Ingredients: 3 cups of flour, 1 tablespoon of fresh yeast, 1 teaspoon of sugar, 1 cup of hot water.
Note: Either fresh yeast or dry yeast can be used. If dry yeast is used, add 1/4 teaspoon of alkali to neutralize the acidity of dough.
Practice:
1. Put 1 tablespoon of fresh yeast and 1 teaspoon of sugar into the container.
2. Pour in 1 cup of hot water and wait until sewage bubbles appear on the water surface, which takes about several minutes.
3. Add flour and stir by hand.
4. The workbench is covered with flour, and the dough is transferred to the workbench. Rub the dough repeatedly until a smooth dough is formed and the hands become smooth. It takes about ten minutes.
5. Put the dough back in the container, cover it with plastic wrap, put it in the oven, turn on the light in the oven and let it ferment for several hours.
6. The volume of fermented dough is almost twice as large as before, and you will see many honeycomb-like holes when you gently poke it with your hand.
7. Take out the dough and knead it again, so that the volume of the dough is as small as it was at the beginning.
8. Put the dough back in the container and cover it with plastic wrap. Then put the dough in the oven and turn on the light of the oven. This is the second fermentation. The second fermentation time is much shorter than the first one.
9. If dry yeast is used, dissolve 1/4 teaspoons of alkali with a small amount of warm water. Dig a pit in the middle of the dough by hand and pour the alkali water into the pit. Cover the pit with the surrounding dough and knead it thoroughly.
10. Fermented dough can be used to make various Chinese and western pasta.
Experience:
1. Sugar is added to make the yeast move faster.
2. Different yeasts use hot water with different temperatures. I have seen that it needs 80-90F, and I have seen that it needs 90- 100F.
3. If the yeast is effective, there are always small bubbles rising when it is boiled with hot water.
If you want pasta to look white, use milk instead of water.
5. Kneading dough is very interesting. The dough is soft but elastic, probably due to Newton's driving force and anti-driving force.
6. Cover the dough with plastic wrap to prevent water loss on the dough surface. Cover the container with plastic wrap but don't put it on the dough, so you don't have to separate the dough from the plastic wrap in the future.
7. The dough can be fermented twice to prevent it from shrinking after steaming/baking.
8. When kneading the alkaline water and dough, divide the dough into two parts, and knead the two halves side by side. Repeat this step until it is evenly kneaded.
9. Before the dough is put into the pot/oven, turn on the light of the oven and ferment for a few minutes, which can also prevent the dough from shrinking.
10. After the dough is baked/steamed, turn off the heat but don't take it out immediately. Leaving it in the oven/oven for a few more minutes can also prevent it from shrinking.