Why does it scare us just thinking about it? I know it did me until I finally did it and found out that it wasn't that hard. Besides, what's the worst that can happen? If by some wild chance the dough really is a disaster you can always pull some ready-made noodles out of the pantry. Don't do this the first time for company - no stress, okay?
TOOLS
No fancy tools are needed for this. You can buy a pasta-maker, but it only rolls and cuts the dough. You still have to make the dough.
Pastry cutter is nice to have, but not a necessity. A sharp knife will work too. NOTE: Think about whether or not your counter can handle a sharp knife pulled across it. These cutters can range from $3 to $15. In a pinch, I have used a pizza cutter and it worked well.
A dough scraper is also an inexpensive tool and it makes life easy.
After you can't mix the dough with the fork anymore and before you can handle it well without sticking to your fingers, the dough scraper lets you easily knead it. It also makes it easier to get off the counter and into the pot. When I have made pasta in a kitchen that was not equipped with one, I used a pancake turner.
INGREDIENTS (for 2-4 people)
1/2 cup flour
1 egg (at room temperature is best)
dash of salt
PREPARATION
Pile the flour on a clean counter top big enough to roll out the dough. (No you don't need that much space, but why mess up two workplaces? I start where I'm going to finish, but you don't have to.) Make a "well" (an indentation) in the middle of the flour. Add a dash of salt.
 |
| Note the extra dough that was pushed aside. It can be used later when rolling out the dough. |
If you plan on cooking the noodles immediately, get a pot of water boiling (or your soup). Generously sprinkle the counter with flour. Take the dough out of the plastic, dredge in flour and work into a flat disc with your hands (at least that's how I like to start).
Place it in the middle of your work surface, sprinkle it with flour and beginning rolling it out. Always start at the center and roll outwards - don't roll back and forth. More frequent light rolls are better than just a few heavy-pressure rolls of the rolling pin. Use the dough scraper, if necessary, to loosen the dough from the counter and turn it over. You may need to sprinkle more flour where you just picked it up and a little more flour on top of the dough. Repeat this a few times. Soon it will be too big to turn and you will decide whether you want to try rolling it a little thinner or use it as it is. That's personal preference.
Using your cutter, roll across the dough making the noodles as wide or as narrow as you prefer. Then roll cross-ways if you want shorter noodles. When the water is boiling, begin picking up several noodles at a time and drop them in the pot. The scraper can be a big help here - it loosens the dough from the counter and it makes it easy to carry to the pot.
Only poke the noodles with a spoon enough to keep them from sticking together. Don't do a lot of stirring. My guess is that in 8-12 minutes you'll have wonderful noodles. The exact amount of time is hard to predict - it depends on how quickly you got all the noodles in, what kind of flour you used, and if you kept the pot at a good simmer/light boil. The best way to tell is pull part of one out and test it.
If these noodles are to be used in a soup with a clear broth, that should remain clear - boil them in a pot of boiling water, drain when done and then add to the hot soup.
OPTIONS
I like to double (or more) the recipe and dry some for later use. Being the tightwad that I am, buying a pasta-drying rack was out of the question - especially since gadgets should serve more than one purpose. Instead, I use my wooden clothes drying rack. It only gets CLEAN clothes on it - there's nothing to get grossed out about. It works and I already had it. A dish-drying rack can work for shorter noodles too.
Follow all the same steps, but instead of boiling them you will drape them over some sort of dowel rod, kitchen chair or whatever you can come up with that will not be disturbed until they have dried. Once dry, store them in an airtight container. NOTE: whole wheat pasta will not keep as long - the oils become rancid. Use it sooner than later.
Bow-ties can easily be made by cutting small rectangles and pinching the centers. I said it was easy - I didn't say it was fast. It does produce a nice product that is worth the extra time for certain dishes, assuming you have the time (and patience).
INGREDIENTS
Not all types of flour act the same. Some will roll out better, some are more nutritious, some don't keep as well. The best (not necessarily the most nutritious) flour I have used is durum wheat. It is not white, it is yellow. It handles well and when you add farm-fresh eggs with their orange yolks to that yellow flour you get some amazing-looking (and tasting) noodles.
Eggs that are at room temperature work better than cold out of the refrigerator. If you didn't think ahead , put the egg in a mug of hot (not boiling) water for a short time.
METHOD
The reason for the technique of making a well in the flour on the counter instead of a bowl is very good. Depending on the flour, the egg, the humidity that day and who-knows-what-else, the amounts given in the recipe will not be accurate. It will even vary from one time to the next when you use all the same things.
To deal with this fact, the technique described doesn't commit you to using all the four if you don't need it. Remember you are incorporating the flour around the egg. When you get enough, the rest can be pushed aside. If you're like me you will occasionally have a break in the dam and the egg will run out. Hurray for the dough scraper - it will help you. Don't worry, it's okay.
If you really think you need to use a bowl, break the egg into the bowl and lightly beat it. Add a dash of salt and half the flour. As you stir the flour in, gradually add a little bit of flour at a time. Once you get it in there, it's almost impossible to get it out. Once you can handle it, pick up with the kneading step described above and continue with the same instructions.
NOTES
You'll see in the pictures that not each noodle looks perfect. That's because there will always be those from the edges. If it bothers you, put those aside for your own use - don't use them with company. They taste just as good.
The bow-ties dried well just leaving them on the counter and turning them over once part way through.
