With 5 simple ingredients you have in your pantry now, you could make these fresh, homemade egg noodles to serve with dinner. In fact, why not make a double batch and freeze half for tomorrow night too?
Place the flour, salt, and baking powder in the bowl of a food processor and pulse to aerate and combine.
With the machine running, drizzle in the eggs. Process for 20 seconds, or until the mixture looks like fine cornmeal.
Turn the machine on again, and drizzle in the milk, starting with the lower amount, and process to make a smooth, firm dough. If the dough is not coming together, add additional milk, 1 tablespoon at a time.
Remove the dough from the processor and transfer to a lightly floured surface. Knead it briefly by hand to smooth it out. Wrap in plastic wrap, and let sit for 30 to 60 minutes at room temperature. At this point you can place the dough in the fridge for up to 24 hours; longer than that, though, and the dough will oxidize, turning an unattractive gray color.
Divide the dough into 4 pieces (about 100g each). Work with one piece at a time, keeping the remaining pieces covered to prevent them from drying out. With a large rolling pin or your pasta machine, roll the pasta about 1/16" thick. If using a machine, start by rolling the dough through once on the largest setting. Fold the dough in thirds like a letter (this helps it become a rectangular shape) before rolling it a second time on the largest setting. Adjust the pasta machine to the next increment and pass the dough through, flouring as necessary. Continue adjusting the setting and rolling the dough through the machine until you’ve reached the desired thickness (we prefer setting #8; use setting #7 for thicker noodles or #9 for thinner noodles). To roll by hand, gradually work the pasta from thick to thin with a rolling pin, incorporating letter folds regularly and pausing if the dough begins to snap back.
Cut the pasta sheets into noodles 1/2" wide, then cut those noodles into 3"-long pieces. Dust with a touch of extra flour and let dry at room temperature while you bring a large pot of generously salted water to a rolling boil.
Drop the noodles into the boiling water by the handful. Be sure to stir the water to keep the strands separated. Cook for 2 to 4 minutes, or until tender, with no raw bite in the center. Test a noodle every minute or so until done.
Drain the homemade egg noodles, and serve them hot, with butter and salt; add pepper and/or herbs, if desired.
Extra homemade egg noodles can be stored in the freezer for up to 2 weeks and boiled directly from frozen. They may require a couple of extra minutes of cooking time.
Making chicken soup? Add the fresh, uncooked homemade egg noodles during the last 5 minutes of cooking time; no need to boil them first.
No food processor? You can also make the noodle dough by hand, in your stand mixer or even on the dough cycle in your bread machine.
