I'll bet your gluten free dumplings suck.

I looked all over the web for GF dumpling wrappers. Most people call them wonton wrappers, but I know that you can make all sorts of delightful dumplings out of them. Also I'm not looking for wonton wrappers specifically, I want the Korean-slightly chewy style that just scream home-made dumplings when you bite into them.

If you google gluten free wonton, you get some very lame discussions about how you have to make them yourself (duh), or that you can buy the tapioca ones usually used for fresh rolls, but also a lot of recipes that are the same. They all call for about a cup of flour, an egg and some xanthum gum. You make this into a stiff pasta type dough and roll it out thin. I tried this, and it's ... ok. I mean, you can make wonton skins like this and they're not bad, but really they're not that good. If you're looking for something really good, that reminds you of the dumplings of your childhood, this won't cut it.

I also noticed that they couldn't be rolled very thin and the dough kept trying to break apart and crumbled a little. It's not the best way honestly.

I would recommend this last method for people who want to fry their wontons, as it will probably work pretty good, but I like to cook mine like gyoza, fry them a bit and then steam them. I also like to put them in soup, and this means your dumpling skin has to be a bit heartier. Not thicker, but able to hold up. I'm sure you all know that gluten free items are not know for their ability to 'hold up'. Breads are crumbly, buns don't work as well as they could, let's not talk about tortillas. Though I do have a new idea for my tortillas, I was looking at the commercially made ones and they put xanthan gum in theirs. I'm going to give it a try.

Back in my wheat eating days I made dumplings all the time. I liked making them and found the project a good one for my couch and the tv with a big cutting board and my pasta roller. I made them in all flavors and cooked them different ways. I liked steaming them, frying them and dropping them into broth to make a quick soup. I also liked making bao but I will have to work on that later.

This new way to make GF dumplings I came up with from my experience and lots of Asian and Korean cookbooks. They are not GF cook books, but that doesn't make them without value.

Now, this might seem super messy when you start out, but you must persevere. You must also follow the directions and use the products listed.

I use a basic flour mix: two parts rice flour, one third part tapioca flour, two thirds part potato starch. I make this and keep it in my flour container on my counter. I add in whole meal flours, quinoa, KA Ancient grains blend, millett, whatever I need and go from there.

This next bit of information is important. I don't muck around with gritty flour. I don't like grit, and I don't like bean flavor. I buy rice powder, it's easy to get from Asian grocery stores, sold as rice flour, it's extremely fine. Don't give me your whole grain BS, I don't want to hear it. I don't get to eat wheat and I want good products. This is how you make them. Brown rice flour has bad texture. Bad. Do not use it, your dumplings will suck, and so will most of the things you make out of.

I also have a product I use for more glutenous flour applications. OrgraN Gluten Free Gluten Substitute. It's really good, and it's available from a major online distributor. You know the one. They sell lots of things. Don't worry that you have to buy so much, you'll use it once you figure out how make bread with it. It's great.

Now that you have these things you will need other things: a pasta roller, you might be able to use a tortilla press, but I don't think it would be the same. You will also need a lot of a starch. I use potato starch because I get it automatically delivered and isn't very expensive that way. Tapioca or corn starch will also work.

You can fill your dumplings with whatever you like. I used beef because that's what I have on hand. I also like to make non-Asian style ones, you could use these skins to make perogies and other recipes that call for wonton skins, like little pies or what have you. I have a basic recipe for a beef filling, but really any meat would work.

Now that we have discussed the things needed here is how to make the best gluten free dumplings there are.