When the late-October fog settles over the Salzach valley and the days get noticeably shorter, nothing beats a steaming bowl of soup. And right at the top of our list has always been semolina dumpling soup, the Austrian Grießnockerlsuppe: clear beef broth, fluffy little dumplings and a sprinkle of chives. Today we’ll show you how to make it with freshly milled spelt semolina, and we’ve added two more soups from grandma’s Salzburg kitchen that have almost been forgotten.
Here in Hallein, a Sunday without soup is hard to imagine. When grandma was shaping her dumplings, we children were only allowed to watch, and heaven help anyone who lifted the lid too early. A little of that ceremony still lives on in our soup pot today.
In the Salzburg countryside, soup was the heart of the farmhouse kitchen for generations. It was cheap, warmed you up after work in the barn or the fields and could be stretched with whatever was in the pantry: a little flour, a piece of bread, a handful of barley. Many of these recipes need only a few ingredients, which is exactly why each one matters.
When you mill your own grain, you notice it straight away. Freshly milled spelt smells nutty and brings the whole kernel, germ and bran included, into your soup. In simple dishes like toasted flour soup or semolina dumplings, that makes a real difference.
Semolina dumpling soup is a true classic of Austrian cooking. The basic recipe couldn’t be simpler: butter, egg and semolina in a ratio of roughly 1 : 1 : 2. For 4 people (8 to 12 dumplings, depending on size) you’ll need:
Set your mill to a coarse setting and mill the spelt. Then sift off the fine flour with a fine sieve. What stays in the sieve is your hearty wholegrain spelt semolina. Depending on your mill and setting, you may need to experiment a little until you like the texture. Don’t throw the sifted flour away: it’s perfect for the toasted flour soup below.
Beat the soft butter until fluffy, add the egg and keep beating until creamy. Then stir in the semolina, a good pinch of salt and a little nutmeg. Cover and let the mixture rest in the fridge for at least 30 minutes. Wholegrain semolina needs a bit more time to soak up the moisture than fine wheat semolina, so a little longer won’t hurt.
Dip two teaspoons in hot water and use them to shape small oval dumplings, passing the mixture from one spoon to the other a few times until it looks neat. Don’t worry if the first ones aren’t perfect: in the soup, they all taste just as good.
Slide the dumplings into gently simmering salted water and let them cook very softly for about 10 minutes. Then take the pot off the heat, cover it and let the dumplings steep for another 10 to 15 minutes. That’s what makes them light and fluffy inside. Lift them into the hot broth with a slotted spoon, scatter over the chives and enjoy.
Our tip: cooking the dumplings in salted water rather than in the broth keeps your soup lovely and clear. And if you’re making a beef broth on Sunday anyway, you can prepare the dumpling mixture in the morning.
Brennsuppe, or toasted flour soup, was an everyday meal in many Alpine farmhouses, often even for breakfast. It’s basically just fat, flour and water, and yet it tastes wonderfully savoury. This is where the flour you sifted from your semolina comes in handy.
Melt the fat in a pot, sprinkle in the flour and toast it, stirring constantly, until it turns a nice brown and smells nutty. Keep an eye on it, because if it gets too dark it quickly turns bitter. Then gradually pour in cold water or broth, whisking well so no lumps form. Season with caraway, salt and pepper and let it simmer gently for about 15 minutes. Serve with bread cubes.
Gerstlsuppe, a hearty barley soup, is known throughout the Alps. It’s made with pearl barley, which is hulled and polished barley. It’s best to buy it ready-made, as you can’t produce it with a grain mill. Root vegetables like carrots, celeriac and leeks go in too, often a piece of smoked pork and a bay leaf. Let the soup simmer away for a good hour until the barley is tender and the soup is thick and creamy.
And of course, you’ll want a good slice of bread with it. A hearty wholegrain loaf is perfect, for example our Austrian farmhouse bread with freshly milled grain.
With your Salzburg grain mill you mill exactly as much as you need: coarse for semolina, fine for toasting. That’s how a few simple ingredients become a meal that tastes of childhood and cosy farmhouse parlours. We wish you warm autumn evenings and a hearty appetite!
Facebook teaser:
Fog outside, a steaming soup pot inside! We make our Austrian semolina dumpling soup with freshly milled spelt semolina, fluffy just like grandma’s. Plus two almost forgotten classics from Salzburg’s farmhouse kitchens: toasted flour soup and barley soup. Find all the recipes here: https://getreidemuehle.com/en/recipes/semolina-dumpling-soup-austrian/ #SoupSeason #GrandmasRecipes #AustrianFood #Salzburg #FreshlyMilled
