Prepare your dumpling filling: If you're planning to fill and pleat your dumplings immediately, begin by preparing your dumpling filling and set it aside while you make your wrappers. I recommend this pork and cabbage potsticker filling from Healthy Nibbles. Lisa recommends cooking the veggies in the filling to soften any sharp edges that may tear the wrappers.

Make Gluten-Free Dumpling Wrappers: When your water temperature is 120°F, whisk together all the dry ingredients in a medium bowl. Pour in the warm water and mix together with a fork until it forms a shaggy dough.

Using your hands, gather the dough together and knead until it forms a ball. Remove the dough from the bowl and knead it for 2-3 minutes until it forms a smooth ball. If you find the dough too sticky, dust the surface with a bit of tapioca starch while kneading. Humidity can make a difference and you may find you need another tablespoon of water to make your dough more pliable or a tablespoon for tapioca starch if it feels too sticky. Your dough should be firm but pliable, almost like playdough.

Place the dough in the mixing bowl and cover with a damp kitchen or paper towel while you prepare your dumpling station. The towel keeps the dough from drying out.

Fill a small bowl with water and another with tapioca starch. Have a damp paper towel ready to cover the wrappers so they don’t dry out. Keep a rolling pin and bench scraper nearby for making the wrappers. Have a spoon or small cookie scoop ready for putting the filling into the wrappers. Place a baking sheet nearby for the finished dumplings, with another damp paper towel to keep them from drying out. Have a kitchen scale ready for diving the dough.

Pull off 15-16g balls of dough (about 1.25 tablespoons of dough), keeping the rest of the dough covered in the bowl with the damp paper towel to keep them from drying out. I pull weigh out six balls of dough at a time, keeping them covered in the bowl while I work with one.

Lightly dust your work surface with tapioca starch (a marble slab or your countertop work great for this). Take out a ball of dough and using the palm of your hand, flatten the dough into a disc, about 2 inches in diameter. If you notice the outside of your ball of dough feels a bit dry (maybe the phone rang and you got distracted for a few minutes?), begin by massaging it with your fingers to mix and soften a bit, adding a dot of water if needed. It should be smooth and pliable and not at all crumbly. If you find it crumbly, dot it with water and massage again.

Dust the dough disc lightly with tapioca starch on both sides and place it onto the dusted surface.

Use your rolling pin to roll the disc into a very thin circle about 3.75-4 inches in diameter, turning and flipping as you go to keep it from sticking to the surface, dusting with more tapioca starch, if needed. The edges of your circle will be a bit rough and shaggy. Use a round cutter, mug, or glass to cut the thin dough into perfect 3¼-3½ -inch rounds (I use an upside down mug as a cutter!). Save the scraps, set the wrapper aside under another damp towel, and repeat with 2 more balls of dough. After rolling out three wrappers, I gather up the scraps and dab them with a drop of water to roll them into another ball. I then repeat the process above to roll it into another dumpling wrapper round, discarding the scraps from this cut. Note: If you plan to store your dumpling wrappers in the fridge or freezer for later use, even just for a few hours, very lightly dust the wrappers with tapioca starch before stacking to keep them from sticking. See note about storing wrappers for later use below!

Repeat until you've made all your dumpling wrappers, ensure you keep the rolled wrappers under a damp paper towel while you work. You can also opt to roll 6-8 wrappers at a time, fill and fold them, then roll out more wrappers. Lisa gives this tip to help keep your wrappers from drying out while they wait. For these gluten-free dumpling wrappers, I've found that as long as you ensure the towel covering the finished wrappers stays damp, they shouldn't dry out if you make them all at once.

Fill the Dumpling Wrappers to Make Potstickers: Dip the ¼-inch edge of the wrapper in the water about ⅔ of the way around the wrapper. Alternatively, dip your right index finger in the water and run it along the edge of the upper half. If using the dipping method, your pleats and dumplings will seal easier, but you'll need to work faster. If using the finger method, your dumplings may not seal as easily, but they're easier to work with. I found it was easiest to learn to pleat with the finger method first before doing the dip method.

Lay the wrapper in the palm of your left hand. Scoop about 1 tablespoon of filling to the center of the dumpling wrapper (I use a small cookie scoop to make it easier! For your first try, err on too little filling). Use the “V” shape pleating method from Healthy Nibbles (how to pleat potstickers blog post and Instagram video here), pinching the dough together tightly as you go. See pictures above. Note: Follow this method above on pleating the dumplings, but treat the gluten-free dough very carefully. Refrain from attempting to stretch the dough for each pleat, instead, simply fold and press the dough for each pleat.

Place the finished dumpling upright on the baking sheet and cover with the damp towel. Repeat with remaining wrappers/filling. See note below about small cracks.

At this point you can cook the dumplings immediately or else freeze them for later (even if you’ll be cooking them later that day, freeze them to keep the moisture from the filling from soaking through the wrapper). See notes below on freezing dumplings.

To cook the dumplings: Heat a large well-seasoned cast iron skillet or nonstick pan with 1½ tablespoons high heat oil, such as peanut oil, over medium-high heat. Working in batches, place the dumplings into the oil, making sure they don’t touch, until you’ve filled the pan. Pan-fry the dumplings for 2-3 minutes, rotating the pan as needed, until the bottoms are golden brown.

With a lid in one hand to protect from splatter, pour about ¼ cup of water over the dumplings (or just enough to cover the bottom of the pan) and quickly cover the pan with the lid. Reduce heat to medium and cook for 5-6 minutes more (or 7-8 minutes for frozen dumplings). I like to use a meat thermometer to check for doneness; The filling should be at least 165°F inside.

Remove the lid and cook the dumplings for another 30 seconds to a minute to absorb some of the water. Transfer dumplings to a plate. Cook off any remaining water and repeat.

Serve warm with soy sauce, ponzu sauce, or Healthy Nibbles and Bits’ soy & vinegar dumpling sauce or sweet chili sauce.