Pasta Carbonara- A new rabbit hole

[barryvabeach]

Jon,  I looked into the Bigolaro - not much in the way of die selection, IMO. 

[Cogs]

3. Electric sheeter. I primarily use it for croissants, danish dough, puff pastry, etc. but it does a great job on pasta. And also Sonoran flour tortillas.

4. Electric ramen noodle kneader/sheeter/cutter. Don't get me started on the joys of homemade ramen noodles. That is a very deep rabbit hole.

Links or model numbers on these? My great grandmother would beat me with a wooden spoon if she were alive but times are a changing.

[deb415611]

Okay Bill, you officially suck for starting this thread!😬

haha, yes, this.....  I don't know what I'm buying yet but now I want to make some pasta, it's been a long time.  I do have the kitchen aid attachment and I kept the kitchen aid just for that purpose so I don't really need anything but...

My dad recently bought Emerill's pasta machine (extruder) and has been having some problems with it.   I have some ideas without even seeing what is the issue.  I joined a facebook group to see if I could figure it out.  I need to read the manual to see if it can be turned off to allow the dough to rest and whether it is only a preset program for kneading which I assume it is.    Barry - thanks for the link to the Phillips and that facebook group,  it gives me another angle to research from to help my dad.  Maybe I'll buy him a better machine and bronze dies for his 85th birthday which is in June. 

[Bill/SFNM]

Okay Bill, you officially suck for starting this thread!😬

Glad to know it's finally official. I have been practicing really hard for such a long time.

[Bill/SFNM]

Links or model numbers on these? My great grandmother would beat me with a wooden spoon if she were alive but times are a changing.

Here is a link to the ramen machine. It's a little beast for quickly kneading/cutting really stiff 30-35% hydration dough into perfect noodles for that signature toothsome bite. Not intuitively obvious how to correctly use it, but once you figure it out, the whole process takes just a few minutes. The whole topic of ramen - noodles, broth, toppings, etc. is pretty deep. See the movie Tampopo - highly recommended send-up of this Japanese obsession.

https://amazon.com/gp/product/B0899GCKVZ/?tag=pmak-20

[Jackitup]

Do you use the bottle lye water for your ramen Bill? I bought a couple bottles at an Asian shop awhile ago.

[Bill/SFNM]

Do you use the bottle lye water for your ramen Bill? I bought a couple bottles at an Asian shop awhile ago.

No. Powdered kansui (60% potassium carbonate, 40% sodium carbonate). See:

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1qLPoLxek3WLQJDtU6i3300_0nNioqeYXi7vESrtNvjQ/edit#heading=h.g131q7n1md16

[Jackitup]

No. Powdered kansui (60% potassium carbonate, 40% sodium carbonate). See:

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1qLPoLxek3WLQJDtU6i3300_0nNioqeYXi7vESrtNvjQ/edit#heading=h.g131q7n1md16

This is the stuff I have. Do you have a comparison of which works better?

[Bill/SFNM]

This is the stuff I have. Do you have a comparison of which works better?

I also have a bottle of that. I've never done a side-by-side. Heck if I know how ramen would be affected by potassium carbonate vs. potassium bicarbonate. Those guys from The Book of Ramen are hardcore ramen geeks - perhaps as pedantic as pizza geeks. 

[Jackitup]

I'm jonsen for a bowl of pho now!!!!

[amolapizza]

I like Alex' videos, and he's just gotten better.  Very nice photography!

Personally I think that both fresh and dried pasta have their places.

A funny anecdote, my friend had an Italian restaurant here in Luxembourg and he started making his own fresh pasta for certain dishes.  Of course people started complaining that it wasn't al dente...

[Bill/SFNM]

I like Alex' videos, and he's just gotten better.  Very nice photography!

Personally I think that both fresh and dried pasta have their places.

A funny anecdote, my friend had an Italian restaurant here in Luxembourg and he started making his own fresh pasta for certain dishes.  Of course people started complaining that it wasn't al dente...

I think fresh egg pasta excels in ravioli and lasagna. I especially like to build a lasagna with fresh pasta sheets that have just been rolled. They cook inside the oven, absorbing the juices from the sauces and other fillings, but retain a luscious, silky texture.

The rat hole I have fallen down is to extrude fresh pasta and then dry it. The first test using the little hand-cranked machine as shown above had some issues and wasn't very good. Not bad, but definitely not worth the effort.

[amolapizza]

I've never tried to extrude pasta, but have some friends that do.  It must be a deep rabbit hole!

I also like fresh made egg pasta for making ravioli, tortellini, and lasagna.

[Jackitup]

For me, fresh pasta has to be on the thicker side, rolled too thin and it loses it's bite and gets mushy. My mix has been a 60/40 blend of HG flour to semolina, eggs, salt, olive oil mixed to a dense play dough consistency and by friction of my food processor to 112°. Then wrapped, rested overnight in fridge. Have not tried extrusion but it has got me thinking!!!

[amolapizza]

Have not tried extrusion but it has got me thinking!!!

And so it begins..

[Bill/SFNM]

For me, fresh pasta has to be on the thicker side, rolled too thin and it loses it's bite and gets mushy. My mix has been a 60/40 blend of HG flour to semolina, eggs, salt, olive oil mixed to a dense play dough consistency and by friction of my food processor to 112°. Then wrapped, rested overnight in fridge. Have not tried extrusion but it has got me thinking!!!

y

How do you roll out the sheets?

[Jackitup]

Forgot I took these pics awhile back! These were ramen-ish, my regular noodles I roll to around a 4/5 and are quite thick!!

https://www.pizzamaking.com/forum/index.php?topic=60415.msg667660#msg667660

[Bill/SFNM]

One thing I've learned over the past few days in a furious flurry of fresh/dry pasta making is that boiling pasta at 7000' altitude (boiling point 198F) presents real challenges. The longer boiling time needed to get the pasta "al dente" results in a different, stodgy texture which is not desirable. So I've been experimenting with the pressure cooker, dialing in the perfect time through trial and error. Not easy when you can't monitor the progress without releasing the pressure, but it makes a tremendous difference. I've fallen deeper into this rabbit hole and I can't get out!

[amolapizza]

Lol, I wish you a good trip!

Edit: AFAIK, you only really need the boil to offset the initial temperature when putting the pasta in. I've seen many pro chefs (on youtube) cooking pasta in only simmering water.

Edit 2: Hmm, that might have been only fresh egg pasta...

[Rolls]

pasta................ pressure cooker.

OK, young man, you really need to take a "time out" and regain your composure!  


Rolls