Fresh Handmade Pappardelle

A properly made ragù clinging to the folds of homemade noodles is one of the most satisfying experiences accessible to the sense of taste,” wrote the late great Marcella Hazan in her seminal 1973 The Classic Italian Cookbook. (That book has gone out of print, but it is included in Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking.) Truer words have never been written, and saucing this pasta with Hazan’s Meat Sauce, Bolognese Style will lusciously give you that experience. But making pasta by hand — without use of a pasta machine, but rolling it out with a rolling pin and cutting the noodles with a knife — is one of the most satisfying experiences accessible to the sense of touch (that you can get in the kitchen, anyway!). The method here is inspired by Evan Funke’s American Sfoglino, a wonderful, beautiful and inspiring book, though ours is simplified. If you want to use a pasta machine, you’ll want to use this recipe. Same ingredients, but different method.

Makes two approximately 9-ounce dough balls, for 4 to 5 main-course servings.

Ingredients

12 ounces 00 flour or all-purpose flour (about 2 3/4 cups), plus additional for dusting

4 large eggs

Instructions

1. Sift the flour into a large bowl and make a well in the center. Crack the eggs into the well, making sure to capture every drop of the whites. Using a fork, gently beat the eggs, drawing the flour in from the sides of the well. Continue doing so until the eggs are incorporated into the flour. Continue beating with the fork until the dough starts to come together.

2. Turn the dough ― along with the stray bits ― onto a lightly floured board, and push the bits into the dough as much as possible. Knead the dough a few minutes, until all the bits are incorporated and the dough is uniform and pretty smooth, 3 to 5 minutes. Form it into a ball, wrap it tightly in plastic film and let it rest for 15 minutes.

3. Unwrap the pasta dough and halve it with a sharp knife, using a sawing motion. Cover one half loosely with plastic wrap. On a lightly floured surface, knead the other piece of dough for 3 to 5 minutes, until it is soft and smooth. If at any point the dough feels too dry, spray it and your hands with a little water. (Alternatively, you can wash your hands without drying them.) Once you have a soft, smooth ball, set it aside and repeat the process with the other piece of dough.

4. Wrap both balls tightly in plastic wrap, smoothing out any air pockets, and set them aside to rest at room temperature for 2 to 3 hours, or up to 24 hours in the refrigerator, before rolling.

5. Lightly dust your work surface and rolling pin. Unwrap one of the dough balls, place it on the work surface and use your palm to flatten it into a thick disc, about 6 inches in diameter. Roll it into an elongated oval. Rotate the oval a quarter-turn, then roll it into a circle. Rotate another quarter-turn, then roll it into an elongated oval. Continue rolling and rotating until you have a very thin, large sheet of pasta. When you think it is thin enough, continue rolling more. It should be about 18 inches in diameter.

6. Leave the pasta sheet where it is for 5 to 10 minutes, until it is dry to the touch. Then flip it over and let it dry 5 to 10 minutes on the other side.

7. Using a sharp knife, cut the pasta sheet in half, then cut each half into 3/4-inch (or a little wider) ribbons. If your pasta isn’t super-thin, give each ribbon another roll, making it even longer, before placing it on a lightly floured baking sheet.

8. Repeat with the other dough ball.