Germknödel mit Mohn (vegan) (vegan steamed yeast dumplings with poppy seed)

Method

1. Whisk the flour, sugar, yeast and salt together. Add the warm oat milk and margarine, mix to a dough, then knead by hand for about 8 minutes, until smooth.
2. Cover and prove in a warm place for 45 minutes, until roughly doubled.
3. Divide the dough into 4 pieces. Flatten each into a disc, spoon a tablespoon of thick plum jam into the centre, and gather the edges up, pinching firmly to seal into a smooth ball with the seam underneath.
4. Arrange the dumplings on squares of parchment, seam-down, spaced apart, and cover loosely. Prove 15 minutes.
5. Set up a steamer over simmering water. Place the dumplings, still on their parchment squares, in the steamer basket, spaced so they can expand without touching.
6. Steam 18 to 20 minutes, covered, without lifting the lid for at least the first 15 minutes; the dumplings need steady, uninterrupted steam to rise properly.
7. Meanwhile, grind the poppy seeds coarsely in a spice grinder, then mix with the sugar.
8. Lift the dumplings out and brush generously with melted vegan butter. Scatter thickly with the sugared poppy seed. Serve warm, torn open rather than sliced.

Method in the Thermomix

Written for a TM5 or TM6, 2.2 litre bowl. This covers kneading the dough and grinding the poppy seed; filling, shaping and steaming stay by hand.

1. Flour, sugar, yeast and salt into the bowl. Add the warm oat milk and margarine. Knead 3 min / dough mode.
2. Tip out, prove and continue by hand from step 3 of the hand method.
3. Rinse the bowl. Poppy seeds into the dry bowl. Grind 10 sec / speed 6, to a coarse texture. Mix with the sugar.

Notes

• Steam the dumplings, do not boil them. Boiling waterlogs the dough and gives a dense, heavy result; steady steam over simmering water is what keeps them light and pillowy.
• Do not open the steamer lid in the first 15 minutes. Losing steam mid-rise stops the dumplings from expanding properly and they stay small and dense.
• Seal the dumplings firmly around the jam. A poorly sealed dumpling leaks its filling into the steamer during cooking.
• They are best eaten warm, straight from the steamer; they firm up and lose their pillowy texture once fully cooled, though a quick re-steam revives them reasonably well.

Ingredient substitutions

• Plum jam is traditional here and worth seeking out; a thick apricot jam is a reasonable substitute if unavailable.
• Oat milk can be any plant milk.
• Vegan margarine should be a block-style baking margarine rather than a spreadable tub, which often has too much water for this dough.