These homemade old fashioned hard dumplings are a dense, noodle-like dumpling that was made in the 1700’s. Soldiers in the 1700’s were given simple rations like one pound of bread a day and one pound of meat a day and sometimes the bread was substituted for flour in which these hard dumplings would be made. It is very simple actually, all you need is a bit of flour, pinch of salt and some water to create these little hard dumplings. They are called hard dumplings because they are just that — they are not fluffy because there are no leavening agents and instead are dense and chewy.
Here is what I found in Hannah Glasse’s Art of Cookery Made Plain and Easy (there have been several editions of this book between 1747 to 2015) and these hard dumplings would go great with a soldier’s boiled beef in the 1700’s.
To make hard dumplings, mix flour and water, with a little salt, like a paste, roll them in balls as big as a turkey’s egg, roll them in a little flour, have the water boiling, throw them in the water, and half an hour will boil them. They are best boiled with a good piece of beef. You may add, for a change, a few currents. Have melted butter in a cup.
From The Art of Cookery, Made Plain and Easy by Hannah Glasse, 1774
You may be curious as to what these dumplings pair with — really, they go well with anything you may want a rice or pasta with. These go great with meat dishes like minc’d collops (basically chopped meat in a sauce or gravy) or added to a pot of soup or stew. They are best fresh but still taste good the next day. Often the soldiers would add them to their boiled meat that would be cooking over the fire for much of the day.
Let’s get started!
Combine flour, salt and ginger or parsley together. Stir well. Ginger was traditionally used in the 1800’s. The soldiers may not have used parsley since it may not have been available to them, but parsley and other herbal greens may have been used by households in the 1800’s. We are using red fife flour, but you can use your favorite flour!
Add enough water to form a dough.
Turn out onto floured surface. Knead until dough comes together.
Tear pieces off and roll into rounds. Place in a bowl and continue rolling until dough is done. Here is this batch, we added ginger which tastes delicious with minc’d collops (more information on this dish below).
Traditionally, you would roll them the size of an egg, however, we found the smaller we rolled them, the better they really were. They were able to cook through better and be far less chewy. In the online historic cook-along we participated in, many who made them large found they were not cooked through, and were difficult to eat and hard to cut through! Thank goodness I decided to make them smaller!!
In this batch, we added fresh parsley. You can add ginger or parsley or other herbs and seasonings like pepper or cayenne. Traditionally, ginger is what was added. I like the freshness of parsley, especially when adding these hard dumplings to stews or soups. We tossed them in a little flour to prevent them from sticking together.
At this point they can be added to soups and stews near the end of the cooking time. I add the dumplings at the last 15 minutes of cooking my soups and stews!
To have the hard dumplings with a meat and gravy type meal, we need to boil them. Boil water and add a pinch of salt to it. Add dumplings and cook until they float, about 10 to 15 minutes, and about 30 to 40 minutes if they are much larger.
hard dumplings added to the boiling water 
after about 10 minutes, they will float to the top and are done
Remove from pot and place in a bowl. Add 1 to 2 tbsp butter. The butter adds a nice flavor and helps prevent them from sticking together. These really are delicious way to experience history!
Homemade Old Fashioned Hard Dumplings
1 cup flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup water
You can also add 1 tbsp fresh parsley, chopped or 1/2 tsp dried parsley or 1/2 tsp ground ginger
Combine flour, salt and parsley together. Add enough water to form a dough. Tear into small pieces and roll. Place dumplings in a bowl and continue rolling dough until complete. (We find rolling them the size of a dime, or even a quarter, is the best — much larger and they need more time to cook and become rather tough and chewy.)
Place in a pot of boiling water and boil until they float, about 10 minutes. Remove from water and place in bowl. Add a spoonful of butter and mix. Serve with meat and gravy like minc’d collops.
To add to a soup or stew, once rolled, carefully drop into boiling soup or stew. Cook 10 to 15 minutes, or until they float to the top.
What is Minc’d Collops?
Minc’d Collops – was made in the 1700’s and essentially means “chopped meat.” This was their version of ground meat and the meat would have been chopped fine and then seasonings and other things added to create a gravy. Then this meat and gravy would be served with these, rather large, hard dumplings — recipe coming soon!
