Growing up, I always enjoyed watching my dad make egg noodles. Everything was done by hand. My dad was never one to break a sweat, so to speak. He was never in a rush, and had the patience of a saint. His noodle making was no different. He’d carefully mix the dough to just the right feel, and slowly roll it out to an almost paper-thin sheet, roll the sheet into a log, and carefully slice the log into thin ribbons. He’d cover the twin bed in the spare bedroom with newspaper, unroll each of the ribbons onto the newspaper and let them dry. He loved making noodles, mainly because he loved home-made soup. And, believe me, he was a heck of a soup-maker. I used to love watching him because he would be totally “in the noodle zone”, humming off-key to the radio. And, because I knew that coming soon would be a delicious bowl of homemade soup featuring his egg noodles.
Simple Homemade Egg Noodles
Ingredients
- 2 C all-purpose flour
- 4 eggs
- 1 tsp salt
Instructions
- In a large bowl, or on a clean surface, mix flour and salt. Create a deep well in the middle and crack eggs into the well. Using a fork, begin beating the eggs while slowly incorporating the flour into the eggs. Keep mixing until a ball of dough forms; it’ll be sticky.
- On a lightly floured surface, knead the dough (flour your hands so they don’t stick to the dough) adding a bit of flour as you go and only until the dough no longer sticks to your hands or your surface. Don’t go overboard with the flour or you’ll have tough noodles! Keep kneading until the dough is firm and smooth on the surface, and no longer sticky, about 10 minutes.
- Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and chill for 20-30 minutes. Cut the dough into quarters and work with one piece at a time. Keep remaining pieces wrapped. On a well-floured surface, roll the dough to about 1/8”. Lightly flour the dough, top and bottom, if it’s sticking to your rolling pin.
- Use a pizza cutter to cut thin strips (fast way), or roll the dough loosely and cut thin strips (Dad’s way!).
- Put noodles on a drying rack, lay out on parchment or wax paper, or use a good old-fashioned newspaper like Dad, and let them dry. Once fully dried, you can bag them up and put in the freezer. They’ll keep for a month or two.
Notes
If cooking right away, remember that fresh noodles take longer to cook. Bring a pot of water to a boil and generously salt. Cook until al dente. Drain, then add to soup or other recipe. Or, simply add butter, salt & pepper and enjoy!
I’ve never tried to make these vegan, but I have made them with wheat flour and brown rice flour and they’re great. Making vegan? Let me know what you use and how they turn out. I’d love to hear from you.
