hand cut noodles!
i’m just about three weeks into my move to paris and boy, is this body exhausted. i caught a cold from god knows what or where. a few folks in the office were sick last week, i walked to work with wet hair (because i have yet to purchase an eu blow dryer), and my baby niece, who i’ve been smothering with kisses, is recovering from a cold. whatever’s going around was bound to get into my system at some point.
this past weekend, the body aches really started to kick in so the only way i was going to survive the weekend was if i played mind games with myself. traveling to brugge with two babies, finding our way using spotty internet service, lugging a stroller around on cobblestones, chasing hudson around, quelling baby sia’s random spurts of shrieking (she has the pipes of an opera singer) could have really driven me to madness. here’s how i survived: by telling myself repeatedly that i’ve been through a lot worse. and that my sister and mom don’t have it any easier…so. suck. it. up.
it kind of worked. and by the end of it, not one died and we actually enjoyed our time! with the aid of lots of cava and 11% alcohol beer, of course. i’ll definitely share more in another post, but if i was able to enjoy this charming fairy-tale-like town while fighting a cold and two screaming babies, i’m pretty sure that you’d find it as one heck of a place.
but…let me tell you. the actual highlight of the trip was wandering into a little kitchenware shop called dille & kamille. i finally found * affordable * enamelware and glassware and splurged without thinking about how to lug it all back to paris. needless to say, i made our hand luggage a bit heavier but it was sooo worth it. i don’t know if you know this, but quality enamelware is pretty hard to come by in the states unless you want to buy in bulk. i’ve hit up a few flea markets, ebay, etsy, you name it, and had no luck so it was a not brainer to open up my wallet with this jackpot. my sister hardcore judged me for my impracticality while my mom hardcore judged me for nearly crapping myself over a bunch of “camping dishware”. you gotta let me live….i’ve been holding off on that paula deen enamelware from amazon and that heath & hand line from target (no offense joanna gaines) for sooo long that i had to do it.
speaking of kitchenware stores, i’ve visited a few in paris (e dehillerin anyone?!) and while wandering through aisles of equipment and gadgets, i started to really miss my kitchen in brooklyn. i thought that it would be pretty easy to set up shop here, but it actually isn’t! i’m still finding my groove here, meaning i finally stocked the kitchen up with oils, salt, and pepper. progress, i guess…anyways, i dug into my reel to reminiscence on the good ol’ days in my old kitchen, and realized that i forgot to share the last memories before taking off for the move! it seems like forever ago, but i still remember the feelings of being stupidly emotional over making these hand cut noodles because i knew that it would be the last time using my stand mixer before packing it away into storage.
i had never made noodles before in my entire life. so if you’re on edge and hesitant like me around this subject, i want to reassure you that if a ding dong like can make delicious chewy buoyant noodles, you can too! and you’ll probably never go back to buying noodles again after learning how many servings of noodles 4 cups of flour will yield. oh and tip, these noodles are. so. versatile.. noodles with cold dipping sauce anyone? or with some hot brothy soup?
in any case, making homemade noodles is now my jam. i swear, if i didn’t have a job, i’d probably stay at home and make noodles for all of my friends and family. i’ll definitely be making another batch from my new kitchen and stock up freezer bags on freezer bags to enjoy with aaaalllll of the amazing hot and comforting dishes i’ll be making this fall/winter!
guhhhhhhhhhhhhhh can’t wait.
xo, christine
hand cut noodles with dipping sauce + a poached egg!
ingredients
4 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1/3 cup corn or potato starch
1 tablespoon ground kosher salt
1 1/3 cup warm-hot water
1 cup flour for dusting
notes
in a large mixing bowl, sift 4 cups of flour, starch, and salt
with your hands or with the kneading attachment on your stand mixer: pour in warm-hot water (that’s hot enough to work with your hands) in 1/3 cup increments and knead for around 5 minutes. *tip: using hot enough water and kneading to ensure that the water has been fully incorporated into the flour will create gluten proteins. the more you knead and coat the each granule flour with water, the chewier and bouncier the noodle!
form dough into a ball, dust lightly with flour, and place in a bowl and cover with saran wrap in a warm area. let dough rest and relax for one hour. by that, i mean the gluten proteins will loosen up so that the dough becomes more pliable to roll out into a sheet.
on a working surface, dust generously with flour. using a rolling pin, begin rolling and stretching the dough out into one large sheet. at around 12” x 9” or 1/4 cm in height, dust the top surface evenly with flour.
fold the sheet into 4 even layers and cut down into 1/2 cm strips or however thick you’d like your noodles
dust noodles generously with flour for storage, otherwise they’ll clump up into a big fat mess!
-for freezing: spread noodles apart on an open surface and let it dry out for 5-6 hours. place in a freezer bag, and then into the freezer for storage
-for eating asap: let the noodles rest in open air for at least 20 minutes. bring water up to a rolling boil in a pot, salt water lightly, and cook noodles for 7-8 minutes. *tip: if your water isn’t at a rolling boil, your noodles are going to suck and become gummy. make sure you wait to drop the noodles in when the water is hot enough!
test the noodles - once they’re cooked to your liking, strain and place in an ice bath immediately after to keep noodles extra chewy. enjoy!
