Lasagna Sheets

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Large wooden board or clean work surface (at least 2 feet square)
• •Bench scraper
• •Hand-crank pasta machine (essential for home cooks)
• •Sharp knife or pizza wheel for cutting
• •Sheet pan for stacking cut sheets
• •Clean kitchen towels

Instructions

1. 1

   Form the well

   Mound the flour on a large wooden board or clean work surface. Create a well in the center, wide enough to hold the eggs without them escaping. The walls of your well should be substantial. Think of it as a volcano crater, not a shallow bowl. Crack the eggs into the center and add the salt.

2. 2

   Incorporate the flour

   Using a fork, beat the eggs gently as you would for scrambled eggs. Begin pulling flour from the inner walls of the well into the eggs, a little at a time. Work in a circular motion, always drawing from the inside. When the mixture becomes too thick to work with a fork, set it aside and begin using your hands.

   If the well breaks and eggs escape, do not panic. Simply push flour into the stream to dam it. Every Italian grandmother has experienced this. It does not ruin the dough.
3. 3

   Bring the dough together

   Using a bench scraper or your hands, fold the remaining flour over the egg mixture. Press and push until you have a shaggy mass. Not all the flour will incorporate immediately. This is correct. Scrape away any dried bits that will not absorb moisture and discard them.

4. 4

   Knead the dough

   Begin kneading with the heel of your hand. Push the dough away from you, fold it back over itself, rotate a quarter turn, and repeat. The dough will feel rough and reluctant at first. After 8 to 10 minutes of steady kneading, it will become smooth, supple, and spring back when pressed. The surface should feel like your earlobe. If it remains sticky, add flour sparingly. If it cracks and refuses to come together, wet your hands slightly.

   Proper kneading develops the gluten that gives pasta its structure. Insufficient kneading produces pasta that tears during rolling. There are no shortcuts here.
5. 5

   Rest the dough

   Wrap the dough tightly in plastic wrap. Let it rest at room temperature for at least 30 minutes, and up to one hour. This relaxes the gluten you have worked so hard to develop, making the dough extensible enough to roll thin. Do not skip this step. Attempting to roll unrested dough is an exercise in frustration.

6. 6

   Divide and flatten

   Unwrap the rested dough and cut it into four equal pieces. Work with one piece at a time, keeping the others covered. Flatten the first piece with your hands into a rough rectangle, about half an inch thick. Dust lightly with flour.

7. 7

   Roll with the machine

   Set your pasta machine to its widest setting. Feed the dough through. Fold it in thirds like a letter, rotate 90 degrees, and feed it through again on the same setting. Repeat this folding process three or four times. This further develops the gluten and creates even sheets. The dough should become noticeably smoother and more pliable.

   A hand-crank pasta machine transforms egg pasta from an expert skill into a learnable one. The sfogline of Bologna roll by hand with a four-foot mattarello. You and I can achieve excellent results with a machine.
8. 8

   Roll progressively thinner

   Now begin rolling the sheet thinner, advancing one setting at a time. Do not skip settings. Each pass should stretch the dough slightly without tearing it. Support the sheet with your free hand as it emerges from the rollers. Dust with flour only if it begins to stick. For lasagna, roll to the second-thinnest setting on most machines. The sheet should be thin enough that you can see the shadow of your hand through it, but sturdy enough to handle.

9. 9

   Cut the sheets

   Lay the finished sheet on a lightly floured surface. Measure your baking pan and cut sheets to fit, allowing for slight shrinkage during cooking. A 9x13-inch pan requires sheets approximately 12 inches long. Cut with a sharp knife or pizza wheel. You will need 4 to 5 layers of pasta for a proper lasagna.

10. 10

    Stack and store

    Dust each cut sheet generously with semolina flour and stack them, separated by the semolina, on a sheet pan. Cover with a clean kitchen towel. The sheets can rest at room temperature for up to two hours, or refrigerate for up to one day. Bring to room temperature before using.

11. 11

    Prepare for assembly

    For Emilian-style lasagna, the sheets are used without pre-cooking if they are thin enough and the ragù and béchamel are sufficiently moist. For Neapolitan-style or if your sheets are on the thicker side, blanch briefly in abundant salted boiling water for 30 seconds, then transfer to a bowl of ice water. Lay the blanched sheets on clean kitchen towels and blot dry before layering.

    The decision to blanch or not depends on your lasagna style. In Bologna, thin sfoglia goes directly into the pan with ragù and besciamella. In Naples, where the sheets are often thicker and the filling includes ricotta and meatballs, blanching is standard.

Chef Tips

• •Tipo 00 flour has the fine grind and moderate protein content ideal for egg pasta. All-purpose flour works acceptably if 00 is unavailable, but the texture will be slightly different. Bread flour produces tough pasta. Do not use it.
• •Room temperature eggs incorporate more readily than cold eggs. Remove them from the refrigerator at least one hour before making pasta.
• •The dough will feel dry at first, especially in dry climates or winter. Trust the ratio. Keep kneading. The flour will eventually hydrate.
• •Fresh pasta sheets freeze well for up to one month. Freeze them flat on a sheet pan, then stack when solid. Do not thaw before using; add directly to the lasagna, which will need an extra five to ten minutes in the oven.

Advance Preparation

• •The kneaded dough can be wrapped tightly and refrigerated for up to 24 hours. Bring to room temperature before rolling.
• •Rolled and cut sheets can be stacked with semolina between layers, wrapped well, and refrigerated overnight.
• •For longer storage, freeze the cut sheets flat, then transfer to freezer bags. Use directly from frozen within one month.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 65g)