Do you like them hard or soft?
Playing hardball
The debate rages: Me? I like 'em hard. So hard they are likely to jump out of the bowl and roll into the next room if you don't fork them before cutting. I like a ball that puts up a fight.
Mitch doesn't care as long as he's got them.
Other family members, well, they like the soft ones, big and fluffy, like goose down pillows. They are in good company. This seems to be the Platonic Ideal, the quintessential ball, elusive and much-to-be-desired. There are recipes that incorporate baking powder and seltzer to achieve the ultimate degree of loft. To me that's cheating, like using steroids to win in athletic competition.
The secret is handling. If you want hard balls--and I do--you treat the dough with a rougher attitude (it likes to be beaten), then pack it tight. Want a fluffier representative, skip the sturm und drang and whipping of batter, instead cradle it like new chick and coax it gently into the broth.
A hard ball concentrates the flavor. A soft ball is a subtler, less toothsome. How do you like yours?
Good Pesech, everyone! Next year in the Holy Land. In peace.
5:44:25 PM 
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