Even as a little girl I watched my mum and my grandma make the dough for Spätzli or Knöpfli from scratch. My dad and my grandpa often took on this task too.
To be honest, my grandpa was even a master of this discipline. He often cooked a huge batch together with my grandma, which we then froze so that we always had fresh Spätzle to hand. Really practical.
The tradition of making Spätzle dough yourself was passed on to me, which is why I now master this discipline as well. But let me reassure you: making the little things completely from scratch may sound a bit complicated, but in reality it's quick and easy to do.
For classic Spätzle you only need a few ingredients: flour, eggs, salt and milk-water. The most important thing about Spätzle dough, however, is the consistency. The dough should be thick and viscous and drip off a spoon. To achieve this, the dough isn't just stirred but "beaten" with a wooden spoon. And that for as long as it takes until the dough starts to form bubbles and drips off the spoon. A great workout, after which you've doubly earned your meal ;).
You then let the dough rest briefly and either "scrape" it (for Spätzle pros) or push it through a Spätzle sieve into gently simmering salted water. As soon as they float to the surface they're done and can be fished out of the water. Let them drain well briefly, put them in a bowl and then they're ready to be used further.
But whether you're a pro or a beginner – Spätzle are always a good idea and go with practically everything. You really must give it a try.
Homemade Knöpfli – Basic Recipe
- Cooking time5 min
- Resting time30 min
- Total35 min
- Calories330kcal
- Carbohydrates54gof which sugars 2 g
- Protein13g
- Fat5gof which saturated 2 g
- Fibre3g
per serving
Ingredients
- 200 gr spelt flour (white)
- 100 gr Spätzli flour
- 1 tsp salt
- 1.5 dl milk-water (half milk, half water)
- 3 eggs (fresh)
- Salt
Method
- In a bowl, mix the flour, Spätzli flour and salt and press a well into the middle.
- Whisk the milk-water with the eggs and pour it little by little into the well, stirring it in.
- Mix everything together and beat until the dough forms bubbles.
- Cover the finished dough and leave it to swell at room temperature for 30 mins.
- Bring water to a simmer in a large pot and season with salt or vegetable stock.
- Now press the dough in batches through the Knöpfli sieve into the gently simmering water. Let the Knöpfli poach until they rise to the surface. Then scoop them out with a ladle, let them drain and put them in a bowl.
- Repeat the process until there's no dough left.
- The finished Knöpfli can now be used further or simply fried in a pan with a little butter so that they turn golden brown and slightly crisp.
Notes
- I like to make the dough with white spelt flour best. Its flavour hardly differs from normal wheat flour, but it's healthier and easier to digest for many people. If you'd rather use wheat flour, though, you can do so without any problem at all.
- This basic recipe works well as a side dish with meat dishes or vegetables. The Knöpfli can also be turned into a Spätzli and vegetable pan very nicely. You'll find the recipe for that here.
Cooking with essential oils
How to dose essential oils (toothpick method!), when to add them and what to look out for — it is all in the guide.
Have you made this recipe? Tag @oatoclock_blog on Instagram so we can see the result.
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