Anyone who once tried lasagna is unlikely to be able to refuse this dish. Juicy and tender, it, like many other masterpieces of Italian cuisine, is becoming increasingly popular not only in Russia but also in the world. And of course, every woman who tasted this dish in a cafe, the question arises: is it possible to cook it yourself? It is not difficult to make Italian food at home. The main thing is to properly prepare lasagna sheets.
Important Tips Before Cooking
Lasagna sheets require durum wheat flour. To get the best quality product, it is necessary to sift it before kneading the dough, and it is advisable to do this at least a couple of times. Then the sheets will turn out not just tasty, but airy, melting in your mouth.
You can knead the dough with your hands or in a bread machine - there is no difference. And for rolling sheets of lasagna, a pasta machine is ideal. But, since it is not in every house, you can limit yourself to a rolling pin.
It is also very important to say about the amount of water. Those who often cook baked goods according to recipes probably noticed that sometimes it needs more than indicated in the list of ingredients, and sometimes less. Predicting the exact amount of water for the test is simply impossible. This is because each type of flour absorbs it in its own way. If the dough is “clogged”, add water in very small portions. Better to do this several times than spoil the food.
Stage One: Preparing Essential Products
To prepare the dough, flour from durum wheat is required because when preparing lasagna it will allow the sheets to remain whole, not spilled. But if at home there is only white flour of the highest or first grade, then you can try to cook the dough based on it. So, to create lasagna sheets you need:
- 600 g of flour;
- 3 eggs;
- 100 ml of water;
- 50 ml of olive oil;
- some salt.
If there is no olive oil, sunflower will do. Also, if desired, you can add various seasonings to this list of ingredients, for example, Provence herbs. But the classic Italian recipe includes only the products listed.
Stage two: kneading dough for sheets of lasagna
Flour must be sown directly in the cup to form a mound. In the center of this slide, a recess is made in which eggs are added. You can use only the yolks - from this the color and even the taste of the finished sheets will only get better. But you have to take not 3, but 6 yolks.
When adding the egg mixture, it is important to carefully beat the dough with a fork. Do this until the flour absorbs the liquid. Then water gradually flows in. The result should be not dry, but not sticky dough. When the mixture acquires the desired consistency, transfer it to a table sprinkled with flour, and begin to knead with your hands. It will take from 5 to 15 minutes. When the ball becomes smooth, elastic and even, we can assume that the work is 80 percent completed. Before proceeding with rolling the formation, you need to let the dough rest for half an hour.
You can also make dough for sheets of lasagna in a bread machine. The recipe in this case will be the same. First, flour is added to the oven, then salt, eggs and butter. The appropriate mode (“Dough”) is selected, and the parameters for the kneading are as follows: kneading twice for 14 minutes, and between them rest a third of an hour. As with manual cooking, if necessary, you can add a little water, literally 1 tablespoon each.
Stage Three: Sheet Formation
To get sheets of lasagna as in the photo, you need to roll out the dough. It is most convenient to do this with a special machine for making pasta. If such a miracle of technology is at home, first the power regulator is put at the highest level. The dough is divided into 4 parts. Then each of the pieces is rolled. This is done three times with all parts, each time the layer is folded in half and passed through the apparatus. Gradually, the regulator sinks lower and lower, that is, first the sixth level is established on it, then the fifth and so on. The result is the desired long and thin layer.
If there is no machine, the dough rolls out with a rolling pin. The lump should be divided into several parts, and then each of them should be turned into thin layers, with a thickness of not more than 1.5 mm. Then cut the squares of the desired size (as a rule, it is 10-15 cm) or rectangles. Lay out the finished sheets on a baking sheet sprinkled with flour.
Stage Four: Oven Drying and Storage Conditions for Lasagna Sheets Prepared at Home
You can dry the layers both in the oven and at room temperature. In the second option, it will take about 3-4 hours. If it was decided to dry in the oven, it is necessary to heat it to 50 degrees and leave the baking sheet with sheets inside until cooked. It takes no more than an hour. For uniform drying, the layers need to be periodically turned over.
If you plan to cook lasagna immediately, then drying is not necessary. For storage, a dry and tightly closed container is used, in which the layers are not damp. Each sheet is preferably wrapped with paper. So you can store them for some time.
Step Five: Preparing the Lasagna Sheets
There are no special cooking rules. Before you make lasagna, you just need to weld the sheets. They are already immersed in boiling salted water, like pasta. When asked about how long they should be kept on fire, Italians would answer - until al dente, which means almost to readiness. The dough should remain undercooked, very slightly raw. Usually it takes 2-3 minutes after boiling. If the layers of the dough are thicker, then a little more time is needed.
After the sheets are welded, dip them in cold water. This, in turn, is required to stop the heat treatment process. Then put the layers on napkins and allow them to dry for 20 minutes. When this time has passed, you can start cooking lasagna.
This article described in detail how lasagna sheets are prepared. The recipe with a photo clearly demonstrates each step in this important process. We also offer to watch the video posted above, which will teach you how to cook real Italian lasagna. After watching the video, every housewife will be able to make sure that cooking at home, although it requires an investment of energy, is no more difficult than making dumplings or dumplings.