Fresh Pasta/Noodles

For some reason, people find it shockingly impressive when you serve them fresh pasta, like they cannot comprehend how you could have possibly created such a thing.  Its just flour and water.... Anyhow, I honestly feel that any decent cook should know how to make it from scratch.  Here is my method.


Ramen noodles are traditionally made with flour, salt, water, and a chemical to increase the stiffness and chewiness of the dough which I have made before and it turned out great.  The ramen noodles in the picture have eggs in them and no special chemical and they tasted amazing.  There really isn't a substantial difference between the types of dough and as long as you make it correctly, you should be in good shape for any type of pasta/noodle dish you are making.

note: - I stopped kneading my dough by hand a year ago when I no longer had the patience for it.  This method is a 'food processor and pasta machine' method of making the dough.  But by all means, knead by hand if you want.  The pasta machine is also not a necessity unless you are making ramen noodles, which you would then need the pasta machine attachment to cut out the circular noodles.

note: - I always use bread flour for my noodles as it is much firmer and creates a chewier noodle.  It is not necessary however, and AP flour will yield a solid noodle as well.


ingredients:

Italian Pasta:
For 1 person
1.  4 oz bread flour
2.  1 egg
3.  1/4 tsp extra virgin olive oil
4.  1/8 tsp salt

Asian Noodles:
For 1 person
1.  4 oz bread flour
2.  1/8 tsp salt
3.  1.5 oz water

Asian Style Egg noodles (for yakisoba and stir fries):
For 1 1/2 persons
1.  5 oz bread flour
2.  1/8 tsp salt
3.  1 egg
4.  2 tsp water


recipe for food processor + pasta machine method:
1.  Combine all ingredients into food processor.
2.  Quickly pulse 10-15 times until it resembles very fine pebbles:

note: - The granules should be tiny.  If they resemble larger pebbles, add another 1+ heaping spoonfuls of flour and pulse 2-3 times.  If it's too dry and sandy, add a few drops of water and pulse 2-3 times.
3.  Squeeze the pebbles.  A small ball of dough should form easily, but it should not feel too wet, only slightly moist.
4.  The dough is done.  Pour pebbles into a bowl then knead for 1 minute.  The pebbles will instantly come together into a cohesive ball.
5.  The dough should have little to no wet, stickiness to it.  If it does, you will need to add a generous amount of flour when rolling out.
6.  For every serving that you made, divide dough into equal parts (2 servings, divide dough in half, 3 servings into thirds).
7.  Roll each section on setting 1 of a pasta machine.  Fold in half, and roll again.  If the dough was too wet before, this is when you will be adding a generous amount of flour onto the dough when rolling out until you feel no more wetness on the dough after all the flour has been absorbed.
8.  Repeat the folding in half, then rolling on setting 1, until the dough looks smooth.  This could take around 10-30 rolls.  Try to maintain a decent rectangle shape.  If you see some folds in the dough that is fine.
9.  Cover with plastic wrap and let rest for 30 minutes.  Repeat this for every section of the dough.
10.  After dough has rested, roll out each section on settings 2-4, flouring the dough if sticking, then cut into ramen noodles or whatever shape you want (setting 5 is also ok for wider noodles but I wouldn't go higher than setting 4 for spaghetti or ramen)
note: - Don't let the dough rest before you cut it.  Roll it to setting 4, then cut it immediately after.  If you let the sheets of dough rest, they will dry and actually become thinner, which will result in a noticeably thinner and smaller noodle.


recipe by hand:
1.  Combine all ingredients into a large bowl and mix with one chopstick until most of the liquid has been absorbed.
2.  Start kneading by hand until a shaggy ball of dough forms.  It is at this point you have to determine if the dough is too wet, dry, or good enough.  If the dough has any wet, stickiness to it, you must add a substantial amount of flour, then knead until little to no wetness remains.  If the dough feels too dry and crumbly, add a few drops of water and continue to knead.
3.  Knead well for a good 10 minutes until the ball of dough is smooth.  Cover and let rest for 30 minutes.
4.  Roll out with a rolling pin to an even 1/16" thickness.  Cut noodles into whatever shape you want.