Saturday, December 13, 2008

Step By Step Egg Noodles


These noodles freeze well and make a terrific gift this time of year (everyone has plenty of cookies and candy by now). With all the baking I've been doing, I was left with extra egg yolks from making royal icing. This recipe uses three yolks plus one whole egg, so that solves that problem. You can cut them thick or thin, and the recipe is pretty forgiving if you don't roll well as you can give them an extra stretch before setting them on a rack to dry. A few minutes of work makes about a pound of fresh noodles.

You Will need:

3 egg yolks plus 1 whole egg
3 tablespoons cold water
1 teaspoon salt
(about 2 cups all purpose flour)

In a bowl, beat the egg yolks and egg until quite light. Add the water and the salt and beat well. By hand, mix in 1 cup of the flour and then slowly add from the second until you have a very stiff dough. It probably won't take all 2 cups, but keep the extra around for tossing the rolling surface with.

Divide dough in 3 parts. Roll out each round into a rectangle as thin as possible. Sometimes, if the dough is fighting you, it is best to leave it a few minutes and then try again after the dough relaxes a bit. Place rolled out dough on a clean (well, duh!) towel (not terrycloth-duh again!) and cover with another. Do this with each until all three are rolled and covered. Then, wait. About half an hour to an hour for the dough to dry out a bit. You don't want it too dry or you won't be able to roll it out.

Take each piece of dough and roll it up into a tube.


Cut dough to desired thickness.


Unroll rounds and lay noodles across a rack to dry for an hour.


An hour later, turn them and dry the other side. At this point they should still be pliable, but not sticky. Carefully fold them in half and place in a bag. Remove as much air as possible and either store in the fridge for up to a day, or in the freezer for longer.

These noodles don't cook well at a full boil. They should go into boiling water or broth and then immediately reduce the heat to medium and cook until tender.

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