I needed to use up some leftover chuck roast from Sunday's dinner and had to feed my starter, so I opted to make a simple beef stew and top it with some sourdough dumpling buns. In this particular case, the buns are flavored with sharp, shredded cheddar cheese and a little dried dill. The buns are much more like yeast rolls that top a savory beef stew than drop dumplings for soup. I let the buns rise first before placing them atop the hot stew, then I bake everything until the stew is bubbly and the buns have lightly browned on top. The buns have a great yeasty taste that contrasts nicely with the savory stew. Although I used the buns to top beef stew, you also can put them atop barbecued beef or pork or a chicken stew. I think the buns would make a great topping for a bean stew, too--you choose! Enjoy!
Sourdough Cheddar-Dill Dumpling Buns for Stews -- Makes 12 Buns
1 cup of sourdough starter/discard
1 large egg
1/4 cup of canola oil
1/4 cup of milk
1/2 cup of white whole-wheat flour (or regular whole-wheat flour)
1 teaspoon of dried dill
1/3 cup of shredded sharp cheddar cheese
1/2 cup of all-purpose flour
In a large bowl mix together well the starter/discard, egg, oil, milk, white whole-wheat flour, dill, and cheese. Mix in the all-purpose flour until thoroughly combined. You'll have a batter that's quite thick (almost a dough). Let the mixture sit for at least an hour. I usually make my mixture in the morning and let it sit for 4-5 hours, and it's fine. When you're ready, add:
1 cup of all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon of salt
Mix the flour and salt into the first mixture to form a soft dough. Knead the dough for 3-5 minutes, adding about 1/4 cup flour, if necessary, as you knead, to prevent the dough from being too sticky to knead. The amount of flour you need to add as you knead will depend on how the stiffness of your original starter and the conditions in your kitchen (humidity, temperature, etc.). You just want a dough that's soft, easy to knead, and not too sticky. Divide the dough into 12 pieces, roll each piece into a ball, and place the balls on a piece of plastic wrap or waxed paper to rise. Let the dough balls rise until they have increased in size by about one-third. The rising process takes 2-3 hours in my relatively cool (68 degrees or so) kitchen.
While the dough rises, make your stew. You want the stew to be hot when you're ready to place the dough on top. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. When you're ready to bake your stew and the dough balls have risen, place the balls on top of the hot stew, leaving an inch or so between the dough balls. Bake the stew and dough balls for 20-25 minutes or until the stew is bubbling and the buns have turned a light, golden brown.
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