fresh pasta without a machine

after reading this almost a year ago and having finally gotten around to trying the machineless pasta technique (to great success!) ulysses and i were interesting in experimenting with making whole grain pasta at home. i've never been too impressed with commercial whole grain pasta, and uh, word on the street is that refined flours are not awesome for you, so it was a logical next step to improve upon the lackluster whole grain pasta spectrum with a homemade spelt pasta.
you make a very simple dough, the same way you would if you were using a pasta crank: flour, eggs, olive oil, salt and a sprinkle of water. then you let it sit for an hour or two, and with a bit of elbow grease and a rolling pin you roll it out as thinly as possible. then you roll up your sheets of pasta, jelly roll style, slice them up into whatever thickness you prefer, unwind them, and throw them in a pot of lightly salted boiling water for a few minutes. no crank required, and god is it good--with a more deliciously wheaty flavor than its refined cousins, and a wonderful resiliency that dried pastas simply can't touch.
we ate ours with some oven roasted cherry tomatoes, garlicky pan fried rainbow chard and some insane honey chevre, but you could serve yours with anything you like--i just wouldn't recommend anything that requires a lot of tossing, like this (oh mah god), as these noodles are slightly delicate. flours are also flexible--from what i understand, farro flour makes the best whole wheat pasta, but i have yet to see it for sale outside of the internet. i would also be interested in trying a quinoa or buckwheat flour as well.

fresh spelt pasta
serves 4 as a main course or 6 as a pasta course

• 10 oz, or about 1 1/2 cups spelt flour
  
• 3 oz, or about 1/2 cup, all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp olive oil
• 4 egg whites
  
• 1-2 tbsps water
• pinch of salt

whisk together flours and salt and pour into a large bowl. make a well in the center.

whisk together the egg whites, water and olive oil and pour into the well. mix together by hand, and when the dough comes together begin kneading—if you suspect the dough may be too dry, add a touch of water. use an extra dusting of flour if your dough is too wet. knead for a good 8-10 minutes. wrap in plastic and set aside to rest for at least 1-2 hours, or up to 24 hours in the fridge.

when ready to prepare pasta, divide dough into 4 pieces. use a floured rolling pin and a clean, lightly floured work surface to roll each piece as thin as possible, aiming for about 1/16" thick or thinner (this might take some time, so be patient and turn dough often). the dough will be springy, so it’s best to work on one piece for a while and let it rest while you work on the next.

roll the dough up jelly-roll style and slice into your desired thickness (i liked mine just under 1/4" thick) and unroll each strand, hanging up on a rack to dry or using them right away. you might want to give your dough a light dusting of flour before rolling it up just to prevent sticking.

cook in lightly salted boiling water--this will most likely cook faster than conventional pasta (ours took about 4 or 5 minutes, but it depends on your pasta thickness, flour, etc.) so keep an eye on it and please, please do not overcook it.