This easy dumpling dough recipe allows you to quickly & easily make delicious homemade dumpling wrappers (dumpling skins). These dumpling wrappers can used to create boiled, steamed or fried dumplings (i.e. pork & cabbage dumplings). If you love Chinese food, you will really enjoy making your own homemade dumplings.
This recipe is also great for making dumplings for many other Asian-based cuisines (i.e. Japanese fried dumplings or Gyoza). You can also use this dough to make Xian Bing (pan fried Chinese meat pies).
Delicious Homemade Dumpling (Before Boiling or Frying)
This dumpling dough recipe is simple & easy to make. It shows you how to make the dough and “cut out” the dumpling wrappers (dumpling skins). Of course, you can then fill the dumpling wrappers with your favorite dumpling ingredients (i.e. ground pork & cabbage).
Recipe Sections
Dumpling Dough on Cutting Board
Ingredients – Easy Dumpling Dough Recipe
- 2 Cups – All Purpose Flour – 240 grams
- 3/4 Cup – Water (110-120 degrees F) – 175 milliliters
- 1/2 Teaspoon – Salt – 2.5 milliliters
Servings – 30-45 dumpling wraps (based on the size of your dumpling skins)
Equipment – Mixing bowl, digital thermometer (optional), spoon, cutting board or dough mat, rolling pin and cookie cutter.
Easy Method – Use Cookie Cutter to Cut Out Dumpling Wrapper
Instructions
- Use a large wooden spoon to stir the ingredients together in a large bowl until all of the water is absorbed. The ingredients will not come completely together until you knead the dough. FYI – The dumpling dough will be only a “shaggy dough” until kneaded.
- Knead the dough by hand for roughly 5-10 minutes until the dough is completely mixed together (and it forms a single large clump of dough – see picture at top of page). FYI – You can also use an electric stand mixer with dough hook. Pour all of the wet & dry ingredients into the electric stand mixer bowl. Set the mixer on a low speed (i.e. 2 or 3) and then mix for 2-3 minutes. Remove the dough from the mixer and then finish with a small amount of hand kneading (i.e. 1-2 minutes) until it forms a single lump of dough.
- Place the dough in a large bowl. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap & leave the dough inside the bowl to rest for 1 hour.
- After the hour, pour the dough onto a large baking mat or cutting board. FYI – Prior to pouring out the dough, sprinkle a little flour on the cutting board/baking mat in order to prevent the dough from sticking when it is rolled out. You should also sprinkle a little flour on top of the dough in order to prevent any sticking.
- Roll out the dough until it is roughly 1/16 inches thick. FYI – If the dough is too large for your cutting board or dough mat, you can divide the dough in half. Rolling out one half and making the dumpling wrappers (before rolling out the other dough half).
- After rolling out the dough, you should use a 3 or 4 inch cookie cutter to cut out perfectly round dumpling wrappers.
- Please read the tips section below for more information on how to make this recipe successfully.
- Optional – You should also read the tips section if you want to learn about the different ingredients that you can put inside the dumplings (i.e. ground pork and cabbage) or how to shape & seal the dumplings after you have added ingredients (i.e. meat) inside the dumpling skin.
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Dumpling Wrapper Shaped with Cookie Cutter
Helpful Tips
- The tips below are designed to help Chinese food & dumpling “novices”. This dumpling dough recipe is focused on Chinese dumplings but you can use these dumpling wrappers to make Japanese dumplings, Korean dumplings, etc.
- Click on our “print recipe” link if you want to print out this recipe. It includes all of the recipe’s ingredients and instructions. However, the recipe print function does not include our tips section. Please read the tips section in order to avoid common recipe problems.
- Dumplings are made with dough that is unleavened (the dough does not rise). Therefore, dumpling dough recipes generally do not include yeast, baking soda, etc.
- When my Chinese mother-in-law was alive, she would make dumpling wrappers in the traditional way by rolling the dough into a long dough “snake” or rope, breaking off small bits from the dough snake and rolling out each bit by hand into individual dumpling skins. However, this takes time… and she would yell at me if I did not “snap” the bits off the dough properly!!!
- However, as an American, I want to do things faster and easier. Therefore, I make dumplings by rolling out the dough into one big sheet and cutting out each dumpling wrapper with a cookie cutter. Much faster & easier in my non-Chinese opinion.
- Also my cookie cutter versions have a more uniform circle shape whereas hand rolled dumpling wrappers can be a little more lopsided (esp. when made by beginners).
- Based on a family’s preference, the diameter of a dumpling wrapper is roughly 3-4 inches (or 7.6-10.2 cm) as some people like larger or smaller dumplings. Many commercially produced dumpling wrappers in the US are approximately 3.5 inches (or 8.9 cm) in diameter. However, you can make the diameter of the dumpling as big or as small as you like. Just be aware that very large dumplings are more likely to break when fried, boiled, etc.
- The thickness of the dumpling skin should be roughly 1/16 inches thick (or .16 cm).
- Use a digital thermometer to measure the temperature of your water. The water temperature should be around 110-120 degrees F. Dough made with cold water is harder to roll out and dough made with boiling water is too soft for basic dumplings. Nevertheless, some recipes use boiling water in order to make very tender dumplings but these are more likely to break.
- Why “rest” the dumpling dough? After the hour long “rest”, the dough will be completely hydrated and easier to roll out. Some people like to rest the dough for only 15-20 minutes. I prefer dumpling dough that has rested for at least an hour (as the dough comes out smoother).
- Use FRESH flour for the best results when making this dumpling dough recipe. Flour that has been sitting in the pantry for months can become stale or pick up weird smells & flavors. Try to keep your ingredients (i.e. flour) in airtight containers in order to extend their shelf life.
- Sprinkle a little flour on your hands if the dough is sticking to your hands when you are working with the dough. This will help to reduce the stickiness.
- You can knead the dumpling dough by hand or use an electric stand mixer to do most (but not all) of the kneading.
- According to Wikipedia, examples of popular Chinese dumplings include “pork with Chinese cabbage, pork with garlic chives, pork and shrimp with vegetables, pork with spring onion, garlic chives with scrambled eggs”.
- Dumplings are often filled with ground meat, shrimp, vegetables, etc. While meat filled dumplings tend to be the most popular dumplings made in China, you can also find many different types of vegetarian dumplings (i.e. cabbage & mushroom).
- In my house, we usually like to make dumplings that contain ground pork & cabbage (everyone likes this combo), ground pork & leeks (my wife’s favorite) or ground pork & cilantro (my favorite!).
- Meat dumplings can be made with any type of ground meat (i.e. ground pork, ground chicken, ground beef, etc.). However, in China, ground pork is usually the most popular meat used to make dumplings.
- Visitors – What are your favorite ingredients (i.e. ground pork, ground chicken, leeks, etc.) to put inside dumplings? Please leave your suggestions in the comment box at the bottom of the page. Help others to make the perfect dumpling!
- In case you are interested – In China, the generic word for dumplings is “Jiaozi” (sounds like J-ow-zz). However, different words used for boiled dumplings (Shuijiao), steamed dumplings (Zhengjiao), fried dumplings (Guotie or Jianjiao), etc.
- Of course, in the US, they are known as dumplings, pot stickers (fried dumplings), etc.
- If you want to learn how to fold the dumplings wrappers, please watch these popular Youtube videos.
- Most people fold & seal the dumplings wrappers (with filler ingredients inside) by hand. However, some people like to use a “dumpling press” in order to mechanically squeeze things together for a more uniform look.
- If you want to learn how to make the fillings that go inside dumplings, you might like to watch these popular “how to” dumpling videos.
- YouTube – Pork-based dumpling recipes
- YouTube – Beef-based dumplings
- YouTube – Shrimp-based dumplings
- YouTube – Vegetable-based dumplings
- You can also use this dumpling dough recipe in order to make Xian Bing dough. Xian Bing are pan fried Chinese meat pies. They are sort of like dumplings but have a thicker crust and a round hockey puck shape. Xian Bing are also generally larger than dumplings. If you want to make a Xian Bing wrapper with this dough, the wrapper should be roughly 5 or 6 inches in diameter. FYI – Xian Bing is one of my favorite Chinese dishes!
- If you like this type of Chinese food, you might also want to look up Baozi recipes. Baozi are meat or vegetable filled buns. However, Baozi recipes use yeast leavened dough (unlike dumplings and Xian Bing which use unleavened dough – no yeast).
- My recipes are based on US ingredient measurements (i.e. US cups & tablespoons). However, as a courtesy to our European visitors, I have also included some very ROUGH European equivalents (i.e. grams & milliliters). Since I rarely use European measurements when baking, please let me know in the comment section below if any of the European ingredient measurements need to be changed (i.e. for XYZ ingredient, milliliters are more commonly used versus the grams information listed in the recipe).
- Always wear oven mitts/gloves when dealing with hot ovens, frying pans, etc.
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Questions
Are dumplings considered bread?
While most breads and dumplings are made with wheat flour, I would say that dumplings are closer to a sandwich or meat pie than an airy loaf of sandwich bread or even a plain flatbread. In my opinion, dumplings are sort of like miniature unleavened bread buns filled with meat, vegetables, etc.
Of course, please be aware that some dumplings are made with potato flour, buckwheat flour, etc.
Reference Sources
- Wikipedia, Chinese Cuisine
- Wikipedia, Dumpling
- Wikipedia, Dim Sum
- Wikipedia, Jiaozi
- Wikipedia, Wheat Flour
Easy Dumpling Dough Recipe (Dumpling Wrappers)
This easy dumpling dough recipe allows you to quickly & easily make delicious homemade dumpling wrappers (dumpling skins). Visit Bread Dad (BreadDad.com) for more easy recipes.
Servings: 40 Wrappers
Calories: 23kcal
Ingredients
- 2 Cups All Purpose Flour – 240 grams
- 3/4 Cup Water (110-120 degrees F) – 175 milliliters
- 1/2 Teaspoon Salt – 2.5 milliliters
Instructions
- Use a large wooden spoon to stir the ingredients together in a large bowl until all of the water is absorbed. The ingredients will not come completely together until you knead the dough. FYI – The dumpling dough will be only a "shaggy dough" until kneaded.
- Knead the dough by hand for roughly 5-10 minutes until the dough is completely mixed together (and it forms a single large clump of dough – see picture at top of page). FYI – You can also use an electric stand mixer with dough hook. Pour all of the wet & dry ingredients into the electric stand mixer bowl. Set the mixer on a low speed (i.e. 2 or 3) and then mix for 2-3 minutes. Remove the dough from the mixer and then finish with a small amount of hand kneading (i.e. 1-2 minutes) until it forms a single lump of dough.
- Place the dough in a large bowl. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap & leave the dough inside the bowl to rest for 1 hour.
- After the hour, pour the dough onto a large baking mat or cutting board. FYI – Prior to pouring out the dough, sprinkle a little flour on the cutting board/baking mat in order to prevent the dough from sticking when it is rolled out. You should also sprinkle a little flour on top of the dough in order to prevent any sticking.
- Roll out the dough until it is roughly 1/16 inches thick. FYI – If the dough is too large for your cutting board or dough mat, you can divide the dough in half. Rolling out one half and making the dumpling wrappers (before rolling out the other dough half).
- After rolling out the dough, you should use a 3 or 4 inch cookie cutter to cut out perfectly round dumpling wrappers.
- Please read the tips section for more information on how to make this recipe successfully.
Notes
This is a Bread Dad recipe and may not be copied or reproduced. This recipe is copyright protected under the US Digital Millennium Copyright Act. Legal Disclaimer
Estimated nutritional information is based on a single uncooked dumpling wrapper and does not cover potential fillings (i.e. ground pork & cabbage). The nutritional information is provided using recipe tools such as WP Recipe Maker. These figures should only be considered as an estimate. They should not be construed as a guarantee of accuracy given visitors may use different serving sizes, ingredients, etc. See our legal disclaimer for additional nutrition disclosures.
Nutrition
Serving: 1Dumpling Wrapper | Calories: 23kcal | Carbohydrates: 5g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 1g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 1g | Sodium: 29mg | Potassium: 7mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 1g | Calcium: 1mg | Iron: 1mg
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