Kopytka: soft Polish potato dumplings that hold together
Kopytka made from potatoes boiled in their skins and pressed through a ricer, with one egg and only as much flour as the dough needs to hold. Too much flour gives rubbery dumplings, too little and they fall apart in the water: this proportion is tested. With buttered breadcrumbs, or beside a goulash.
Your own work in that: 40 min.
- Potatoes boiling 25 min
- Dough 10 min
- Shaping 15 min
- Boiling 15 min
Step by step
0 / 7 done
Boil the potatoes in their skins
Wash the potatoes and boil them in their skins in salted water for 25 minutes, until tender. In their skins they take up less water, and drier potatoes mean less flour and more delicate dumplings. Peel while still warm.
Ingredients: 1000 g potatoes · 250 g plain flour · 2 tbsp potato starch · 1 pcs egg · 1 tsp salt
TipYesterday's potatoes from the fridge are even better: drier and cold, so the dough doesn't stick to your hands.
Skins on, peeled warm
Press through a ricer
Press the peeled potatoes through a ricer (or a mincer) onto a floured counter. Cool to lukewarm. A masher leaves lumps, a blender makes glue.
A ricer gives a fluffy, lump-free mass
Make the dough
Make a well in the potato, crack in the egg, add the salt, flour and potato starch. Bring together quickly, only until combined. The dough should be soft and slightly sticky. If it sticks badly, add one spoon of flour, no more.
TipLong kneading releases starch and makes glue. A minute is enough.
Egg in the well, flour around, knead briefly
Shape the dumplings
Divide the dough into 4 and roll each on a floured counter into a rope 2 cm thick. Flatten slightly and cut on the diagonal into 3 cm diamonds. Hence the name: they look like little hooves.
2 cm rope, cut on the diagonal
Boil
Bring a wide pot of salted water to the boil. Drop in the dumplings in batches and stir so they don't stick. Once they float, cook 2 minutes and lift out with a slotted spoon.
TipBoil one test dumpling before shaping the rest: if it falls apart, add flour; if it is tough, the dough was overworked.
Floating: two minutes and done
Make the topping
Melt the butter in a pan, add the breadcrumbs and fry, stirring, until golden. For the version with bacon (no longer meat-free), render the finely diced bacon first, then add the butter and crumbs.
Ingredients: 50 g butter · 3 tbsp breadcrumbs · 100 g smoked bacon
Breadcrumbs in butter, golden
Serve
Pour the topping over the dumplings. Also excellent with goulash or mushroom sauce, or pan-fried in butter the next day until crisp.
With buttered breadcrumbs
Before you start
Kopytka vs Silesian dumplings
Silesian dumplings use potato starch instead of wheat flour and are round with a dimple. Kopytka are more floury, diamond-shaped, with just a little starch.
Freezing
Freeze raw dumplings on a board, then bag. Boil from frozen, a minute longer.
Sweet
With butter and sugar, with yogurt and fruit, or with strawberry sauce. Children prefer this version.
Nutrition
per 100 gStep photos are computer-generated from the recipe.
