Bread dumplings are used for soups and stews in eastern Europe, particularly Austria.
They are made from stale bread crumbs (but still fresh as opposed to dried), butter, egg, flour, milk and some herbs such as parsley, along with onion.
The onion is sautéed, then all the ingredients mixed together, kneaded a little bit, and formed into 2 inch (5 cm) wide balls. The mixture is let stand to rest at room temperature for 1 hour, then added to a stew or soup in the final 20 minutes of cooking.