Instructions

1. Pop open the tube of pizza dough, or remove the ball of pizza dough from its packaging, or prepare your own. Make homemade pizza dough by setting aside some active-dry yeast mixed with very warm water while you combine flour and salt in a food processor. Leave the machine on and slowly add the yeast mixture, then the oil. Knead the dough quickly with floured hands on a floured surface. Roll into a tight ball and let it rise for about 45 minutes, or until doubled in size, under a clean dishtowel.

2. Sprinkle some flour on a clean work surface. Flatten the ball of dough, if using, into a flat circle with your fingertips. Unroll the canned pizza dough so it is flat, alternatively.

4. Flour the top of the dough lightly. Roll it out with a rolling pin until it is uniform in flatness and about 1/2-inch thick.

5. Use a pizza cutter or knife to cut the rolled dough into square dumplings, about 1 inch in size. Allow the dumplings to sit out for a few minutes to harden up a bit, as this will help keep them from falling apart.

6. Bring a pot of stew or soup to a boil over medium-high heat, or have it ready in a hot slow cooker. Drop the dumplings into the liquid carefully in a single layer. Leave the dumplings undisturbed for stove-top cooking. If using a slow cooker, stir them gently so that they are evenly distributed and submerged in liquid; they can be deep down or near the surface in the slow cooker, as long as they are covered with some liquid. Cover with a tight-fitting lid.

7. Reduce the pot of soup to a simmer and cook the dumplings, undisturbed, for about seven minutes on the stove top. Alternatively, cook the dumplings on high in a slow cooker for one hour to one-and-a-half hours, undisturbed.

8. Check that the dumplings are cooked through. Remove one from the pot and stick a toothpick or skewer through the middle. Pull the toothpick out and check if batter is sticking to it. Cook for a little while longer if there is visible batter, or serve immediately if the toothpick came out clean.