Homemade Dumpling Wrappers

Directions

• Before We Start

  Hydration Levels: We are aiming for 55% hydration.
  Flour Types: We personally love the chewy texture of just using all purpose flour. If you want a more delicate wrapper, you can replace about 1/3 of the flour with cake flour to achieve a silkier wrapper.
  Thinner Wrappers: If you have a pasta roller, you can use that to get the wrappers as thin as you want. You can use a round cookie cutter to stamp them out. For thicker wrappers, we aim for 3 ins, but when they are thinner, you have less room to stretch, so go for a 3.5 in or 3.8 in cutter.
  How many wrappers: This recipe will make about 50-60 wrappers

• Heat the water

  In a small pot or kettle heat a few cups of water to a boil and then turn off the stove. We are aiming for between 150–180°F.
  Note: Water from an espresso machine also works here.

• Mix the Dough

  In a large bowl or stand mixer bowl, add the flour and salt. Mix until well incorporated. Then measure and add the hot water. Give it a rough mix to form a shaggy ball.

• Knead the Dough

  Knead the dough or use a stand mixer with the dough hook on medium speed for about 5 mins. The dough should be easy to handle and smooth.

• Shape and cover

  Fold the dough in on itself and pinch off the bottom to create a round ball with a nice smooth top. Return to the bowl and cover with a damp towel or plastic wrap.

• Rest

  Let the dough rest for 45 mins.
  Note: This is a good time to make the filling.
  Recipe: Pork & Cabbage Gyoza
  

• Make Dough Logs

  Dough logs… That has a nice ring to it.
  To make our logs, we got to make a doughnut first. Poke a hole in the center of the dough ball and begin stretching the dough out. Working your way around the entire length of the dough doughnut until it is about 1 in in thickness all the way around.
  Cut the doughnut in half with a bench scraper/dough knife. Place the logs under your damp towel or some more plastic wrap to keep it from drying out while we work.

• Stretch the Wrappers

  Watch the video.
  Cut 10–12 g pieces with a bench scraper and weigh them with a scale until you get a feel for the right amount. Form a ball by folding it in on itself and pinching it off. Then roll it between your hands to finish smoothing it into a round ball.
  Coat the ball in the flour.
  Flatten the ball with your fingers and then use a small rolling pin to get it started, going from the bottom to the top of the flattened ball. Rotating it in half turns after each pass. Do this about 2–3 times around.
  Then you will roll the pin just half way up the wrapper while holding the upper half of the wrapper with your hand, giving it slight turns each time. You will start in the middle and then work towards the edge with your hand so the dough is slightly thinner around the edges.
  
  Note: Your hand is doing the stretching and the rolling pin is really just there to provide even tension. You want it to be big enough to use a 3–3.5 in cutter to stamp out the wrapper. Then coat it with flour on both sides and repeat.
  
  Warning: Don’t stack too many of them on top of each other because the weight can make them start to stick together. You can coat these with potato starch or corn starch, but it is not necessary if you plan to assemble your dumpling right after making them.

• Option 2: Without a cutter

  Once you have got pretty good at keeping the wrapper pretty round, you can reduce the amount of dough to 7–9 g per wrapper, then roll them out and skip the cutting stage. If it is a bit wonky, you can just pull it into shape at the end.

• Option 3: Pasta Roller

  This certainly isn’t the traditional method, but it does require less skill and is faster. You would roll them out like you would pasta to the setting 6 for the final pass. Then use a 3.5–4 in cutter to stamp them into wrappers. ~3.8 in is what most factory wrappers are sized at.