Fresh Rice Pasta

I was tempted to title this post "Gluten Free Pasta #9," because that's about how many tries it took me to get it right. Too little xanthan, and the dough won't stick together. Too much, it's dry and crumbles at the edges. Just the right amount gives a good final product, but requires a lot of finesse; the dough tears the first few times you put it through the machine. Tapioca starch is an alternative binder. It makes a lovely, soft dough, and rolls through the first setting on the machine like buuutah, but the dough collapses along weak points as the pasta sheets get longer, and isn't sturdy enough for filled pastas. The trick is to combine the two, for a dough soft enough to slide through the machine with nary a curse word, and strong enough to roll out thin. Glutinous rice flour works best, but if you need flour from a certified gluten free facility and can't find glutinous rice flour that fits the bill, sweet rice flour works too. If you're not too confident about making pasta, be sure to check out the silent video at the end.

Ingredients

• 35 g (2 Tbsp + 1 Tsp) Water
• 7 g (1 1/2 Tsp) Tapioca Starch/Flour
• 1 Large Egg or 3 Yolks 
• 3/4 Tsp Xanthan
• 90-100 g (3/4 Cup- 1 Cup + 2 Tbsp) Glutinous Rice Flour or 90-100 g (2/3 Cup-2/3 Cup + 2 Tbsp) Sweet Rice Flour

Special Equipment

•   Food Processor (you can make the pasta by hand, but it takes some serious elbow grease)
•   Pasta Machine

Time

30 minutes to get it on the table. Allow extra time if you've never made pasta.

Serves

One person as an entree, two as a side

Instructions

Measure the 35 g (2 tbsp + 1 tsp) water into a small pot or frying pan, preferably nonstick. Sprinkle the 7 g  (1 1/2 tsp) tapioca on top, and mix well with a fork or whisk. Put over high heat, and stir until clear. This took around 30-60 seconds on my gas stove. 
  
In your food processor, blend the eggs or yolks with the 3/4 tsp xanthan. If you have different or odd sized eggs, you're looking for 50 g (1/4 cup) of egg or yolks after removing the shells. If it appears that any xanthan has climbed the walls of the food processor, scrape it down and blend again. When you have a thickened yellow paste, check that the tapioca glue has cooled to lukewarm, and add it to the egg mixture. Don’t worry if it has dried out around the edges; the blade will take care of it. Blend, add 90 g glutinous rice flour, and blend again.  If you're not weighing the ingredients, I recommend you start with 3/4 cup glutinous rice flour and go from there, due to differences in measurement. Mix until the dough is homogeneous. It should hold together and feel slightly tacky but not stick to your hands. It may form a ball, but it's fine if instead you see wet crumbs that can be pressed together. Add extra flour a little at a time if the dough feels sticky. If you've added the flour slowly, it's unlikely, but if you end up with crumbs that can't be pressed together, add a tiny drizzle of water and blend again. 

Knead and squish the dough a few times and divide it in half. Dust both halves with flour, and wrap one of them in plastic wrap if you’re not confident that you can work quickly. Smash the other as flat as you can, using more flour if needed.

Roll the dough through the largest setting of the pasta maker. Fold the sheet in thirds and put through the other way, so that you have a nice, even piece. Move the setting on the pasta machine to the next smallest opening, dust the sheet with flour if it feels sticky, and roll it through again. Proceed through the rest of the settings as desired, flouring whenever needed.

Put the finished pasta sheet on a hard surface and roll the other half of the dough through the machine in the same way. When you’re done with that, flip over the first sheet so that it doesn’t stick to the counter as it dries slightly. 

Get some salted water boiling, then use the pasta maker attachment to cut the pasta sheet into noodles, or, if you’re feeling rebellious, just chop the sheet roughly with a knife into wide, uneven noodles. Et voilà. Boil the pasta for about 1-3 minutes, and serve as desired.

Amazon Links for Ingredients:
Tapioca Flour
Xanthan
Glutinous Rice Flour
Sweet Rice Flour (Certified GF)

$20 Baking Scale
Pasta Machine
Ravioli Wheel

Modifications and extra notes

If making the pasta ahead of time, dry the pasta sheets on the counter until leathery, flipping over frequently, cut as desired, and refrigerate in a Ziplock bag or airtight container. Dry pasta will need an extra minute or two for cooking. If the dough rips or tears when you try to roll it through the first setting, fold in thirds or squish it back together, re-flour, and try again. Once you can get the dough through the largest setting in one piece, you shouldn't have any more problems, but you may want to stop at the fourth setting to be safe. If this happens, the dough is either too wet or too dry. If it sticks to your hands, it’s too wet. If it can’t form a ball without cracks, it’s too dry. If you’re not weighing ingredients, measure by scooping the flour into the measuring cup with a spoon and leveling it off with a butter knife.