Methods of Making Noodles
Although noodles are very popular and are known to be an essential staple of European and Asian cuisines, very few people actually know how to make them. Noodles can be made easily by following a few steps. The first step of making noodles is to make pasta dough and apportion it. After it has been portioned and relaxed one should dust a flat, large surface using semolina or all purpose flour so that there is not too much sticking.
Flattening of the dough comes next and this should be especially done to the side that is going into the machine. Thin sides are ideal for the ends of the dough so that catching the end in the machine rollers can be easy. Semolina or all-purpose floor will again come in handy to dust the machine that will be used in making pasta. As dusting continues one should rotate the rollers to make them have a coat of the cooking flour. Dusting helps to stem the sticking of dough as one rolls it.
Setting of the dough machine should be done in a very high place and the thinner end of the dough placed in the centre of the two major rollers. The next step is to run the prepared dough down the rollers as they are spinned. Several kinds of pasta machines have cranks that are usually held by hand while others come equipped with automated rollers. After being run through the rollers successfully the length of the pasta will increase dramatically. At this point it might be hard to continue working with the dough as it will not only be thinner but it will also be longer. One should then dust their pan and fold the sheet over to reduce length.
The next step is to set the rollers together closely and re-pass the pasta through them. If the length of the pasta is too long one can cut it and complete work with their hand held dough. The dough that was partially rolled should be passed through the rollers completely at this point. One should repeat the dusting, folding and passing through the machine until the get their desired thickness. Ultimately the dough should be slightly moist with no blemishes or cracks. The dough should then be left to rest for several minutes.
Selecting the noodles length comes next and it should be cut off the lengthy strip. For short noodles the sheet should be cut an inch or two, for fettuccine the cut should be 12 inches. The whole sheet should be run in the cutters and the noodles dusted using coating, light flour. The noodles will be ready.