Homemade spelt fettuccine
Instructions:
- 2½ cups whole spelt flour (10 ounces), plus extra for rolling and for the work surface;
- ¼ teaspoon fine sea salt;
- 2 large eggs, at room temperature;
- 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil;
- 3 to 7 tablespoons water.
- BY HAND:
- Make a mound of flour on your work surface. Sprinkle the salt across and create a well in the center. Using a fork, thoroughly combine both eggs, the olive oil, and 3 tablespoons of the water in a 2-cup liquid cup measure. Add the mixture to the well. Using your fingers or a fork and a circular motion, start to incorporate flour from the edges and the bottom of the crater into the egg mixture. Don’t move too vigorously so as not to break the rim of the crater. Continue incorporating flour from the sides until a chunky dough starts to form, and then use your hands to incorporate the remaining flour. Drizzle with a bit more water until you can form a soft ball of dough. Use a bench scraper to help you along if the dough sticks to the surface.
- BY MACHINE: Place the whole spelt flour and the salt in the bowl of a food processor. Process for 30 seconds. Using a fork, thoroughly combine both eggs, the olive oil, and 3 tablespoons of the water in a 2-cup liquid cup measure. With the processor running, add the egg mixture through the feed tube and process just until a ball of dough forms, about 10 seconds. If no ball forms, drizzle in a bit more water by the teaspoonful until it does.
- Knead the dough on a lightly floured work surface for 8 to 10 minutes (3 to 5 minutes for machine-made). If the dough is a tad too dry, moisten your hands; if it is sticky, dust your hands and the dough with flour. As you knead, the texture of the dough will change. While spelt flour is relatively malleable early on, the dough should become elastic, shiny, smooth, and ever-so-slightly tacky. This is when you should stop the kneading.
- Place a glass or earthenware bowl over the dough, or wrap it in plastic wrap. Let sit at room temperature for at least ½ hour and up to 1 hour. After that, be sure to check its beautiful transformation: the dough will be soft and malleable—no wonder this step is called relaxing the dough.
- Lightly flour 2 baking sheets, and dust your work surface with flour. Unwrap or uncover the dough and cut into 4 pieces. Remove 1 piece at a time and keep the others covered or wrapped.
- BY HAND: Flatten each piece into a small rectangle, about 6 by 2½ inches. Using a lightly floured rolling pin, start rolling the dough from the center outward and sideways, rotating often. Also, flip it over and continue rolling. You are aiming for an 11- or 12-inch square, about 1 millimeter thick. Mine are never the same size—it really doesn’t matter. Be sure to keep your work surface and it really doesn’t matter. Be sure to keep your work surface and your rolling pin continuously yet very lightly floured. A dusting will be enough, but it has to be reapplied as you move and work the dough. If the dough resists and starts to spring back, set the piece aside, covered with a dish towel, and work on the next piece. To cut into fettuccine, work with 1 piece at a time on a lightly floured work surface. Place the dough square in front of you and dust it with flour. In the following steps, be sure you thoroughly dust all surfaces with flour, otherwise your pasta strands will stick together. Fold both sides toward the center and then fold over again to close like a book; fold in half once more, never forgetting to dust all touching surfaces. You will now have a long piece with eight layers of dough. Using a sharp knife, cut the dough crosswise into ½-inch-wide pieces. You can also cut ¼-inch-thick linguine, but this takes time, as you need to unroll double the amount of strips.
- BY MACHINE: Dust the roller of the machine and each piece of dough with flour as you start to work with it, and then as needed. Flatten the piece into a small rectangle, about 6 by 2½ inches, and pass it through the widest setting of your pasta machine. Fold the dough into thirds (the short sides toward the center) and pass once more through the machine sideways (with the open edge). Fold again and repeat, and then run the piece through one more time on the widest setting—or, as my friend Alessandra says, “until the pasta feels elastic.” She was totally relaxed about this, and so should you be. Now keep passing ever–longer sheets of pasta through the machine while decreasing the setting one notch until you reach the second-to-last setting. As a novice you might even stop one before that and enjoy a slightly thicker pasta for the first time. Help, my pasta sheets are too long! Our sheets varied widely: some had a length of 27 inches by 3½ inches, some 37 inches, and some even 55 inches—you will need help for cranking here! In any case, as Alessandra says, “Just cut them in half crosswise, and continue working with each half.” To cut into fettuccine, be sure to have the work surface and both sides of the long pasta sheets thoroughly dusted with flour to prevent sticking. Work with 1 sheet at a time (not longer than 15 to 20 inches). Gently roll up the pasta from 1 short end to the other, in 2-inch folds. Using a sharp knife, cut the resulting package crosswise into ½-inch-wide pieces. You can also cut ¼-inch-thick linguine, but this takes time, as you need to cut and unroll double the number of strips. I forgot to flour the sheet. Look at this sticky mass! It can’t be untangled. Alessandra says, “No problem, just put it back through the machine.”
- Immediately unfurl or carefully unroll the fettuccine and spread the strands on the prepared baking sheets, or hang them on a pasta rack. Repeat with the remaining 3 parts of dough. Allow the pasta to dry at room temperature for at least 30 minutes and up to 1 hour. How do I know my pasta is ready to be cooked? Alessandra says, “Just feel the dough with a finger. It should not be sticky anymore.”
- Bring a large pot of water to a rolling boil. Add salt to taste and the fresh fettuccine, gently stirring them with a wooden spoon so they don’t stick together. Once the water returns to a boil, cook the pasta until al dente, 2 to 4 minutes. Test the pasta for doneness as soon as the pieces float to the top—the cooking time for handmade pasta varies. Drain and serve at once, on preheated plates if you like. What to do with all the tangled and less-than-perfectly-shaped pasta pieces? Alessandra says, “Don’t throw them away. Just cook them. In a good sauce, no one will notice anyway.”
- TO GET A HEAD START: You can make the dough, up through step 3, as much as 1 day ahead. Chill, tightly wrapped in plastic wrap. Allow to come to room temperature before proceeding with the recipe, about 15 minutes. Or freeze the dough for up to 1 month. Defrost in the refrigerator (you might need a bit more flour when you work with previously frozen dough). Fresh pasta, up through step 5, can be made ahead and frozen after drying. I place the whole baking sheets with the pasta in the freezer until the pasta is firm, at least 30 minutes. Then I store portions in ziplock bags, as needed, up to 1 month. Boil frozen pasta straight from the freezer (do not defrost).