In Bologna—and elsewhere in Italy—Flour and Water Dough is an expression of frugality. Eggs were once a precious ingredient and only the wealthy could enjoy them in their daily pasta. Middle- and working-class people reserved egg-based pasta doughs for holidays, weekends, and special guests.
MAKES TWO 340 G [ABOUT 12 OZ] PASTA DOUGH BALLS, SERVING 6
454 G [1 LB] “00” FLOUR, PLUS MORE FOR DUSTING
225 G [JUST LESS THAN 8 OZ] TEPID WATER
Make the pasta dough: Sift the flour onto your work surface and make an 8 in [20 cm]–diameter well in the center. You should be able to see the work surface in the middle and the well’s walls should be high enough to contain the water.
Pour the water into the well. Working from the interior edge of the well, use a fork to incorporate a bit of the flour with the water. Continue incorporating a bit of flour at a time until the dough is the consistency of pancake batter. Clean off any flour mixture stuck to the fork and add it to the dough.
Using a bench scraper, scrape any remaining flour from the work surface into the dough. Working in a clockwise motion, cut the dough together as though you are making biscuits: scrape, fold, and cut. Continue working the dough until a shaggy mass forms, 2 to 3 minutes. Parts of the mass will be rather wet, while other parts will be floury. Scrape any dough from the bench scraper into the mass.
KNEAD THE PASTA DOUGH: With both hands, pull the far end of the dough toward you quickly and energetically, fold it over itself, then push it away from you using the heels of your palms. Rotate the dough a quarter turn and repeat the kneading for 3 to 5 minutes until the dough is a compact mass. The dough will be slightly tacky.
Using the bench scraper, scrape any dry bits of dough from your work surface and discard. Wash, but do not dry, your hands and continue kneading the dough as before until it is relatively smooth with a cellulite-like texture, an indication of gluten formation, 3 to 5 minutes more.
Wrap the dough tightly, seam-side up, in plastic wrap and smooth out any air pockets. Set aside to rest at room temperature for 15 minutes.
SHAPE THE PASTA DOUGH: Unwrap the dough. Halve it with a sharp knife, cutting in a sawing motion. On a lightly floured surface, knead one piece of dough energetically with both hands, anchoring the dough with your non-dominant hand as you pull the far end of the dough toward you, then press down, through, and away with your dominant hand. Turn the dough counterclockwise using your non-dominant hand, moving it as you knead in 1 to 2 in [2.5 to 5 cm] increments, like the hour markings on a clock.
If the dough feels too dry, spray it and your hands with water, a little at a time, until it loses its dryness. If you are closing the round ball and find the folded end (back door) is not sealing, spray that with a touch of water to help it along. Continue kneading until the dough is soft and smooth all the way around, 3 to 5 minutes. Repeat with the second piece of dough.
Place each dough ball in the middle of its own piece of plastic wrap measuring about 12 in [30.5 cm] square. Working with one ball at a time, pull one corner of the plastic wrap up and lay it over the ball. Then, turning and rotating as you go, make 15 to 20 tiny pleated folds of plastic, almost like a candy wrapper, until the ball is fully and tightly sealed. The plastic wrap will follow the contour of the dough, which will create even pressure and support from all sides and prevent a flat surface or hard edge from developing when wrapping the dough. Set the dough balls aside to rest at room temperature for 2 to 3 hours, or up to 24 hours in the refrigerator, before rolling.
The dough will keep, refrigerated and tightly wrapped in plastic wrap, for up to 2 days. Do not freeze it. You can roll it right away. There’s no need to let refrigerated flour and water dough come to room temperature first.
The longer the Flour and Water Dough, Egg Dough (see page 38), and Spinach Dough (see page 42) stay in the refrigerator, the softer and less elastic they become. If your dough is tight—that is, it won’t roll out easily, springing back rather than elongating—“relax” it by refrigerating it for up to 24 hours. The longer these doughs rest, inside or outside the refrigerator, the more their extensibility increases and their elasticity decreases.
