How to make czech fruit dumplings

I always buy a big block of yeast in Superstore's bakery. I've never been able to use all of it before it goes bad :(

Not untill now. I didn't know it's possible to freeze yeast, I always thought it would kill it, but I was wrong :) so I'm cutting it up in 4pcs and putting three in the freezer :)

Again, take a cup with warm water, pinch of sugar and crumble some yeast in it. When it's floating, dump it in your bowl with flour and egg. Use a wooden spoon to work out dough.

I had to add more flour, because I had too much water. It's always easier to put more flour in runny dough than putting more water in dry dough. It will be sticky, but not too liquidy.

Cover your bowl with a clean tea-towel and let the dough rise for about 30 min.

My mom-in-law Christina gave me the best present last Christmas. A big wok pan with a steaming part! She knows how I love to make my dumplings :)

You can use this instead. Put it in a regular pot with some water (bellow the bottom of this thingy) and it will work the same way. Put a paper towel under your pot's lid to avoid dripping water.

You can also cook the dumplings in a pot of boiling water, I just prefer steam, so they're not slimy.

Take a spoon and get a chunk of your dough and place it on your counter with flour.

It's really sticky, don't forget to flour your hands :) now make a ball in your palms.

I'm too lazy to bother trying to get them in the same size. They'll be ugly, but don't worry, we'll fix that :)

Put a tea-towel over your pot to avoid dripping water from the lid. Bring your water to boil.

Place your dumplings on the towel (try to make them in a ball again) and put the lid on.

I left them there for about 7 min, just in case :)

Make sure to poke them with a fork before you take them out to let all that steam out and so they don't go flat.

Not bad :)

Yup, the sizes vary a lot :D I'm letting them cool down, my honey isn't home from work yet. I will reheat them the same way as I cooked them.

You can also reheat them in a microwave. Just put them in a sandwich zipploc bag and heat for few seconds, they get hot really quick. Without a bag, they'd go dry.

Dumplings in Czech Republic are filled with fruit, but not having the same type of flour, it's really hard to do here. Favourite fillings are: apricots, strawberries, blueberries...

Apple dumplings are another favourite. They're made with a different dough made of "tvaroh" (creamcheese would be the closest thing), but that's for another guide :)

I'll be using a frozen 4 Berry mix to make my fruit sauce.

Muffy got a frozen strawberry as a treat. Being the little naughty dog she is, I had to hurry and hold it for her, she was about to stain the carpet :)

Warm up some fruit with sugar. Let it sizzle till the fruit gets hot and mash it with your spoon. Blend the fruit if you don't want chunks.

Sprinkle with some confectionare sugar. Hot and ready to enjoy, mmm :9