Croutons

Make plenty of butter croutons

I'm not going to lie to you, making Kartoffelklösse (dumplings) and all the trimmings is no simple task and an all day affair if you're working alone. Making Kartoffelklösse can be and should be a family affair. Working together with a clear written plan can make it a fun family gathering to enjoy a really great meal. There are many things that can be done in advance to move the process along.

Croutons! Slightly stale bread, bathed in butter and baked to golden perfection should be done at least the day before. There are two major drawbacks to making croutons in advance. One is that you might be tempted to sample them after baking them. It's a lot like Christmas cookies, if you don't keep them under lock and key until ready to use, they will be gone when you need them. As children we would search for them as soon as we arrived at grandma's house. She knew that and made plenty of them. Three croutons go into the center of each and every Kartoffelklösse. You'll also want enough croutons left to sprinkle on the flattened dumplings before adding the gravy.

Make plenty because they're great on salads too. Again there is no right or wrong recipe here. You want them to be golden in color with a buttery crunch.