I've used it the most often. It can be cut or shaped any way you like. I have a pasta machine with two different cutting heads: fettuccine and tagliatelle (flat spaghetti). I’ve also rolled it thin and used small cookie cutters to make animal shapes (fun!).
About flour
Semolina is the traditional flour used for pasta, but it isn’t entirely necessary. It is more durable for the rolling and cutting process, and can be pretty tough to work with. It also has a slightly different flavor than regular white or wheat flour, and for me it has taken some getting used to. You can make pasta fully with semolina, or you can mix it with other flours, or even omit completely. Try different combinations until you find one you like. Semolina is also difficult to find in most areas. I first found a tiny bag of it in the specialty flour section of my local Smith’s store. Then, a friend of mine saw it in bulk at Winco…so that’s where I buy it, and I keep it in my deep freezer.
Making the dough
There is a traditional way of making pasta dough, where you put the flour on a flat surface, make a well/hole in the center and add the eggs and liquid. Then you gently beat the eggs with a fork, as the flour slowly falls into the egg and gets mixed together. You add more flour and knead by hand until smooth and elastic, and no longer sticky. That seems neat, but I haven’t actually tried it that way.
I just put all the ingredients into the bowl of my stand mixer. I start with the paddle attachment, and mix until it is well combined. Then I switch to the dough hook. It doesn’t work quite the same way as bread, so I’m still figuring out the details. I let it knead for a few minutes, then I use a spoon to scrape the dough off the sides of the bowl. The flour must be too tough for my mixer, as it never fully forms a ball. So, I continue like that, adding small amounts of flour or water as needed, until it’s smooth, elastic, and no longer sticky. Then I take it out of the bowl, and knead it by hand for a few minutes.
After kneading, it is important to let the dough rest for a while, so the gluten will relax and be easier to roll out. Form the dough into a ball, and wrap tightly in plastic; I then leave it on the counter to rest. Some people say to wait 20 minutes, and some say an hour. I usually try for somewhere in the middle, depending on what else I’m doing at the same time. Sometimes I’ll even forget about it and come back an hour later, to find it patiently waiting for me.
Rolling the sheets
After letting it rest you can begin to roll it out. Pinch off a small ball of dough, around the size of a golf ball, and then tightly recover the rest. If you don’t have a pasta machine you can do it by hand, it just takes a little more time, and can be a good workout for your arms. I purchased my pasta machine online before I ever tried to make pasta. But, it took so long to arrive that by the time I got it I had made 3 different batches by hand. It’s a good experience to learn to do it both ways. Either method you use you will still work with a small piece at a time.
Rolling--with pasta machine:
Using the palm of your hand flatten the dough to around less than ½ inch thick; in kind of an oval shape. Start with the pasta machine on the thickest setting. Turn the handle and start to roll the dough through the flattener. If it bunches up you can gently pull up on the dough that hasn’t gone through yet, to help it go more smoothly. Once it comes out fold the sheet into 3rds and repeat the process. Fold into 3rds one more time and repeat (so you will have run it through the highest setting 3 times). Don’t fold the dough the next time, and move to the next lower setting. Run the sheet through. Continue in this way, rolling through each setting, one at a time, until you reach the desired thickness. If at any time the dough bunches or tears, you can start over from the beginning.
Rolling-- without pasta machine:
Use a rolling pin to roll the small piece as thin as possible, to the desired thickness of the noodle you are making. It works best, for space, if you can roll it in a long thin strip, but doing it by hand usually ends up in a more rounded sheet.
Set each sheet aside to dry, and repeat the process until all the dough is flattened. You can pretty much dry your pasta anywhere you like. I started out by laying them on long sheets of paper towel, on the counter, but then I realized I don’t need to waste the paper towels, and now I just put them directly on the counter. There are 2 separate drying times involved in making pasta. The first drying time starts once the sheet is rolled flat. It only needs to dry for about 20 minutes, so that it will be easier to cut and not sticky. Usually by the time I am done rolling out all the dough the first sheet is ready to cut. If it gets too dry before cutting then the sheet will be brittle and break into pieces.
Cutting the noodles
Cutting—with pasta machine:
Attach cutter head to past machine. Line one end of a sheet up to the cutter. Turn the handle and roll the sheet through. This is usually easiest if you have someone helping you. I am never at a loss for extra hands, so it is easy for me. If you have to do it on your own, it just takes a little more fancy maneuvering. Pull the noodles out gently as they are cut, so they don’t bunch up, and then find a place for them to dry a second time.
Cutting—without pasta machine:
Without a pasta machine you can still have fun and be creative. It’s difficult to make uniform strips for spaghetti or fettuccine, but it’s nice for giving it a homemade feel. You can buy hand held pasta cutters (which I have never used), or you can use what you have around the kitchen. I have used a pizza cutter, a regular sharp knife, and even cookie cutters. Choose the size and shape depending on the dish you plan to serve it with.
Drying/cooking the noodles
You can buy fancy pasta drying racks for this, but I’m cheap, and it can really be done anywhere. For long noodles I have draped them over the backs of the kitchen chairs, laid them flat on the counter, and I am considering using my clothes drying rack. For shorter noodles or shapes you can dry them on a plate, or on the counter or table. Be sure to move them around occasionally so they don’t stick to the counter or to each other (It’s ok if they stick together a little, they will come apart once cooked, or when they are completely dry for long term storage). Let the final pasta noodles dry for about an hour before cooking them.
Homemade pasta cooks faster than store bought pasta, so it only takes about 3-5 minutes in boiling, salted water.
Long term storage
A lot of people make fresh pasta and then eat it that same day. I haven’t found a whole lot of info about how to store it for long term use (I’m sure there’s info out there, I just haven’t found it yet). To me, it makes more sense to make a bunch at one time and store it for later. If you make an eggless pasta (which is basically just flour, water, and salt--maybe some oil, and whatever seasoning you want to add) you can dry it completely and store it in your pantry. If the pasta has egg in it the reason it isn’t smart to store it in the pantry is because of the potential for salmonella. It is technically a food safety hazard. I bought a can of processed dried whole egg, and I’m planning on trying that in my egg pasta. If it works out to be tasty then I imagine it would be perfectly safe in the pantry. To dry the pasta for pantry storage let it dry completely. If you live in a humid area you will need to check it occasionally and rotate it so that it dries even and doesn’t mold. I just leave mine out over night and it’s completely dry in the morning. You can also use a food dehydrator if you have one. Otherwise, you can dry it to almost dry but slightly moist and soft, and then freeze it. Whether frozen or dry it still cooks the same. Frozen pasta may need an additional minute or two.
Packaging
Packaging and drying are the two things I haven’t found very much info on. I’m still figuring them out. I made 1” long fettuccine noodles for chicken noodle soup and left them spread in a thin layer on the counter over night. They were dry by morning, and I just put them in a plastic bag in the freezer (they had egg in them). I made lasagna noodles and let them dry partly, then layered them on wax paper, gently rolled the paper and put it in a plastic bag in the freezer. I plan to completely dry some noodles (but haven’t tried it yet), and store them in plastic bags in the pantry. Basically, my strategy is that if you can put it in a plastic bag, then do it. I may also try glass or plastic containers with lids for in the pantry (but that would mean I’d have to actually buy some of those).
Pasta Update:
Lazy to Learned: Pasta Dough
Related Article:
Today I Chicken-Noodle-Souped
Related Recipes:
Homemade Pasta Recipe
Chocolate Pasta
Recipe Index
Article Index
No comments:
Post a Comment