I’ve been making homemade pasta for several years. It is SO easy and everyone loves it. I mostly use the noodles for Chicken and Noodle Soup or Beef and Noodles. Or, sometimes I roll the recipe into Lasagna Noodles (I’ll share how I do that soon).
By the way…I can’t decide whether to call this pasta or noodles. Is there a difference? If it’s okay with you, I’ll just keep using the words interchangeably since I apparently can’t make a decision about which one to use. Hopefully I won’t accidentally combine the two and call it poodles because that’s a different thing entirely and poodles can neither be mixed in a bowl nor rolled out on a well floured surface.
I think most people assume it’s hard to make your own noodles. If you are one of those people, please try mixing these up really quickly and find out how EASY they are to make!! Here…I’ll show you…
Whole Wheat Pasta
2 1/3 cups whole wheat flour (I use freshly ground flour)
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
2 beaten eggs
1/3 cup water
1 teaspoon olive oil
Grain Soaking Instructions (so that the grain will be more easily digested):
Use the same ingredients, substituting the water with a cultured dairy product like buttermilk or plain yogurt. Mix then cover with a towel and let it sit for 12-24 hours.
First mix the flour and salt together in a bowl and make a little”pit” in the middle.
Beat your eggs in a separate bowl, then pour them into the flour mixture.
Add the water (or buttermilk) and olive oil.
Stir well until the ingredients are mostly combined.
Dump it out onto a floured surface and knead it a little bit to get the ingredients combined well.
(If you are planning to soak the grain, you would begin at this point.
Put the “blob of dough” back into your bowl, cover and let it sit for 12-24 hours.)
Make sure your surface has a LOT of flour all over it so that your noodles won’t stick when you roll out the dough. Sticky noodles are not fun. (I would imagine that sticky poodles are not fun either, but I don’t have any experience in this area.)
Use a well floured rolling pin and roll and roll and roll until your noodle dough is almost hanging off the side of your counter top. Or at least until it is very thin, about 1/8 inch in thickness. You may need to keep tossing some flour under the dough as you roll to keep it from sticking.
I use a pizza cutter to cut long strips in my noodle dough.
That’s what Grandma used to do after all.
Ooh, isn’t it purty?
Cut your noodles any length you want.
In case you’re wondering…I made a double batch. Yeah…that’s a lot of noodles.
Once you’ve cut your noodles you can either use them right away, or you can let them dry so that you can store them and have them ready for when you need them.
I used my new dehydrator to dry the noodles, but you can just leave them on the countertop to dry if you want. It will take a while…like several hours or even an entire day. You may also need to turn the noodles over after a few hours so that the under side can dry.
Once the noodles are completely dry, store them in an air tight container in your pantry. They will stay good for up to a month. They can also be frozen….just let them thaw a little before you cook them.
To cook your noodles:
Bring six cups of chicken, beef or vegetable broth to a boil. (I like to include cooked meat and veggies in my broth too when I add noodles.) Stir in the noodles, making sure they don’t stick to each other. Salt well. Cover and simmer for 20-25 minutes or until the noodles are fat and tender.
Wow, you make it seem really easy! I’ve made pasta before, but not often since all the recipes I’ve found say you have to knead at least ten minutes – too much work for me most of the time. But if it works as well to just knead “a little bit” I may start doing it more often.
I think the original recipe I created this recipe from said to knead for 10 mintutes. I’ve never found that necessary…just knead it long enough to “make the dough nice”. Maybe I’m just lazy? :)
I also never knead bread or other doughs as long as it says. I really think it gives it a lighter texture the less you touch it and the less flour you have to add for the stickiness. That’s my rule of thumb for kneading. Get in, get it mixed, hands off.
yes. I used to make 13-14 loaves of bread + rolls etc. on Monday morning for our family.. I always use lots of different kinds of grains both whole and ground. Usually takes about half an hour to make most any bread at . fresh noodles about the same.
Awesome! I want to make my own noodles now!
Oooo. Yum. Ever try them with red sauce? You know, like spaghetti? I find I have good luck adapting simple recipes like this to wheat free versions. So I might give it a try this weekend. I’m getting tired of rice and potatoes and the same old sides. Thanks.
No, I’ve never tried them with red sauce…not sure why. I think they’d surely be good. Maybe I’d cut them thinner for red sauce since they really fatten up once they’re cooked.
hmmmm, my family just went out the door to the Farm Progress Show… This looks like a fun project for this morning! (more fun than sorting through all the s.t.u.f.f. we moved into this house this summer ;-))
Or I could just mix them up to let the grain soak all day…
Thanks, Laura (&Grandma)! (glad I don’t ‘have to’ have a pasta cutting thing-ma-bob machine)
Thank you for sharing this! I do have one silly question. If you decide to freeze the noodles, do you have to let them dry first or can you put them on a cookie sheet and let them freeze, then put them in a freezer container?
It really is best if you let them dry before you freeze them. They are pretty sticky before they dry and while they’d probably freeze okay on a cookie sheet, once you thaw them they’d probably be a mess.
I have frozen the noodles on a cookie sheet to cook later.. it’s ok. It doesn’t make a big mess but I only let the noodles partially thaw before I cooked them. I would prefer to let mine dry in the air but limited counter space (or too much going on in the kitchen ;) forces me to get creative!
My Italian mother-in-law would say that there is a difference between pasta and noodles. They are usually made from different types of flour and cooked differently. Pasta is cooked al dente, til it’s just chewy, and noodles are cooked til they are soft. Pasta is for tomato sauce ( or tomato gravy), cream or cheese sauce or oil based flavorings. Noodles are good for broth, meat gravy, or creamy, or cheesy sauces. This would be her unofficial unscientific opinion.
I’ve made noodles for chicken and noodles, but have not yet tried pasta, i wasn’t sure I could get the texture right.
Thanks for this! I just bought a pasta machine at a garage sale. I’m guessing this would make some pretty tasty ravioli/tortellini, as well?
My mom used to make those years ago. I could not cut a straight line like you did to save my life! lol I do remember how fantastic those noodles tasted though. I may just have to attempt this with Fall coming up.
Test
Does using your pizza cutter on your counter not scratch it? I couldn’t see that you put anything under it. Those look really good!
No, it doesn’t scratch it, but I guess I’m not pressing very hard…just enough to get through the dough. Thanks for mentioning that though so that I remember to be careful. I never thought about it I guess!
Hi Laura,
Is it OK to let the raw egg soak overnight if soaking the flour? I’m just starting to soak.Thanks.
I’ve never had a problem (and yes, I’ve questioned the same thing!). We boil the noodles anyway, so if there was a health risk, it would be boiled out.
Does it matter if it is the eggs you use or regular storebought eggs like I buy? (unfortuantely…)
Laura, this has nothing to do with whole wheat noodles. But, I ran across this today and was wandering if you know anything about it…is it healthy? Seems like it might be fun to make and made me think of you. http://www.ohdeedoh.com/ohdeedoh/meal-time/make-your-own-polka-dot-fruit-roll-ups-126175?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+apartmenttherapy%2Fohdeedoh+%28Ohdeedoh%29
Okay, now THAT’s cool. My kids would LOVE that. It looks healthy to me. The only “nonhealthy” thing would be that there’s a little bit of sugar in the blackberry and peach sauces used to make the dots and swirls…but hardly any at that. I may try it!
I may have to try this! I love anything that says to let it sit 12-24 hours. I have so much time then to find the “perfect” time when I think my kids might happen to behave well long enough for me to accomplish something!
I sometimes buy fresh pasta at the farmers market and their instructions are to bring salted water to a boil and then to cook the pasta for only 2-3 minutes.
Is pasta different from noodles in that regard? I know my MIL makes chicken and noodles (from scratch) and hers are kind of thick and fluffy. Maybe she cooks them a long time?
I don’t know…I don’t think mine would be cooked enough if I only cooked them for 2-3 minutes. I wonder if the pasta she buys is much thinner than mine turns out when I roll it?
Ooh, I will definitely have to try these. I love the recipes you post – thank you!!!
That’s so cool… I can’t wait to try it! Please share pictures of what the noodles look like after they’re cooked. :)
Also, I have to cook wheat-free for my mom. Do you know if these would work with rice, millet, oat, or barley flour?
I vote that these are actually noodles. I think pasta is just flour and water. But I’m really glad these are what I call noodles because I’ve been wanting to have a good source of noodles with fall coming. I love those frozen noodles from the store, and these look better!
It’s something the kids will love to make, too. Anything that involves rolling and cutting is a big hit with them, and I’m pretty sure they can’t mess up the cutting because I don’t think I’ll care if they’re crooked. (Finally, something Mama can chill out on!)
I thought about you and your making pasta today! My family (and my daughter’s friend) stopped at a tiny Amish bake shop today. The little Amish lady was making homemade yellow pasta! She used a wringer to flatten the “dough” and then cut it. She had some whole wheat pasta drying on the counter in the next room with fans blowing on it. My daughter’s friend asked her if they could try using the wringer, and she let them! After they scrubbed their hands, of course. I am now 100% inspired to make some pasta. :)
Made these tonight and was very pleased with how they turned out! Only soaked for 6 hours – used part water, part ACV. Boiled in salted water, then tossed the cooked noodles with butter, pesto, and parmesan cheese. Can’t wait to hear how you use this dough for lasagne noodles!
If using fresh ground flour, when would you do the soaking of the grains part?
You are a true inspiration. I love your blogs, You teach me something everyday and i want to eat more natural and healthy everday. this blog about freezing is great, because sometimes i just dont have the time, going to do the cornbread joes today and stick away in the freezor for hubbys breakfast’s this week, will let you know..
going to use my vitamix to make real cormeal today for the first time, im nervous but excited…cant wait….
Thank you for all your hard work on the blogs, you are really helping out alot of people, you need a cooking show on foodnetwork. i learn more from you and would watch you everyday….
thanks again
connie
You would soak the grain right away, as in, mix it all together using buttermilk instead of water, then let it all soak before rolling it out.
oh the fresh ground flour and soaking question was for the homemade pasta??? have you ever added flax to your pasta also and will that really make a difference in the taste???
thanks again
I’ve never added flax to the pasta, so I’m not sure.
if you mix 1 tablespoon of flax meal with 3 tablespoons of water, and let it sit for 5 to 10 minutes, it creates what you can substitute for one egg. Not sure if you can do that with this recipe but it is worth a try!
I’ve never used whole wheat flour. Do you have to soak it if you buy it in the baking section-like in the bags, already ground-in the grocery store?
It is best to soak it even if it is whole wheat flour from the store, but just like freshly ground, it isn’t an absolute necessity. Soaking just makes it one step healthier!
This recipe should be included in your High 5 Recipes! :O)
I’d love to try this! Which kind of flour do you use – white wheat or something else? Thanks!
I use flour made from hard white wheat.
My grandma made noodles from scratch, and they just had egg and flour (literally you stir a egg into some flour, roll it out, and whalah! you have egg noodles. So, I’m saying this is pasta. :)
Do you use Pastry berries or hard wheat berries?
I use hard white wheat, but you could use soft wheat for this recipe too.
Instead of leaving the noodles to dry on the counter I use a clothes drying rack that I use only for this project.I purchased mine at a hardware store for under $10.00
what is the point of making the “pit”?
I think it’s a lazier way of mixing all liquid ingredients together. The pit eliminates the need for an extra bowl!
it’s not lazy! it is efficient :p
Just tried these and they are cooking at the moment. They were very dry to roll out and no problem with stickiness. We will see how they cook up.
This is great! I read some where that you can roll the dough up and cut the edges instead of doing the long lines. I’ll try both ways : )
Hi Laura! I have been having some trouble with a few of the dough recipes. I would say I am a better ‘cook’ than baker, so I have been having trouble getting my dough to look nice and pliable like yours seems to be. I am using the same wheat and following the recipe to the ‘T’ and the dough always comes out a bit crumbly and tough. Any suggestions? I think it is awesome that you share so much of your knowledge and wonderful recipes…thank you from a novice baker ( and her family who is hoping you will be able to offer some much needed advice). Thanks so much again!
Maybe try adding less flour than what my recipe calls for…maybe 1 3/4 cup at first, then adding a little more gradually after the liquid ingredients have been added in until it reaches the correct consistency.
Thank you! I wondered if that could be the solution, but again, a bit new at the baking from scratch thing. Thanks so much for your time. Oh…the soft pretzels and the donuts I made this morning were a HUGE HIT!!!!
Soaking recipe…you don’t put the eggs in the dough overnight…..if you don’t though, there isn’t enough liquid to soak the flour with.
I actually do put the eggs in the dough overnight. I just mix the entire recipe up as normal, except I use buttermilk or yogurt instead of water. I’m not concerned about my eggs being in the dough and left on the counter overnight because they are pastured eggs and cause little reason for health concern.
When I was a kid we had a pasta maker and oftne made homemade noodles for chicken noodle soup or beef and noodles. I found a pasta maker at a thrift store and now my kids and I enjoy the tradition… IF you can find one – it is so handy and so fun to crank the pasta through the rollers and make it as thin/thick as you like and then just send it through the cutter and VOILA – noodles!
My first effort worked fine. I beat the oil and water together with the egg. It rolled out just like a tortilla and cooked up thick in turkey soup.
Now to try using 50/50 duram/whole wheat mixture.
I’ve used a little trick for ages that makes it a bit easier for me to cut my noodles. I roll out balls of dough into rectangle-ish shapes, and let the dough dry for a little bit – 20-30 minutes. I then flour the dough lightly, roll it up *loosely*, and then slice the roll with a long, sharp knife, like a jelly roll, into noodles of whatever size I need. This makes it a little easier to cut more even pieces (which will cook more evenly) and also it’s a LOT faster!
Thanks for the recipe and all the tips! I bought a pasta machine at a garage sale and am ready to try noodles.
OH YAY!!!
Thank you for the recipe, the step by step guide, and the pictures! This is the first time I’ve ever thought making noodles would be “do able” to try! Cannot wait!!!!
Can you really just leave the dough(that has raw eggs in it) out to dry all day, and then leave in your pantry at room temp?? We have pastured eggs too and I’m not too afraid of raw eggs, only when they’ve been left out a long time. Isn’t this unsafe?
I would like to know the answer to this question as well. I’m afraid of anything raw or left out as my son at 15 months had salmonella poisoning.
You may feel more comfortable storing the prepared noodles in the freezer to be sure nothing goes wrong. :)
I even floured my sheets that fit my dehydrator and rolled and cut the noodles/pasta onmy sheet. I think that if you don’t press too hard, it won’t hurt it either. You could roll out on parchment with a little flour on it, too. I just wanted to “not” use the counter to let it dry on. (Needed the room)
: ) They look great. I soaked them yesterday and last night. Cannot wait to see how they turn out.
Will the numbers be the same if using white flour? I have problems digesting the extra fiber in the whole wheat :-(
Using the same measurements should work just fine.
Amanda Y– I was wondering the same thing. I use unbleached white and white whole wheat. Would the recipe amounts still be the same for both flours?
I would imagine the measurements would be the same for both flours.
I was looking at your recipe for mac & cheese, have you tried using your homemade noodles in that?
Thanks!
Laura hasn’t tried that yet! :)
Made this last night with homemade pesto sauce and grilled chicken. The only thing I did different was I put it in my pasta machine, it made it so much easier! Recipe is a keeper!!
wooooow , we love whole wheat and whole grain everything lol…im gonna make my german maultaschen (big raviolis lol.) my family will be very suprised with this today mmmm especially my husband…thanx for sharing your easy recipee …
take care
patrischa
This was the first time I made noodles for my homemade chicken noodle soup. So easy and needless to say I’m proud of the results :)
Hi all
I make pasta dough in bread maker than roll it in saucepan with whole durum hard wheat
fluor and than make pinpong size balls flaten them with fingers and roll each through one setting on pasta machine leave each piece rest on bamboo mesh /dry about 3 minutes. Than go to next rollers setting for all 10 -15 sheets one by one with no mess with fluor. Time.gap between rolling is dependent on weather if you are in Nevada you do not need to wait for 2-3 minutes. It is continuous job no mess with flour. Means I do not use fluor after dough is
ready to roll it. Simmilar way I do flat breads
with absolute clean kitchen and I bought
recently cast iron plate size of tortilas for $ 5,-
at Indian shop super stuff. Dont mess your kitchen anymore . Pasta looks much better its deep yellow colour and water after cooking is clean. Saves a lot of flour. Happ noodeling.
LADY
Sweet!!! My eldest son has been bugging me to make pasta with him from scratch. Now we can!!!
Hi!
I love that you are using freshly ground flour. I grind all of my own flour for many years now and love the difference in my health.
Can you tell me please what sort of wheat berrie you have had the best success with for pasta? I use a combination of hard red, hard white, soft white , Kamat or spelt or rye for bread with great success.
This will be my first pasta attempt
Many thanks!!!!
My favorite to use is hard white wheat berries. :)
Thank you laura! Have you ever tried any Kamut as well?
Yes, and it works!
First time ever making homemade noodles. Followed this recipe to a T and worst experience ever! Had to add a ton of extra water to get the dough to even stick together and after needing for almost 15 mins, the dough was still not staying together very well.
Kneading*
So,if you are planning to cook them right away, you don’t have to let them dry? Do you also shorten the cooking time on them. Never tried noodles before. Sounds kinda fun. :-) Thanks for all the recipes. I have been greatly enjoying your site.
When I make noodles and am going to use them right away, I never let mine dry.
No need to let them dry. It won’t change the cooking time either. :)
Hey Laura! The first time I made this I was halfway through it when I realized I wasn’t supposed to be trying to roll a poodle in flour! :) Since that fateful day, I’ve used this recipe several times and it’s so much easier without the poodle, that I haven’t even been tempted to go looking for another recipe to try. :) It’s yummy! I was wondering though, what is the reason to let it sit out for 12+ hours to rest? Other recipes I’ve seen only call for 30 minutes or so. I have never been THAT on the ball, so I’ve only ever let it rest as long as I’m able (anywhere from 30 mins to 2 hours… maybe) before I roll it out and cut it. Is that okay or is there a benefit I don’t know about leaving it sit longer? I am still VERY much in the Dr. Suess phase still, I can read them without actually ‘reading’ them. My kids (4, 2, 6 mo) think it’s super cool that I can ‘read’ their books to them while I’m driving in the van. lol
I do hope that you washed and dried your poodle thoroughly.
I’m a spaz. I read the directions too quickly and didn’t realize it was talking about that being the time for soaking. DUH! (I have way WAY too many duh moments these days!) Sorry! :P
So glad to find this — thank you! I received a pasta machine for Christmas and eagerly went searching for pasta recipes made with fresh-ground flour (we’ve been grinding our own flour for years). My version used equal amounts of finely-ground (and then sifted) einkorn, whole wheat pastry, and kamut grain, to which I added dried, ground Swiss chard (maybe half a cup or less). I used soured whey in place of the water, and left out the salt and olive oil since I was using a pasta machine. Much to my suprise, the recipe turned out perfect the first time. (Thankfully, I’d read how important it is to make sure the dough is just barely workable — not at all wet, and my fettucine noodles came out great.) I rested the dough 30 minutes (12-24 hours will have to wait until another day!), rolled them to a #4 thickness on my pasta machine and dried them (on a rack in our arid Colorado climate) only as long as it took to bring the water to a boil. These thinner pasta-machine noodles needed a much shorter cooking time, of course.
No poodles were harmed in this process and the cat was careful to remain a safe distance away.
I use to make noodles a long time ago and they r so yummy. But I have a question about thus soaking grains. U r leaving milk based product out of frig for 12-24 hours does this not spoil. And do the grains get dry in the process or r they sticky. Also do u know of any noodle recipe that either has no eggs or uses a substitute.
It is fine to leave the buttermilk on the counter, it won’t go bad. The grains won’t dry as they are soaking but they will be sticky after absorbing all the moisture. Laura does not have a recipe currently for” eggless” noodles. :)
Thank you for responding to my question. The information was very helpful. God bless!!
I am making this right now with freshly ground white wheat flour, but its too dry. Has anyone had this happen? I am using my mixer to make the dough, but I went in with my hands, and its still too dry.
I’m not sure why it ended up dry, but you can definitely add water or an additional egg without causing any problems with this recipe. Hope you were able to get this to work!