Fresh Pasta from Strach with Rolling Pin

 

What you need - Ingredients

• Flour: Double 00 flour / All-purpose flour / Bread flour. Use about 100 g / 3/4 cup per person
• Eggs: 1 per person
• Salt: a pinch

How to make it:

1. Make the flour mountain (volcano)

With your hands, make a big hole in the middle like a volcano. Make it big enough to hold the eggs, or they will spill over.

2. Add the eggs

Crack the eggs into the middle of the hole. Instead of cracking the eggs directly into the flour, crack them into a separate bowl first. Beat them lightly with a fork, then pour them into the center of your flour volcano, it keeps the walls from breaking, avoid any shell in the dough, and the flour incorporate evenly.

3. Mix it

With a fork, scramble the eggs slowly. Keep stirring so the eggs stay in the middle. Start pulling in a little flour at a time from the walls. Try not to break the volcano wall, so the eggs don't run everywhere.

4. Knead it

Now you need to knead. Kneading makes the pasta chewy because it activates the gluten (is a group of proteins naturally found in certain grains). Push down with your body wight, push the dough away from you, fold it in half. turn it a quarter turn and push again. Do this for 8-10 minutes until the dough is smooth and elastic.

To check if it's ready: press it your finger, if it springs back, it's ready. If your finger mark stays. knead a little longer or add a tiny bit more flour.

Wrap the dough in plastic wrap so it doesn't dry out. Let it rest for 20 minutes.

Flatten the dough with your hands and dust it with flour on both sides.

With a rolling pin, press down and roll from the middle out. Turn the dough a little, and roll from the middle out again - just like you do with pie dough.

Flip it over, add a little more flour if you need to, and keep rolling from the middle out. Turn it often, or it will stick to the board.

keep adding a little flour and rolling until the dough is very thin. You will know it's ready when you can see your hand and fingers thought it.

Roll it up loosely like a cigar. with a sharp knife, cut into strips. Then unravel the strips with your fingers and put them on a sheet tray dusted with flour. (Fettuccine or Tagliatelle)

How to cook it:

Fresh pasta cooks very fasta. It only needs about 1 to 2 minutes in boiling water.

Tips for Storing:

To dry: Hand the noodles on a rack or over a clean hanger fo 5 to 6 hours. Then you can put them in a jar or container. They will last up to 3 days.

To freeze: You can freeze the fresh pasta right away. It will stay good for 2-3 months.

> Pasta dough doesn't like the cold. It is best to work on a wood board or wood counter, Try not to use cold surfaces like granite or stainless steel.