Put the flour, sugar, salt and dried yeast in a bowl.
Warm the milk to hand temperature and melt the butter in it.
Add the eggs to the dry ingredients and slowly pour in the milk. Stir all together to make a soft but not sticky dough and knead it thoroughly until it becomes pliable and the surface turns smooth and silky. If the dough is too sticky, add some flour; if it’s too dry, add some milk.
Knead the dough for about 4 minutes until it gets the desired texture.
Put the dough in a bowl and cover it with cling film or a dishcloth. Set it in a warm place and let it rest for 60 – 90 minutes or until the dough has risen to twice its size.
Get the dough out of the bowl and onto a lightly floured board, the kitchen counter or a table. Knead it gently and cut 8 – 10 equally large pieces out of it.
Roll the pieces to form dumplings, squeezing the seams together. Lay them on the floured surface, cover them and let them rest in a warm place for another 30 - 60 minutes.
In the meantime, take a large, heavy-bottomed pot or pan with high sides and put it on the stove. The pot should be large enough to hold all the Dampfnudeln. Put the sugar and butter in it and pour in the milk. Slowly heat the mixture and stir it until the butter has melted and the sugar dissolved.
When the dough balls have risen considerably, carefully put them into the pot with the warm milk.
Close the pot with a lid. Bring the milk to a simmer on low. To trap the steam in the pot, you can wrap two dishcloths around the rim.
From now on, do not open the lid until the Dampfnudeln are fully done!
Set the timer and let the Dampfnudeln steam for 30 – 35 minutes. When they're done, carefully open the lid.
Increase the temperature to medium and let the Dampfnudeln simmer for another few minutes until the milk is completely absorbed. When you can hear a slight sizzling, the crust is forming.
Immediately remove the pot from the stove to prevent the Dampfnudeln from burning and serve them right away, ideally with homemade vanilla sauce.
