Preparing multi-layered lasagna is not an easy task, but believe that the time and effort spent are worth it. There is no one who could resist this dish! What is “lasagna”?
When we think about Italy, then in addition to the tanned and white-toothed representatives of the nation, we also imagine tasty dishes. This is pasta, pizza, lasagna. The latter refers to the main dishes, it is nourishing, nutritious and, of course, incredibly tasty. Preparing lasagna, at first glance, is not easy - you will need dough and filling, which are folded in an elaborate combination into a dish. This article will describe all the wisdom of creating "good" foxes for lasagna, which will allow the dish to be perfect.
The general principles of dough preparation are similar to conventional dough technology, and are different. In fact, you can choose any recipe, but some subtleties will bring homemade lasagna dough to classic Italian.
Lasagna dough - preparing food and dishes
How many layers of dough should be in climbing? According to the classic Italian recipe is considered to be six. On such a number of sheets you need 350-500 grams of flour.
The main ingredients are flour and egg. Let us dwell on the first component.
To test the lasagna, you can use the classic flour, which is most often taken for regular baking and dumplings. The dough will be soft, tender, boil it additionally not necessary, and the dish will be guaranteed delicious. But not everything is so simple! This dough is not used in Italy, because there for any baking and flour products take wholemeal flour, unrefined.
It is easy to explain. Purified flour has a high taste. Pasta from this product is delicate in taste, light in color, pastries are white, airy. But it should be noted that these products are far from unprofitable. They saturate for a while and very high in calories. There is no benefit from such products, since the refined flour is cleared of everything, including the useful substances of whole grains. Another thing - wholemeal flour or solid grains. Behind this concept lies the same product, but containing parts of a whole grain of wheat or other type of cereal. Products from such flour does not look very aesthetically pleasing and coarser, tougher in taste. But in this “rudeness” lies the good. In Italy, the dough for lasagna is made from such flour.
Recipe 1: White flour dough for lasagna
If you make sheets for lasagna from traditional flour of the highest grade, then the dough will be tender and tasty. If you take the products in the proportions below, the resulting flour mass will be dense, but soft, pliable. For every hundred grams of flour, take 1 egg and 20 ml of cold water.
Ingredients Required:
- Flour - 420 gr.
- Egg - 4 pcs.
- Cold water - 80 ml
- Olive oil - 1 l. Art.
Preparation Method:
- Mix eggs with water and salt, beating them for at least 6 minutes.
- Flour the flour into a container or on a clean table, make a hole in the center and pour the egg mixture into it.
- Stir the dough with your hands, pour the butter into it.
- Cover the dough with wet gauze and leave for 15 minutes.
- Divide a lump of dough into pieces (approximately 6-8 sheets will turn out) and roll out as thin as possible.
- Spread the sheets for 10 minutes on a dry warm surface, sprinkle with flour, then you can use them.
Recipe 2: Bran Lasagna Dough
If you want to make the dough not only tasty, but also useful, then you should add bran to the flour. Where do you get them from? Today, many stores sell food bran - wheat, oat, buckwheat. Oat bran is considered to be useful (as they contain a lot of fiber). The bran is rather large, so they need to be crushed into flour. Use flour and bran in a 3: 1 ratio.
Ingredients Required:
- Flour - 320 gr.
- Food bran - 110 gr.
- Egg - 4 pcs.
- Salt
Preparation Method:
- Crush the bran. According to the structure, they should be like flour, otherwise coarse pieces will appear in the dough.
- Combine flour and bran, sift through a sieve.
- Mix the eggs with salt.
- Pit into the flour, pour in the egg mixture.
- Knead dough with your hands until you get a smooth mass. If the dough is not kneaded, you can add a little vegetable oil.
- When the dough is ready, you can immediately begin rolling. Divide the dough into 5-7 pieces and roll out as thin as possible. Pour the finished sheets with a small amount of flour.
Recipe 3: Dough for rye flour lasagna
Rye flour is an order of magnitude more beneficial than ordinary top-grade flour. The dough from it will turn brownish. To soften the shade, you can add some turmeric. Turmeric is a spice commonly used in India. It gives any dish a nice yellow hue.
Ingredients Required:
- Rye flour - 180 gr.
- White flour - 220 g.
- Egg - 4 pcs.
- Water - 100 ml
- Salt
- Vegetable oil
Preparation Method:
- Combine the flour by sifting both kinds through a sieve.
- Whip eggs with water and salt.
- Make a well in the flour, add the egg mixture and start kneading the dough. If it seems to you that the dough turns out too steep, then pour into it another 50 ml of water.
- Let the dough stand for 20 minutes, then divide it into several parts and roll.
- The dough for lasagna made from rye flour must be boiled before cooking. Dry the sheets, then put them in boiling water for two minutes. If you do not, then the dough in the lasagna will turn out to be harsh.
Recipe 4: Lasagna dough (with butter)
The dough you get by following this recipe can be used not only for lasagna, but also for making noodles. The secret is to add butter.
Ingredients Required:
- Wheat flour, coarse - 410 g.
- Eggs - 4 pcs.
- Salt
- Butter - 40 gr.
Preparation Method:
- Butter butter melt.
- Mix together eggs, salt and butter. Beat the mixture for at least 6 minutes.
- Wholemeal flour should be sieved.
- Make a well in the flour, pour in the oil-egg mixture. Knead the dough for 10 minutes.
- Leave the resulting lump of dough for 25 minutes.
- Divide the dough into 6-8 sheets and roll them as thin as possible.
Recipe 5: “Colored” dough for lasagna
If you are an esthete and you like the dish to be not only tasty but also beautiful, you can make a dough for lasagna of an unusual color. You do not need artificial colors. Take the spinach, chop it with a blender, then add to the dough. That's all! You can also make unusual macaroni from this dough.
Ingredients Required:
- Coarse flour - 420 gr.
- Spinach - 55 gr.
- Egg - 4 pcs.
- Olive oil - 1 tbsp. l
- Salt
Preparation Method:
- Dough sift. Make a hole in the hill of flour.
- Mix eggs with salt and cold water.
- Pour the egg mixture into the hole in the dough, start kneading it.
- Chop the spinach in a blender and add it to the dough along with one tablespoon of vegetable oil. Knead the dough for 15 minutes.
- The resulting clump of dough should be covered with wet clean gauze and left for 20 minutes.
- Divide the dough into pieces and roll it into thin sheets.
Lasagna dough - secrets and useful tips from the best chefs
Is it possible to keep the dough for lasagna, made by yourself? It is possible, but only in frozen form. Before use, it will need to be dipped in boiling water for 3 minutes. If this is not done and the dough is simply thawed, then it will crumble after lasagna.
Sheets for lasagna best roll using a special machine - so they get a uniform thickness. If you roll out the dough badly, then the lasagna will be uneven in thickness. When you roll out the dough, keep in mind that it should be very thin, but not transparent.
If the dough kneads badly, you can add a little oil to it. Take better not traditional sunflower, but pumpkin or olive.
Do not forget to sift the flour before kneading the dough. This is not just a cleansing procedure - during sifting the flour is saturated with oxygen, it becomes more magnificent.
In the dough for lasagna, you can add different varieties of flour - corn or buckwheat. Thus, the lasagna will be more “interesting” to taste.
Flour, which can be safely used to make dough for lasagna and pasta, is called “durum” or “second grade flour”. If you are cooking dough exclusively from such flour, then the sheets for lasagna need to boil for 3 minutes in boiling water.
Do not use thin-walled dishes for baking lasagna from home dough, otherwise the dish will not bake well. Take ceramic or heat-resistant glass.
