SFOGLIA ALL’UOVO

EGG DOUGH

The classic recipe for sfoglia all’uovo uses 100 g of flour per large egg. In Bologna, sfoglini eyeball these ingredients, making adjustments as needed until they can feel with their fingertips that the dough is perfectly developed, a sign it will roll out into a proper sfoglia. What they are really feeling is a dough that is hydrated and has reached the ideal balance of elasticity and extensibility. If a dough has too much elasticity, it will keep bouncing back and be impossible to roll out to the desired diameter—and, by extension, thinness. If, on the other hand, the dough is too extensible (too easy to push and pull), it is overly hydrated and it will be nearly impossible for it to hold its shape once rolled.

Unlike in American restaurant kitchens, in Bologna intense debates about hydration are “not a thing.” Bolognesi feel the dough and—with lots of practice—you may, too.

But here I think it’s essential to provide a more concrete recipe with fewer variables. After years of experimentation, I landed on a recipe that is easy to nail anywhere. It features a precise proportion of egg to flour, which results in a 57 percent hydration dough—hydration level refers to the proportion of liquid to flour—making it especially ideal for filled pasta such as tortellini.

The moisture from the egg hydrates the flour, activating the gluten. Meanwhile, the egg white and yolk provide protein and fat, respectively, lending strength, pliability, and elasticity. I have engineered the dough so all these features are in balance and the resulting pasta has the structure and strength needed for both cut and filled pasta shapes. To that end and as noted in “Measurements” (see page 24), I use metric units ONLY for my Master Dough sfoglia recipes. Giving both the flour and egg measurements in grams ensures a better, more consistent result. Using grams also eliminates the variable of using whole eggs, which can vary slightly in weight.

MAKES TWO 355 G [ABOUT 12.5 OZ] PASTA DOUGH BALLS, SERVING 6

454 G [1 LB] “00” FLOUR, PLUS MORE FOR DUSTING

258 G [9.1 OZ] EGGS, BEATEN (SEE EGGS, PAGE 30, FOR MEASURING INFORMATION)

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 eggs.

Pour the eggs into the well. Working from the interior edge of the well, use a fork to incorporate a bit of the flour with the eggs. 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 (see previous spread). 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 in plastic wrap, seam-side up, 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 (or 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. Before rolling, set the wrapped dough on the counter and let it come to room temperature, about 30 minutes. This is a must for refrigerated egg doughs.

EGGS

The first time I broke open an egg at La Vecchia Scuola Bolognese, it was like magic. The yolk was so intensely colorful it practically glowed. It was not at all like the pale yellow orbs typically found in eggs back home in the United States. Thanks to a diet of insects and corn, many chickens in Italy lay eggs with yolks ranging in color from light orange to nearly red. In fact, a synonym in Italian for tuorlo (yolk) is rosso (red). Orange-red yolks can also be attained by increasing a chicken’s beta-carotene consumption, or even feeding it capsicum or marigold petals. The yolk’s color influences the pigment of egg-based pasta doughs, although the hues are mellowed by the flour.

Eggs bring a lot more to bolognese pasta than just their tint. Without the fat-rich yolk, there would be no elasticity to the rolled out dough—so strands, such as tagliatelle, would lack character, as would filled pastas, which benefit from a bit of stretch to contain their filling. The protein-rich albumen, on the other hand, imparts strength that gives the pasta its bite when cooked. The egg makes Bologna’s most traditional pasta shapes possible. Without this main ingredient, the pages of this book would be mostly blank. No matter where you are, for the best and most beautiful dough, use the highest quality eggs you can find.