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Branching Out
In April, 6 months into my project, I decided to try and make different types of pasta dough. I had nearly perfected making a classic egg dough so I figured I'd try something new. This way, I could really master all pasta instead of just one kind out of the hundreds of them.
Gluten-Free Pasta
I first decided that I should make gluten-free pasta because it has become such a common thing. Some of the best pasta I have ever had was gluten-free pasta from Durum, a shop in Lynn. Plus, I have a few gluten-free friends and this way, they'd finally get to taste my pasta!
I started by researching what kind of flour is best for gluten-free pasta making. I found that a simple gluten-free replacement flour plus some xanthan gum works best. Xanthan gum is a polysaccharide often used as a binder in gluten-free recipes. It acts as the gluten that would normally be holding the dough together. To get my ingredients, I went to the place of all things allergy-friendly; Whole Foods. I picked up some xanthan gum and a type of flour called Measure for Measure.
My ingredients for gluten-free pasta.
When I got home, I started my gluten-free dough. The very first thing I noticed was how easily the dough fell apart. The lack of gluten truly took away all stability it had. The dough felt like working with sand and it kept sticking together. It felt almost dry but adding any more water or oil would’ve made it worse. When I rolled out the dough it just ripped apart and picking it up was impossible. I ended up not being able to even cook that dough because I couldn't roll and cut the pasta.
My first attempt at gluten-free pasta.
The next time I made gluten-free pasta, I was much more successful. I found that using a stand mixer to combine the ingredients rather than working them together by hand created a stronger binding. I also used just egg yolks because egg whites are much runnier. Even though the dough came out much better this time, it still felt a lot different than normal dough. It was grainer and had a lot less elasticity. It took me a little to adjust to these changes when cutting the dough but I ended up with some pretty good-looking fettuccini. Since there's no gluten that needs to rest, gluten-free pasta can be cooked right away. It is the same as normal pasta in the fact that you can tell it's ready when it starts to float.
I think if gluten-free pasta is done right, it can be better than normal pasta. I continued to make and get better at making gluten-free pasta. My gluten-free friends tried it and loved it. It is a good skill to know for the future in case I am making a meal for anyone who is gluten-free!
Vegan Pasta
Last year, I saw a Tik Tok made by a chef who showed how he made pasta using just pasta and water. This Tik Tok stuck with me until April when I was making my gluten-free pasta. Jeremy Scheck, the person who made the video, said he used semolina flour to create this delicious vegan dough. I knew I needed to try it because pasta with just flour and water sounds so much easier to make. I started to do some research on semolina flour and what was so special about it. Semolina is a coarser, darker flour made from durum wheat. Semolina has an extremely high gluten content which is the reason it can be combined with just water to make a pasta dough. Inside the Rustic Kitchen says one of the benefits of semolina pasta is that "the pasta itself is tougher and not as soft as regular pasta dough making it extremely easy to form into shapes like Cavatelli, Gnocchetti Sardi, Orecchiette, Spaghetti Alla Chitarra and so many more".
The semolina flour I used.
I took another trip to Whole Foods to get myself some of this magical flour. The first thing I noticed was that the flour was much grainier than all-purpose flour. I was worried that my pasta dough would come out grainy but it actually wasn't too bad. My issue though was not having a pasta machine to roll out the dough. It was impossible to roll out by hand; a downside to the extreme elasticity. I eventually gave in and cut some fettuccini. Not surprisingly, my first batch was way too thick and barely cooked. It was basically strands of warm, soggy, dough.
Semolina (left) vs all purpose flour (right)
When I tried again, I didn't back down. I spent about 20 minutes trying to roll out one sheet of pasta with it worked because the pasta came out delicious. I made some Spicy Vodka Sauce to go along with it (recipe under Spicy Pasta Alla Vodka) and served it to my family. I kept making this pasta dough to perfect it. It came in handy when I wanted to make pasta but didn't have any eggs. I made some for my vegan friend Colette, who absolutely loved it. Just like gluten-free pasta, it can be really helpful to know how to make vegan pasta so you're ready for any situation.
The sheet I spent 20 minutes rolling out.
The final dish.
Spinach Pasta
I didn't delve too deep into spinach pasta but I did learn a lot about it in the two batches I made. I decided I'd make spinach pasta because it looked fun and I had never tried it before. It seemed like an easy way that I could really enhance my pasta dishes. The process to make it is generally the same except pureed spinach replaces some of the water. After finding a recipe on a website called Bell'alimento, I got to work.
I learned that spinach has to be prepared a certain way prior to being pureed. It needs to be sauteed with a bit of olive oil and garlic until it reduces by at least half. Make sure to keep the spinach moving so it doesn't brown. Immediately it should be placed in ice water and then transferred to the food processor with a slotted spoon to get rid of some of the extra liquid.
Sauteed spinach in the ice bath.
Spinach before being sauteed.
Spinach after being sauteed.
My spinach dough.
A rolled out sheet of my spinach dough.
The dough came out great. It was easy to work with; not too weak and not too strong. The dough was very soft and light. I rolled it out and cut some fettuccini. After cooking came the moment of truth. I took a bit and honestly, I didn't really like it. The spinach flavor was so strong I thought I was just eating doughy spinach. But, just because I didn't like it doesn't mean I shouldn't try and make it again.
One weekend, I made my spinach dough in the morning before I had to leave for a soccer game so I could cook it when I got back for lunch. I wrapped up the dough in a kitchen towel because we were out of saran wrap and popped it in the fridge. When I got back and looked at the dough, I was horrified. Looking at me was a dry clump of green mush that had crusted over. Obviously, the dough was unsalvageable but from that day forward I made sure that my dough was properly protected from drying out.
My disgusting, dried out dough.
Learning how to make all three of these types of pasta really challenged me to try new things. I broadened my pasta horizons to now include special types of dough to accommodate all types of diets. It also put my abilities to the test because I had to adapt to the differences that the ingredients created.
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