Fresh Cavatelli - durum wheat flour

Method

• Put the flour in the bowl of the food processor, and process for a few seconds, to aerate.
• With the food processor running, pour in the water through the feed tube.
• Process for about 30 seconds, until a dough forms and gathers on the blade.
• If the dough does not gather on the blade or process easily, it is too wet or dry.
• Feel the dough, then work in more flour or cold water, in small amounts, using the processor or kneading by hand.
• Turn the dough out on a lightly floured surface, and knead by hand for a minute, until its smooth, soft, and stretchy.
• Press it into a disk, wrap well in plastic wrap, and let rest at room temperature for at least 1/2 hour.
• (You can refrigerate the dough for up to a day, or freeze for a month or more.
• Defrost in the refrigerator, and return to room temperature before rolling.)
• To form the cavatelli, lightly flour your work surface.
• Pinch off golf-ball-sized pieces of dough, and roll them out under your palms into long ropes about the thickness of a pencil.
• Cut the ropes into 1-inch segments or short cylinders; keep pieces in front of you, horizontally (left to right).
• Flour your hands, especially the tips of the three middle fingers of your right hand unless you are left-handed.
• Hold these fingertips tightly together, and press them into one of the cut segments, and gently roll toward you.
• As your fingertips make indentations in the segment, roll it toward you more so the dough both lengthens and curls around the fingertips.
• As the curl is complete, lift your fingers up quickly, so the dough segment drops off.
• It should now resemble a short concave shellor a hollowed-out boat or canoewith the impression of your fingers in the hollows and along the edges.
• Adjust the pressure of your fingers as neededif the dough cylinders are not lengthening and forming a hollow, press harder.
• If theyre just flattening beneath your fingers, press a bit more gently.
• Once you get up to speed, you should be able to roll the cavatelli with a quick downward flick of your fingertips.
• Sprinkle the finished cavatelli liberally with flour, and spread them out in a single layer on floured baking sheets.
• Leave them uncovered, to air-dry at room temperature, until ready to cook.
• (Or freeze the cavatelli on the sheets until hard, and pack them in airtight plastic bags.)