutting surface.
Roll the dough out thin with a heavily floured rolling pin. Dip your cutter in flour and cut the dumplings in squares about 2″x2″. It’s okay for them not to be exact. Just eye ball it. Some will be bigger, some smaller, some shaped funny.
Use the floured spatula to put them on a heavily floured plate. Just keep flouring between the layers of dumplings. (I didn't do this. I put them straight in to the pot to boil. However, I did thicken the sauce a bit with a cornstarch slurry later after they were done and I had decided it wasn't thick enough)
To cook them, bring the broth to a boil. Drop the dumplings in one at a time, stirring while you add them. The extra flour on them will help thicken the broth. (For gluten-free ones, don't stir too much!! Drop them in carefully one at a time, and stir minimally to keep them together). Cook them for about 15-20 minutes or until they not doughy tasting (you really do want to cook them enough, but be careful not to over cook them. I think I cooked about 15 minutes. This is also when I stirred in my slurry of cornstarch and water. I used maybe 1/4 cup water and a few tablespoons of corn starch. I whisked that together first, then added it to the broth and gently stirred to mix). Add the cooked chicken to the pot and you’re done (I also added the veggies, salt, pepper, parsley, and a little more minced garlic)!
** Additions- I cooked my chicken in the crockpot with a bay leaf, then later added carrots, celery, garlic, and onions. I took these out when I took out the chicken but saved them (minus the bay leaf which I threw away) and added them back in after the dumplings were cooked, when I was adding the chicken back in. I also made a slurry of corn starch and water that I added once the dumplings were cooked, before I put in the chicken and veggies, just to thicken the broth a little more)
Directions:
In a bowl, combine the flour, baking powder and salt (and xanathan gum if GF). Cut the butter into the dry ingredients with a fork or pastry blender. Stir in the milk (or chicken broth), mixing with a fork until the dough forms a ball (I liked using my hands better).
Heavily flour a work surface. You’ll need a rolling pin and something to cut the dumplings with. I like to use a pizza cutter. I also like to use a small spatula to lift the dumplings off the cutting surface.
Roll the dough out thin with a heavily floured rolling pin. Dip your cutter in flour and cut the dumplings in squares about 2″x2″. It’s okay for them not to be exact. Just eye ball it. Some will be bigger, some smaller, some shaped funny.
Use the floured spatula to put them on a heavily floured plate. Just keep flouring between the layers of dumplings. (I didn't do this. I put them straight in to the pot to boil. However, I did thicken the sauce a bit with a cornstarch slurry later after they were done and I had decided it wasn't thick enough)
To cook them, bring the broth to a boil. Drop the dumplings in one at a time, stirring while you add them. The extra flour on them will help thicken the broth. (For gluten-free ones, don't stir too much!! Drop them in carefully one at a time, and stir minimally to keep them together). Cook them for about 15-20 minutes or until they not doughy tasting (you really do want to cook them enough, but be careful not to over cook them. I think I cooked about 15 minutes. This is also when I stirred in my slurry of cornstarch and water. I used maybe 1/4 cup water and a few tablespoons of corn starch. I whisked that together first, then added it to the broth and gently stirred to mix). Add the cooked chicken to the pot and you’re done (I also added the veggies, salt, pepper, parsley, and a little more minced garlic)!
I hope they turn out yummy for you! My husband LOVED them and requested I make them more often :). I've also heard you can use gluten-free Bisquick, but haven't tried it yet. That makes it more of a biscuit chicken and dumplings, whereas this is a bit more like doughy noodles.
1 comment:
Thanks for the recipe I am trying them with almond milk as my son is allergic to dairy. The only other change I am doing is to make my soup and use the dumplings as drop dumplings and cook them in the soup, hopefully they turn out great.
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