In life, I have always been full of love and desire to explore food. Especially the dumplings, the plump little dumplings, wrapped in rich fillings, every bite is full of the warmth and satisfaction of home. I've always been passionate about making dumplings by myself, enjoying the whole process from mixing noodles to adjusting the filling to wrapping. Every time I wrap dumplings, I feel that the skin is thin and the meat is thick, and when I bite into it, the fragrant juice overflows in my mouth, not to mention how beautiful the taste is.

However, once when I was eating dumplings in a restaurant, I was fascinated by the dumpling wrappers. They are smooth and crystal clear, as if they have a unique charm. Think about the dumpling wrappers you wrap again, although they are not bad, but in terms of gloss and taste, there is indeed a big gap with the restaurant. This can't help but make me wonder, why is there such a big difference in the same dumpling skin?

This doubt lingered in my mind for a long time, and finally, I decided to explore the mystery. I remembered that there was a pastry chef in my neighbor's house, and his pasta was always amazing. So, full of curiosity and anticipation, I knocked on my neighbor's door.

When I told the pastry chef about his confusion, he had a kind smile on his face. He patiently listened to me talk about the process of making dumplings, from choosing flour to mixing noodles and rolling the skin, I described every detail in detail. After listening, he nodded slightly and said, "There's a lot of knowledge here." There is a gap between the dumpling wrappers made at home and those in the restaurant, and the problem is likely to lie in the choice of flour. Most of the flour we usually buy at home is wheat starch, and high-gluten wheat flour is commonly used in restaurants. ”

Hearing this, although I was still a little confused, I already had a faint feeling that I seemed to have found the key. The pastry chef continued, "It's not enough to have high-gluten wheat flour, but to make a smooth, transparent and tough dumpling skin like a restaurant, there is another important step, which is to add tapioca starch, and this tapioca starch has to be specially treated." ”

His words made me even more curious, and I couldn't wait to know how to do it. The pastry chef was not stingy and told me the "secret" in detail: by mixing high-gluten wheat flour with tapioca starch cooked in boiling water, it can be kneaded into a dough with both toughness and smooth luster. Then, let the dough rise to a full extent, and the rolled out dumpling wrapper will be as thin as a film and extremely translucent.

When I heard this, I was so excited that I felt like I had mastered the code of food. When I got home, I couldn't wait to give it a try. I've always loved eating dumplings, not only because of their deliciousness, but also because the process of making dumplings is fun and creative. Whether it is the combination of fillings or the shape of the dumplings, you can adjust them to your liking, and every dumpling is like a creation full of surprises.

I immediately went to the supermarket and carefully selected a bag of tapioca starch. When I got home, I started following the method taught by the pastry chef. First of all, I poured an appropriate amount of boiling water into the tapioca starch, and the moment I watched the boiling water pour in, the tapioca starch seemed to be awakened and began to undergo wonderful changes. I stir gently with chopsticks, then close the lid and let it simmer for a while. As I waited, my heart was filled with anticipation, imagining the delicious dumpling wrappers that I was about to make.

After cooking, I add tapioca starch to the already blended gluten wheat flour dough. When you first knead the dough, the dough is a little sticky, after all, tapioca starch is more sensitive to temperature, and the dough at this time is warmer and more sticky. Remembering the pastry chef's advice, I took out the spray bottle and lightly sprayed some water on the dough to cool it down a bit. As I kneaded it, the dough gradually became smoother, and the feel was really different from when I used to use wheat starch and dough alone.

The next step is the process of waking up. I put the kneaded dough in a warm place, cover it with a damp cloth, and let it "rest" quietly. During this period of awakening, I seem to feel the dough quietly changing, like a small life that is growing. Every now and then, I go to look at the dough and look forward to it.

After the resting is over, it is time to roll the skin. I know that it takes a little skill to roll out a thin and smooth dumpling wrapper. The pastry chef said that you can mix cornstarch or wheat starch in the hand flour to prevent sticking and make the rolled out dumpling skin smoother. However, I wasn't sure which starch would work better, so I decided to do a little experiment.

I took out a sheet of dough and sprinkled cornstarch on the left and wheat starch on the right. Then, I rubbed a small strip that was slightly longer than the little mahjong and rolled it vigorously on both sides. When I compared the rolled dough, I was blown away by the results. Although the dough rolled out by sprinkling cornstarch on the left is also smooth, it is obviously not as good as the wheat starch sprinkled on the right in terms of toughness and softness.

Through this little experiment, I deeply realized the importance of sprinkling wheat starch when rolling dumpling wrappers. So, I followed this method and continued to roll out other dumpling wrappers. Slowly, the translucent, smooth, thin dumpling skin was born in my hands. Not only do these dumpling wrappers look beautiful, but when you pull them gently by hand, you can feel that they have a strong toughness, as if they have a vitality of their own.

Now, every time I make fresh and delicious dumplings, I can't wait to share them with the people around me. Looking at their surprised and delighted expressions, listening to their praise, my heart was filled with a sense of accomplishment. It turns out that as long as you explore and try with your heart, you can make delicious food comparable to a restaurant at home.

Proofread by Huang Hao