Knoedel Bread substitute

Best substitute

Home-Dried Crusty White Bread Cubes

Use the same amount by weight as the knoedel bread you are replacing

Best for Semmelknodel

Close match

Not really a substitute so much as the same product made at home, and there is no difference at all in the finished dumpling. Use stale rolls, baguette, ciabatta or any lean white loaf. Costs twenty minutes and a warm oven.

Other knoedel bread substitutes

Ranked, with the exact amount to use

2Plain Unseasoned Dried Stuffing Cubes
Close match
Use the same amount by weight
Very close, since the product is the same idea for a different tradition.
What changes
The catch is seasoning: most American stuffing mixes carry sage, thyme, onion powder and a good deal of salt, which makes your dumplings taste of Thanksgiving. Read the bag and buy unseasoned if you can.
Best for
Semmelknodel, bread dumplings, stuffing
Use straight from the bag. If seasoned, skip the recipe's herbs and cut its salt by half. Seasoning cannot be rinsed out. If seasoned cubes are all you can get, lean into it and accept a herby dumpling.
3Stale Baguette or Ciabatta, Torn by Hand
Different texture
Use the same amount by weight
Tearing rather than cutting gives ragged pieces with much more surface area, so they hydrate faster and set into a softer, more rustic dumpling with visible bread structure.
What changes
Some cooks prefer this to neat cubes; it is a genuine style choice rather than a compromise.
Best for
rustic bread dumplings, Serviettenknodel, bread stuffing
Tear into rough 2 cm pieces, then dry at 300F/150C for 12 to 15 minutes. Torn bread absorbs faster, so start with a little less milk and add the rest as needed.
4Coarse Dry Breadcrumbs
Different texture
up to half the weight, mixed with cubes
On their own, coarse breadcrumbs give a dense, uniform dumpling with no visible bread structure at all, closer to a pate than to a Semmelknodel.
What changes
That is right for Leberknodel or a fine-textured soup dumpling and wrong for a classic sliced dumpling. Best used as up to half the total weight alongside cubes.
Best for
Leberknodel, soup dumplings, tightening a loose mix
Mix with the cubes before adding the milk. Let the mix stand a full 30 minutes; crumbs hydrate unevenly at first. Not panko. Panko is too fine and too dry and turns the mixture pasty.
5Plain White Sandwich Bread, Dried
Different texture
Use the same amount by weight, about 8 slices per 250 g
It works, with a caveat.
What changes
The fine closed crumb absorbs very fast and can go gummy, so the dumplings come out denser and slightly heavier than they should. Dry it harder than you think and hold back a splash of the milk.
Best for
Semmelknodel, stuffing, when no crusty bread is available
Cut into 1 cm cubes with the crusts on, dry at 300F/150C for 20 minutes until they are hard right through. Avoid brioche, milk bread and anything labelled buttery. Fat in the crumb blocks absorption.
6Pretzel Rolls or Leftover Laugenbrotchen
Different taste
Use the same amount by weight
A real German variation rather than a compromise, and Pretzelknodel are genuinely delicious.
What changes
The dumplings come out darker, saltier and faintly alkaline, with a chewier bite from the pretzel skin. Reduce the salt in the mix, because pretzel bread is already well salted.
Best for
Pretzelknodel, dumplings served with mushroom sauce or goulash
Cube and dry as usual. Brush off loose salt crystals first. Excellent with anything saucy. A touch heavy alongside a delicate dish.
7Croutons
Taste and texture differ
Use the same amount by weight, last resort
Honestly the weakest option here.
What changes
Croutons are fried or oiled and heavily seasoned, so oil leaks out into the water, the dumplings taste of garlic and parmesan, and the surface goes slick rather than binding. It will hold together, and it will not be good.
Best for
absolute emergencies
Crush lightly, mix with a tablespoon of flour to help binding, and skip all seasoning in the recipe. If croutons are the only option, plain unseasoned ones are far better than herb or cheese flavoured.

What is Knoedel Bread?

Knoedel Bread is bagged dried white bread cubes sold in Germany and Austria as Knodelbrot or Semmelwurfel, made for one purpose, which is soaking up milk and egg and holding together as a bread dumpling.

Cooking tips

Dry the bread, do not toast it. You want the cubes hard and still pale. Browned cubes make the dumpling taste of toast and turn the inside a muddy grey-brown instead of creamy white.
The working ratio for Semmelknodel is roughly 250 g of dried bread cubes to 250 ml of warm milk, 2 eggs and one small onion softened in butter, plus parsley, salt and a scrape of nutmeg. Let the mix stand 20 to 30 minutes so the bread hydrates all the way through before you shape anything.
Always cook one test dumpling in barely simmering salted water before committing. If it disintegrates, work in a tablespoon of flour or fine breadcrumbs; if it comes out leaden, add a little more milk to the remaining mix.
Never let the water boil hard. Dumplings go into water at a bare simmer with the lid off for 15 to 20 minutes, and they rise to the surface when they are done. A rolling boil is the fastest way to end up with bread soup.
Store home-dried cubes in a paper bag or an open box, not a sealed plastic one. Fully dried bread keeps for months, but sealed in plastic it sweats and moulds within a week.
For Serviettenknodel, the napkin dumpling that is steamed as a log and sliced, make the mix a shade stiffer than for round dumplings so the slices hold their shape.

Frequently asked questions

Can I just leave it out?

No. In a bread dumpling the bread is the dish, so there is no version of Semmelknodel without it. The good news is that the substitute is free: cube whatever plain white bread you have and dry it in the oven for twenty minutes.

Is Knodelbrot just stale bread?

Essentially yes. It is plain lean white bread, cubed and dried, sometimes with a little salt. The bagged product is a convenience, not a special ingredient, which is why home-drying gives an identical result rather than an approximation.

Can I use fresh bread instead?

Not directly. Fresh bread holds too much water and its crumb collapses as soon as the milk hits it, which is the classic reason dumplings dissolve in the pot. Dry it first, either overnight uncovered or for 15 to 20 minutes at 300F/150C.

What size should the cubes be?

About 1 cm, or half an inch. Larger cubes leave visible bread pockets and a looser, more open dumpling. Smaller cubes and crumbs give a smooth, dense, uniform one. Neither is wrong, but match the size to the dumpling style you want.

Can I use gluten-free bread?

Yes, with adjustments. Gluten-free bread absorbs less liquid and binds much more weakly, so dry it very hard, use slightly less milk, add an extra egg or a tablespoon of potato starch, and expect a more fragile dumpling. Test one first, without question.

How long do home-dried bread cubes keep?

Several months if they are thoroughly dried and stored in a paper bag somewhere dry. Any bend or softness in a cube means residual moisture, so give those a further ten minutes in the oven before storing.

Related substitutes

More breadcrumbs substitutes

Knoedel Bread substitute

Other knoedel bread substitutes

2Plain Unseasoned Dried Stuffing Cubes

3Stale Baguette or Ciabatta, Torn by Hand

4Coarse Dry Breadcrumbs

5Plain White Sandwich Bread, Dried

6Pretzel Rolls or Leftover Laugenbrotchen

7Croutons