Homemade Egg Noodles

My cooking has been based on nostalgia lately. A while ago, some family members and I made a HUGE batch of Homemade Egg Noodles, something my grandma (my mom’s mom) taught me how to make when I was younger.

I also recently made my Grandma’s Rhubarb Mousse which my other grandma, my dad’s mom, would always make. The tangy, sweet treat takes me right back to summers at grandma’s house every time.

I was blessed when grandmas that know their way around a kitchen.

So back to the noodles…the rich, carb-heaven goodness.

Any dish made with homemade egg noodles – casseroles, chicken noodle soup, beef and noodles – simply tastes better. I think it’s the extra love (and labor) that goes into making one of the main ingredients from scratch.

If you’re embarking on a noodle making marathon like we did, you’ll not only end up with a great stash of homemade noodles but many memories with family and friends (or whoever is ambitious enough to help). That’s part of what I loved so much about making noodles at grandma’s house while I was growing up – the day spent with family laughing, covering the kitchen in flour, eating (of course) and continuing traditions that have been past on for many generations. Traditions I hope to pass on to Little E one day.

During our most recent noodle making adventure, we plowed through about 10 lbs. of flour (maybe more) and several dozen eggs (we quit because we ran out of eggs) and not to mention however many noodles that fell to the floor. With that quantity of flour and eggs, the three of us each ended up with one large container (ice cream buckets work well) of noodles to take home after everything was all said and done.

I have such fond memories of making noodles that I couldn’t help but share the recipe and process with you with the hope that you’ll make wonderful memories in your kitchen as well.

 

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Noodle Making Tools

There are some special tools we use to simplify our noodle making process – some you may even have around your house already! If you’re only making one batch, you can use a good ole’ rolling pin and pizza cutter to roll out and cut the dough. If you plan to make a stockpile of noodles to have on hand like we do, you’ll want to invite these kitchen tools to the party.

#1 FOOD PROCESSOR

The pasta dough only requires a few simple ingredients and rather than mixing them by hand, use a food processor to quickly combine the ingredients to reach the perfect consistency for rolling the dough through the pasta roller. Just be careful not to over mix the dough otherwise you’ll end up with a tough rock that won’t be so willing to roll out into a smooth, continuous sheet. Once you get going, you’ll begin to recognize the perfect consistency.

TIP: If the dough seems too wet once it’s been mixed in the food processor, add a bit of flour as you kneed it into one consistent ball of dough. Remember, it’s easier to add a bit more flour to wet dough than it is to try to add more moisture to dough that is too dry.

#2 PASTA MAKER and/or KITCHENAID PASTA ROLLER SET

My grandma was a genius for investing in her pasta machine. The three-in-one device has a wide enough roller setting that creates a large, solid sheet of pasta dough which is ideal for creating long, continuous noodles. Once you run it through the roller to your desired thickness you simply transfer the hand crank to the cutter side and crank the sheet of pasta through the cutter.

I also have the KitchenAid pasta roller and cutter that you attach to your KitchenAid mixer which works well too, it just doesn’t create as wide of a sheet of pasta as the pasta maker does.

If you have a whole team of people for your noodle making extravaganza, a few could work with the pasta maker and others could work with the KitchenAid attachments to increase your noodle production.

TIP: This is when noodle making with family comes in handy. The sheet of dough can get really long – which is what you want – so it’s nice to have multiple hands on deck ready to guide the dough through the machine while another person cranks the cutter.

TIP: If you like to or have to avoid regular flour in your diet, check the manuals that come with your pasta rollers. My KitchenAid set came with pasta recipes using semolina flour as well as recipes for whole wheat and spinach pasta!

TIP: If you’re going to try your hand at homemade ravioli, these ravioli molds would work great. You’d simply run your pasta dough through the pasta maker to get your large, flat sheets of pasta, then place them over the molds, add your filling, add a top layer of pasta and voila! Ravioli!

#3 PLASTIC CLOTHING HANGERS

Hangers are a key tool for any noodle making marathon. We have a specific stash of hangers that we store with our other noodle making tools. After running the dough through the pasta roller until you reach the desired thickness, you’ll switch to the pasta cutter. Before you begin cranking the dough through the cutter, place a hanger under the cutter to catch the noodles. Once you cut half of the sheet of dough, slowly pull the hanger away from the cutter so the second half of the sheet can fall loosely as it’s cut. When you’re done with that sheet of dough, you’ll have dozens of LONG noodles draped over the clothes hanger.

TIP: The noodle cutting step is when teamwork makes the dream work. As one person is cranking the handle and guiding the dough through the cutter setting another person can be ready and waiting with the clothing hanger.

#4 CLOTHES DRYING RACK

After draping the freshly cut noodles on the clothing hangers, place the hangers on a clothes drying rack. It’s important to let them dry for a bit so they don’t stick together when the strips are cut to your desired length.

They also make fancy pasta dryers like this one or this one. We get by with the clothes hangers and rack since they were things we already had on hand.

TIP: Separate the long strands of noodles on the hanger that may be sticking together while they are still soft. Doing so will prevent them from breaking and keep the majority of your noodles in tact so they can be cut later to the desired length.

#5 FOLDING TABLE

Once your noodles dry for a bit on the hangers, you’ll want a designated table or any other flat surface where your noodles can dry for several days. Yes, DAYS. You won’t want to lay out your noodles at the dinner table that you use every single day unless you want thousands of drying noodle to accompany you for breakfast, lunch and dinner.

#6 TABLE COVERING

Any kind of clean table covering will do. Covering your table before laying out your noodles to dry simply makes for easier cleanup. Once you gather up all of your dried noodles for storage, you’ll have a dusting of flour and bits of noodle everywhere. Simply gather up the table covering and shake it out outside and throw the covering in the washer.