a pliable gluten-free pasta is transformed into ‘qq’ ramen noodles, with that delightful, toothsome bounce, by cooking them in baking soda water.
adapted from america’s test kitchen fresh pasta recipe
Serves 4-6, makes about 1 lb. of noodles
Ingredients
212 g (1 2/3 cups) brown rice flour, plus more for dusting
70 g (1/2 cup plus 2 tbsps.) tapioca starch
1 tbsp. xanthan gum
1/2 tsp. salt
4 large eggs
1 tbsp. olive oil
2 L water
4 tsps. baking soda
Instructions
In a food processor, pulse together ingredients from brown rice flour to salt until combined. Add eggs and oil and continue to pulse until dough forms into a ball.
Transfer dough onto a clean counter and knead for about 30 seconds. Shape dough into a 6-inch log and divide into 6 equal pieces with a bench scraper. Cover with plastic wrap so that the dough doesn’t dry out.
Set up manual pasta maker. Working with 1 piece of dough at a time, use a rolling pin to flatten the dough into a 4-inch square. Lightly dust with brown rice flour.
Use the pasta maker to run the flattened dough through the widest setting twice (the widest setting on my machine is 8). If the dough is feeling wet (you’ll know as it will tear more easily), dust with more brown rice flour.
Fold each end of the dough towards the middle to re-form into a 4-inch square and seal.
Feed open side of dough (the side with jagged edges) through the widest setting. Repeat folding and rolling 2-3 more times until edges are even.
Narrow setting on pasta maker and run dough through twice. Dust with brown rice flour whenever the dough is feeling too tacky. Continue running the dough through twice at each increment, until dough forms into a thin sheet and is just translucent (I went down to setting 3 on my machine).
Run sheet of dough through the spaghetti cutter of your pasta maker. Lay out mound of noodles on a baking sheet and dust heavily with brown rice flour. Pick up and shimmy noodles gently, shaking off any excess flour. Noodles should be separated into individual strands without fear of it clumping into a ball.
Repeat with remaining 5 pieces of dough.
If cooking right away, dissolve 4 tsps. of baking soda in 2 L of water and bring to a boil. Maintain heat at medium-high. Be sure to watch the pot carefully as the baking soda can cause the water to boil over easily. Cook noodles for 2-3 minutes and strain. Serve immediately.
Otherwise, wrap baking sheet of noodles in plastic wrap and store in the fridge for up to 2 days. You can also freeze pasta directly on the baking sheet for an hour, before transferring to a ziplock bag to freeze for up to 2 weeks. Cook straight from frozen as you would fresh.