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Makes about 1-1/2 pounds of dough for 50 to 60 (3- to 4-inch) dumpling skins

If I had to use one dumpling dough for the rest of my life, this would be it. I value the straightforward simplicity of it. The eggs add protein, bite, and strength, and it works well and tastes yummy with added herbs, spices, and powdered veggies and fruits. If you are just getting started in the wide world of dumpling making, try this dough first since it’s easiest to work with.

1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons hot water (110 to 120 degrees)

3 to 3-1/4 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting

CHOOSE YOUR OWN KNEADING AND FORMING ADVENTURE

Mixing and kneading by hand: In a medium bowl, whisk the eggs, water, oil, and salt for 1 to 2 minutes, until the eggs become slightly frothy.

In another medium bowl, whisk 3 cups of the flour to break up any clumps. Make a small well in the center of the flour, and slowly blend in the egg mixture. I like to use chopsticks for this; a wooden spoon works too. Mix the dough together until it forms a shaggy mass.

Knead the dough for about 3 minutes in the bowl. Put the shaggy bits from around the bottom and edges of the bowl into the middle of the dough, and close it around them. If the dough seems stiff, wet your hands with water and knead it until it becomes more elastic. If it is too wet and sticking to your hands, add flour 1 tablespoon at a time, working it into the dough.

Lightly dust your work surface with flour, turn out the dough, and knead it for 4 to 5 more minutes, until it is smooth and elastic. Again, if the dough seems stiff, wet your hands with water and knead it until it becomes more elastic. If it is too wet and sticking, add flour to your work surface 1 tablespoon at a time, and knead it into the dough.

Cover the dough with a slightly damp towel, and put it under the inverted mixing bowl. Rest it for 30 minutes (or up to 2 hours) before rolling it out for dumplings, or refrigerating or freezing it.

Or, with a stand mixer: In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the hook attachment, mix 3 cups of the flour on medium-low speed (#2 on a KitchenAid) for about 30 seconds.

In a medium bowl, whisk the eggs, water, salt, and oil for 1 to 2 minutes, until the eggs become slightly frothy. With the mixer on medium-low speed, add the egg mixture to the flour in a slow, steady stream; this should take 40 to 50 seconds. Once fully incorporated, stop the machine and pinch the dough. It should hold its shape and not stick to your fingers. If the dough is too wet or too dry, add water or flour by teaspoon or tablespoon, respectively.

Lock the mixer head and mix on medium speed (#4 on a KitchenAid) for 30 seconds to 1 minute, until the dough forms a ball beside or around the hook.

Lightly dust your work surface with flour, turn out the dough, and put any left-behind shaggy bits into the middle of the dough. Knead it for 1 to 2 minutes, until it is smooth and elastic.

Cover the dough with a slightly damp towel, and put it under the inverted mixing bowl. Rest it for 30 minutes (or up to 2 hours) before rolling it out for dumplings, or refrigerating or freezing it.

Forming skins by hand: Use your thumbs to poke a hole in the center of the dough. Gradually enlarge the hole with both hands, by moving the dough clockwise or counterclockwise, until it is about 3/4 to 1 inch in diameter.

Using a bench scraper, if you have one, or a sharp knife, slice the dough into 10 to 15 (¾- to 1-inch) pieces at a time. Roll each piece into a ball and then place it on the lightly floured work surface, making sure none are touching. Cover the balls and the remaining dough with a dry towel.

Lightly flour the work surface again, smash a ball with your palm or a flat, heavy object (a tortilla press works), and then roll it into a 3- to 4-inch-diameter skin (about 1/16 inch thick for shumai or crescents, and 1/8 inch thick for XLB). Don’t worry if it isn’t perfectly round.

Dust the skins with flour as you make them, and place them with minimal overlap on your lightly floured surface, covered with a dry towel. Try not to stack them, to eliminate sticking — space permitting, of course. Always keep the balled dough covered with a dry towel too so that it doesn’t dry out

Note: Prepare the skins quickly and expertly, like a pro, by using your primary hand to roll them with a small dowel rolling pin while, in between rolls, twisting the skin in 1/2- to 1-inch increments clockwise or counterclockwise with your other hand. Flip the skin about halfway through.

Or, with a cookie cutter: Lightly dust your work surface with flour. Divide the dough into 4 equal pieces. Take 1 piece, covering the other 3 with a dry towel, and shape it by hand into a rounded rectangle about ½ inch thick. Using a rolling pin, roll it out until it is about 1/16 inch thick (or 1/8 inch thick if making XLB). Sprinkle the dough and your rolling pin with flour if the dough gets sticky.

Using a 3- to 4-inch cookie cutter, cut out as many skins as you can, usually 10 to 12 per piece if 1/16 inch thick, and 6 to 8 if 1/8 inch thick. Collect the leftover dough, and reform and reroll it as described. I recommend rerolling two to three times, until the dough is no longer pliable

Or, with a pasta roller: Lightly dust your work surface with flour. Divide the dough into 4 equal pieces. Take 1 piece, covering the other 3 with a dry towel, and shape it by hand into a rounded rectangle about 1/2 inch thick and no wider than your pasta roller. Dust it with flour.

Set a hand-crank pasta machine to the widest setting (usually #1), and feed the dough through the roller. If you are using a stand-mixer attachment, set the roller to the widest setting of #1, and with the mixer on medium-low speed (#2 on a KitchenAid), feed the dough through the roller. Move up to the next thinner setting (most machines range from #1 to #6, #7, #8, or #9), and roll it through again. Do this, flouring the dough as necessary before rolling, until you have rolled it through the indicated settings, it is almost translucent, and it is about 1/16 inch thick for crescents and shumai, or 1/8 inch for XLB.

Lay the sheet on the lightly floured work surface, and cut the sheets as detailed in step 7 of Forming Skins with a Cookie Cutter (above). (I recommend rolling, cutting, and filling in 4 separate batches so the dumpling dough does not dry out as it waits to be filled.) Once you’ve filled the dumplings, either cook, refrigerate, or freeze them.

Each sheet should give you about 10 to 12 (3- to 4-inch) skins in the first cutting if 1/16 inch thick, or 6 to 8 skins if 1/8 inch thick.

Collect the leftover dough, and reform and reroll it as described. I recommend rerolling two to three times, until the dough is no longer pliable.

Note: If the dough sheet gets large and unwieldy, set it on your lightly floured work surface, cut it in half, and proceed with 2 pieces, one at a time, through the roller.

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