Bread dumpling rolls prove, in our kitchen, that the most important step often has nothing to do with what goes into the mixing bowl but with what happens in the bowl sitting next to it: the soaking time. Skip the 20 minutes during which the bread rolls, milk, and eggs come together into a mouldable mass, and you will end up not with dumplings but with a breadcrumb soup sealed inside aluminium foil.
We have been making bread dumpling rolls for years whenever we have a Sunday roast with plenty of sauce on the table and do not want to shape individual round dumplings. One roll is enough for four servings, slices fried in butter the next day make a second lunch, and with 300 g of day-old bread rolls you can finally clear the bread basket without throwing anything away.
Bread Dumpling Roll with the Thermomix®
Ingredients 0 / 7 ✓
- 300 g bread rolls from the day before
- 300 g milk
- 2 eggs
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 tbsp parsley frozen
- 1 tsp oil
- 700 g water
Instructions 0 / 5
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1
Chop the bread rolls.
Break the bread rolls into pieces and place in the mixing bowl. Chop for 5 seconds / speed 6, mix through with the spatula, then chop for a further 5 seconds / speed 6.
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2
Mix the dumpling dough.
Add the remaining ingredients and mix for 15 seconds / reverse direction / speed 3.
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3
Roll up.
Shape the dough into two rolls, tear off pieces of aluminium foil, grease with a little oil and wrap the dough rolls inside.
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4
Cook the dumpling rolls.
Rinse the mixing bowl and fill with water. Place the dumpling rolls in the Varoma, attach the Varoma and cook for 40 minutes / Varoma / speed 2.
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5
Serve the dumpling rolls.
Slice the bread dumpling roll and serve.
Tip: If you have any leftover bread dumpling roll, fry the slices in a pan with a little butter. Serve with a fresh salad and you have a complete main course.
Nutrition per serving
Why the soaking time is not a tip but a requirement
In the Thermomix® we chop the 300 g of bread rolls for 5 seconds at speed 6 to a coarse texture, push through with the spatula, then give another 5 seconds at speed 6. The result is rough crumbs, not a flour-like consistency. Then 300 g of milk, 2 eggs, 1/2 tsp salt, 1 tbsp frozen parsley, and 1 tsp oil go into the mixing bowl. 15 seconds at reverse direction / speed 3 is enough to combine everything without breaking down the bread further. Reverse direction is not a detail here but the whole trick: running the blades in normal direction would tear the dough apart and leave a pureed mush.
This is exactly when most recipes miss a step. The mixture needs to rest for 20 minutes in the mixing bowl before we shape it into rolls. During that time the breadcrumbs absorb the milk, the egg white surrounds each piece and binds them into a mouldable mass. Roll the dough straight after mixing and you will have wet crumbs inside the foil. When steaming in the Varoma the roll collapses because no binding has formed. We set a timer for those 20 minutes and use the time to turn the roast or season the sauce.
The trick with the damp cloth
These dumplings are classically called Serviettenknodel because Bavarian cooks used to roll the dough in a linen cloth. We use aluminium foil because it seals cleanly and does not soften in the Varoma. If you prefer a cloth, dampen it briefly under cold water and then brush it with a little oil. The damp layer prevents the dough from sticking, and the oil provides a second protective barrier. Together they ensure that the finished roll can be lifted out in one piece and the cloth can go straight in the wash without having to scrape off any dough.
With aluminium foil, a thin film of oil is enough. We tear off two pieces of foil the length of our baking dish, grease them with the tsp of oil already in the recipe, and divide the dough into two equal portions. Each portion goes into the centre of the foil, we fold the foil over and twist the ends like a sweet wrapper. Important: do not wrap too tightly, because the dough expands as it cooks. If the foil is too snug, the roll will burst and you will have dumpling dough in the steaming water.
40 minutes in the Varoma, no stirring, no peeking
We give the mixing bowl a quick rinse and fill it with 700 g of water. Both dumpling rolls go side by side into the Varoma, lid on top. 40 minutes at Varoma / speed 2 cooks the rolls slowly and evenly all the way through. We do not open the Varoma during that time, because each time the steam escapes the temperature drops and the dumplings take longer. If you have a TM31, you can use the same settings as the Varoma attachment works identically there.
The steaming method above the mixing bowl is the real reason we make bread dumpling rolls almost exclusively in the Thermomix®. On the hob you need a large pot with a steamer insert, you have to bring water to the boil, you must not close the lid too tightly, and you should top up the water partway through. In the Varoma everything runs in parallel: while the rolls are steaming, the mixing bowl below cannot be used for anything else, but the water stays at temperature automatically, the steam circulates evenly, and nothing can burn. After 40 minutes we lift the rolls out of the Varoma with two spatulas, leave them to rest for 5 minutes inside the foil, and then slice them into pieces about 2 cm thick.
What often goes wrong the first time
Bread rolls chopped too finely
If the bread rolls are in the mixing bowl too long, you get flour instead of crumbs. Flour absorbs the milk too quickly, the dough becomes sticky, and the finished dumplings have no texture. Our solution: Really only 5 seconds at speed 6, then push through with the spatula, then another 5 seconds. If the largest pieces are still roughly the size of a pea, the consistency is right.
Fresh bread rolls instead of day-old rolls
Fresh bread rolls are moist and still contain a lot of their own moisture. They do not absorb the milk properly and the dough stays soggy. Our solution: Leave the bread rolls to dry on a board in the kitchen cupboard for at least 24 hours. If you do not have stale rolls, cut fresh ones into cubes and dry them in the oven at 100°C for 10 minutes.
Soaking time too short or skipped entirely
This is the classic mistake. Without the soaking time the roll falls apart in the Varoma and you open the foil at the end to find a pile of crumbs. Our solution: 20 minutes is the minimum. 30 minutes makes the dough even easier to shape. If needed, prepare the mixture the evening before and leave it to soak overnight in the fridge, then roll and cook the next day.
Foil wrapped too tightly or too loosely
Wrapped too tightly: the roll bursts because the dough expands during cooking. Wrapped too loosely: water gets in, the roll becomes watery and loses its shape. Our solution: Lay the foil loosely around the dough, twist the ends like a sweet wrapper, and seal both sides with half a turn. The roll should have a little room to expand, but water must not get in.
Variations we enjoy making
Bacon and onion. Fry 50 g of diced bacon with a finely diced onion in a pan and fold into the dough before the soaking time begins. We enjoy this version on its own with a green salad, without a roast alongside.
Chives instead of parsley. In spring we use fresh chives from the garden. 2 tbsp finely snipped give a milder, slightly oniony flavour that works well with mushroom dishes.
Spinach variation. Folding 100 g of thawed and well-squeezed frozen spinach into the dough produces green dumplings that look impressive and go well with a cheese sauce or a simple tomato sauce. We reduce the milk to 250 g in this case because the spinach brings its own moisture.
Cheese and mushroom filling. Press the rolled-out dough flat on the foil into a rectangle, scatter over fried button mushrooms and grated mountain cheese, then roll up. Each slice reveals a spiral of filling, which makes a lovely impression on guests.
What roast to serve alongside
We classically serve the slices alongside Bavarian beer-braised beef, because the dark beer sauce is soaked up perfectly by the soft dumplings. For Sunday meals with family, Thermomix® goulash soup comes to the table and we lay the dumpling slices straight into the deep bowl. Anyone who prefers round dumplings will find the version with the same ingredient list but a different shape in the classic bread dumplings recipe for the Thermomix®. Pork roast with dark beer sauce is also a reliable pairing, as the dumplings absorb the sauce without going soft.
3 days in the fridge, slices fried golden in butter
Leftover dumpling slices keep in an airtight container in the fridge for 3 days. We like to wrap the unsliced roll in cling film and slice it fresh just before serving, which keeps the slices firm. Frozen slices keep for 3 months. Pre-freeze them individually on a tray and then transfer to a bag so they do not stick together.
We fry leftover slices in a pan with 1 tbsp of butter until golden, 2 minutes on each side is enough. With a fried egg and a salad, the pan-fried slices make a complete lunch that often tastes better than the original side dish. If you want something heartier, beat 2 eggs with a splash of milk, pour over the fried slices in the pan, and leave to set. We call the result Knodelgrostl and it is our standard Monday meal whenever a roll is left over from Sunday.
Ready-made dumpling bread from the supermarket as a shortcut
Goes well with: Goulash.
When we cook on the spur of the moment and have no day-old bread rolls in the cupboard, we reach for ready-made dumpling bread cubes from the supermarket. The cubes are gently dehydrated, they keep their crumb structure and absorb the 300 g of milk during the 20-minute soaking time cleanly without collapsing into a mush. Stale bread rolls work by the same principle: the starch retrogrades as it dries and then absorbs liquid evenly, rather than repelling it at the surface as a fresh roll would. In the Thermomix® dumpling bread cubes make one step even easier, because we do not need to chop them first. We put the 300 g straight into the mixing bowl with the milk, eggs, salt, parsley, and oil and start immediately with 15 seconds at reverse direction / speed 3. The soaking time remains essential, and the result is a roll that holds together reliably in the Varoma.
If you are looking for more Bavarian side dishes, we also have round bread dumplings, goulash soup, and Bavarian beer-braised beef as matching main courses.
