Homemade Dumpling Wrappers

By Genevieve Ko

Homemade Dumpling Wrappers
Christopher Simpson for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Barrett Washburne.
Total Time
45 minutes, plus resting
Rating
4(556)
Notes
Read community notes

From-scratch dumpling dough requires only two ingredients — flour and water — and the water temperature yields different types of wrappers. Cold water is best for boiled dumplings because it causes the flour’s proteins to form the gluten that makes dough chewy and able to withstand vigorously boiling water. Hot water denatures flour’s proteins, resulting in dough supple enough to roll very thin and into tender wrappers ideal for pan-fried and steamed dumplings, such as chile crisp dumplings. The hot water for this dough should be hotter than warm and cooler than boiling and can come from the faucet’s hot tap. Letting the dough rest allows it to more fully absorb the water and relax, which will make rolling even easier.

Featured in: The Best Part of From-Scratch Dumplings May Be Making Them

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Ingredients

Yield:About 35 wrappers
  • 2⅓cups/305 grams all-purpose flour, plus more if needed
  • ¾cup/180 milliliters hot water
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (4 servings)

278 calories; 1 gram fat; 0 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 0 grams monounsaturated fat; 0 grams polyunsaturated fat; 58 grams carbohydrates; 2 grams dietary fiber; 0 grams sugars; 8 grams protein; 3 milligrams sodium

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

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Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Place the flour in a large bowl and set the bowl on a damp kitchen towel so it won’t slip. Add the hot water in a steady stream while stirring with chopsticks or a fork. Stir until all the flour is hydrated and the mixture becomes shaggy. Let stand until cool enough to handle, 2 to 5 minutes.

  2. Step 2

    Use your hands to gather and knead the shaggy mass into a ball in the bowl. Turn out onto a work surface and knead until slightly elastic, 5 to 10 minutes. The dough should be tacky but not sticky, and it won’t look completely smooth. If it sticks to the surface, flour the work surface lightly and continue kneading. Knead into a ball and cover loosely with a clean damp kitchen towel or plastic wrap. Let stand for at least 30 minutes or up to 1 hour.

  3. Step 3

    Divide the dough in half. Roll one piece to a 1/16-inch thickness. You shouldn’t need to flour the surface while rolling, but do so if the dough is sticking. Once the dough is thin enough, lift it off the surface, flour the surface lightly, and place the dough back down. Cut out 3½-inch rounds as close together as possible, then gather the scraps and cover the rounds with the damp kitchen towel or plastic wrap. Repeat with the remaining dough and knead those scraps with the first batch of scraps, then let rest for 5 minutes before rerolling and cutting. (See Note for a more traditional way to roll the wrappers.) Use the wrappers immediately for dumplings, such as chile crisp dumplings.

Tip
  • You also can roll the wrappers the traditional way: In Step 3, roll the rested dough into a snake and cut into 35 even pieces. Roll a piece into a ball, flatten slightly, then roll into a 3½-inch round with a dowel, rolling the edges thinner than the center. Repeat with the remaining pieces.

Ratings

4 out of 5
556 user ratings
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Private Notes

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Cooking Notes

JRFine

Can you make this with a gluten free flour? If so, which is preferred?

John

A pasta machine can come in very handy in the rolling out process, esp., in achieving uniform desired thickness.

Eddie

I've made several variations on homemade dumpling wrappers, and just tried these out for the first time. I find that when a counter needs to be floured, it's better to use cornstarch—it also gives the dumplings a better texture when they're finally steamed.

Anne

The recipe talks about the ease of making these with glutinous rice flour, but there is no recipe for using it.

Rohma

I’ve made these before and they make great dumplings! i use boiling water and a wooden spoon to do the initial mixing and once the dough is slightly cooled, knead it by hand.

Robert Prince

After 40 years of being a Chinese chef, I have concluded the wrappers (dumpling, wonton, egg roll, and spring roll) can be made in a noodle factory. They are inexpensive and good quality, and making them by hand is just too tedious for me. Of course, there's a big difference between making a dozen for your family and making 300 for a catered banquet. You should make them once, though, so you understand the process. And if you love cooking Chinese food, see the film, "Eat Drink Man Woman."

Linda

This is a beautiful dough. I made mine in the food processor and after hand kneading, let rest for an hour. I then used my pasta machine to roll out silky sheets of dough (rolled to a thinness of #5 on my Atlas machine) and used a 3” biscuit cutter. I got 64 wrappers. I used rice flour to keep them from sticking. They formed easily and cooked to a nice translucent dumpling.

Carice

A wide mouthed canning jar lid is just a hair under 3-1/2” if you don’t have the right size cutter

N

Can you make these wrappers a few days in advance of the dumplings? How would you store them?

Allison

I would not use whole wheat flour because, as the introduction states , the dough is supposed to be thin ( and not too heavy). If you do think that whole wheat is preferred, then I would use white whole wheat.

Serina

I thought the same thing then re-read and realized the rice flour is used in the other recipe for Tang Yuan.

Suzanne

I've become a gyoza guru! I love to add a drizzle of toasted sesame oil to my dough in the shaggy state!

JuanZ

Bob’s Red Mill one to one GF flour works well in this recipe. Use the snake method for cutting rolling the dough into individual rounds - you don’t want to mess with a cookie cutter and GF dough.

Matt Nousak

Roll a snake out of the dough, cut into pieces, shape each piece into a ball, flatten slightly into a disc by hand, and then run them through a set of pasta rollers. Try cutting one piece first to get an idea of how big a wrapper it'll yield, then cut the rest to suit. To stay true to wrapper tradition, roll out the edges a bit thinner with a dowel or small pin after running through the rollers.

Brie G

So stupid easy that I'm ashamed it took me so long to make. No special equipment required. Just hot water and flour kneaded till soft and smooth (took 5 minutes for me) and then rested. I rested it for a few hours as I made other stuff for the meal. The dough was perfect and easy to work with. I had extra after my stuffing was used so I made scallion pancakes with it too. Amazing! Never buying wrappers again!

Melissa

I’ve had this dough in my queue forever, and finally decided to make dumplings yesterday. I mixed and kneaded the dough with my stand mixer, then used my pasta roller to roll out the dough (shout out to the person who suggested that; it worked like a charm!) I made the suggested chile crisp dumplings and some pork ones, too. Just terrific!

Lisa

I have made dumplings before but always used store bought wrappers with my own filling. I skipped the 90 minutes roundtrip to the Asian grocery and tried homemade. What a pleasure! I prepped ingredients for the Chile crisp dumplings while the dough rested. I rolled the wrappers "The traditional way" so there were no cutters or reused scraps. I divided dough in quarters and got 9 wrappers weighing 10gr each from each quarter (totaling 36.) Dough was like silk and very forgiving. Thank you!

Grossed out

You should not be consuming hot tap water. You're either getting water that sits stagnant in a water heater with mineral build-up, or even if you have flow through hot water, there is a risk of lead if your pipes have soldered joints.

Bon

Scale measurement is perfect. Thank you for sharing flour and water ratio.

Asiah G.

Why hot water instead of cold? Asking because I’m learning.

Su

Read the introductory note to the recipe; it provides a helpful explanation.

Maggie

Can you used an electric stand mixer with dough hook to do the kneading?

Diane

Whiz it all in the food processor until it becomes a ball, then let is sit and steam in an oiled plastic bag for the allotted time; no need to knead that way.

Question

Can the dough be dyed different colors? What do you use for that?

ez

If you are going to make a lot of dumplings at one time or make dumplings a lot a device called a 'dumpling press' is useful. There is an assortment of metal and plastic one on Amazon.

JuanZ

Bob’s Red Mill one to one GF flour works well in this recipe. Use the snake method for cutting rolling the dough into individual rounds - you don’t want to mess with a cookie cutter and GF dough.

Brenda

How do you use Gluten Free flour for this? Same amount as white flour? I have family with Celiacs so we need Gluten Free options please!

Linda

This is a beautiful dough. I made mine in the food processor and after hand kneading, let rest for an hour. I then used my pasta machine to roll out silky sheets of dough (rolled to a thinness of #5 on my Atlas machine) and used a 3” biscuit cutter. I got 64 wrappers. I used rice flour to keep them from sticking. They formed easily and cooked to a nice translucent dumpling.

Melissa Rose

I agree, why isn't this a rice flour recipe, in the linked recipe for the wrappers?

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