Semmelknödel — Austrian Stale-Bread Dumplings with Parsley

Cut the stale rolls, crust and all, into 1 cm cubes and place them in a large bowl. The bread should be truly stale—two to three days old, not one day old. Fresh bread absorbs the milk immediately and turns to mush. If the bread is very dry, warm it in the oven for 5 minutes to dry it further.

Add the eggs, onion-parsley mixture, flour, salt, black pepper, and nutmeg to the soaked bread. Mix by hand, pressing the ingredients together. Let some bread cubes break down while others keep their shape; this gives the knödel their texture. The mixture is ready when it holds together in your palm. If it crumbles, add 10 g more flour.

Wet your hands, divide the dough into 12 equal portions, and squeeze each one into a smooth ball in your palms. Firmly shaping them is important; loosely formed knödel can open up in the water. Cook one dumpling by itself as a test. If it falls apart, add more flour to the remaining dough.

Bring salted water to a boil in a wide pot, then lower the heat; the surface should barely quiver, not bubble. Lower the knödel into the water with a slotted spoon and cook uncovered. Once they rise to the surface, cook for another 10 minutes. Lift them out with the slotted spoon, drain, and serve hot with meat gravy.