Homemade Noodles

What is more nostalgic than homemade noodles?!  Every holiday meal in my memory bank has homemade noodles in it.  It's always the biggest pot of food in our spread because everyone loves them so much.  And the leftovers are fought for.  This recipe is passed down from my husband's grandma.  You're gonna love it.

Now, let me start off by saying...in my opinion homemade noodles are something I make when I'm "bored".  When I have a day with nothing else to do...maybe it's raining...maybe it's too cold (or hot) to go outside, the house is clean, the laundry's done, the dog is napping...and I really have nothing else to do, that's when I make noodles.  It's a bit of a labor of love but if you have a day like the one I mentioned, making noodles is a good way to fill some hours of your afternoon.  And it produces tangible evidence that something was accomplished.  And then you get to eat it.  And then everyone's happy.

So we start by making the dough.  It has very few ingredients and is the easiest part of the whole thing.

                                       -2 cups all-purpose flour

                                       -2 eggs

                                       -1 tsp. salt

                                       -3 tablespoons water

Here is where you can use some gadgets if you have them.  I have a stand mixer and for me that's the easiest thing to use.  I also have a food processor and it is equally as easy.  Anything that saves my wrists from kneading dough, I'm all about.  If you have neither of these gadgets, you use your counter top. 

 

For counter top mixing:

 Start by pouring the flour onto your counter top and make it look like a volcano.  Kind of looks like a mound with a little well in the top.  Then to the well, add your eggs, salt and water.  Using your hands, begin to fold the flour into the eggs until everything is incorporated and looks like a ball of dough.  It should not be crumbly so if it's too dry, add more water until it's nice and moist.

For food processor and stand mixing:

Add all ingredients to the bowl in the order listed.  For stand mixer people, use your dough hook attachment and mix until a dough forms.  For food processor people, "pulse" to mix until a dough forms.  Again, it should not be crumbly so if it's too dry, add more water until it's nice and moist.

Now it's time to start forming the noodles.  There is a myriad of ways you can do this but for all techniques, you start by rolling out your dough like you would pie dough.  Using a rolling pin and a well floured surface, roll it out until it is as thick as you would like your noodles to be.

Once the dough is as thick as you'd like your noodles, here is where you can use different techniques to get the actual noodle shape.  If you have a pasta machine or a pasta machine attachment for your stand mixer, that's the way to go.  If you do not have either of those gadgets, a good 'ol pizza cutter works just fine.  Take your rolled out dough and start slicing it into your desired width of noodle.

Sometimes you're in the mood for a short, wide noodle.

Sometimes you're in the mood for a long, skinny noodle.

Either way, get 'em cut up.  Then, take your cut noodles and lay them on a parchment lined cookie sheet to air dry.  You should let them dry for at least 1 hour but if you can let them dry longer, that's best.

Once they're dry you can portion them into freezer bags and freeze them for a later use.  Or you can eat them.  I like to boil them in chicken broth with some shredded chicken.  If need be, thicken the broth a little bit with some cornstarch...so yummy!  Fresh noodles don't take as long to boil as store bought noodles, so just taste the noodles as you boil them to check their done-ness.