Ingredients
- What Are Soba Noodles?
- How I Developed This Recipe
- Key Ingredients & How to Choose Them
- The Importance of Ratios in Soba Making
- Equipment That I Used My Unconventional Approach
- Visual Walkthrough & Tips
- Alternatives for Homemade Soba
- Make These Dishes with Homemade Soba!
- Printable Recipe
- Sarashinako (first flour)
- Nibanako (second flour)
- Sanbanako (third flour)
- And more…
- % Buckwheat (Juwari/Towari soba):This type is made entirely from buckwheat flour, and it has a really distinctive texture. The lack of wheat flour as a binder makes it really tricky to make at home. You need to be pretty skilled and experienced to get it right.
- % Buckwheat, 20% Wheat (Hachiwari/Nihachi soba):This recipe uses this ratio. Adding 20% wheat flour helps keep the buckwheat from breaking during boiling while still maintaining its flavor. It’s easier to work with than 100% buckwheat soba, but still requires some skill.
- 1/50 (Gowari/Dowari soba):A 50/50 ratio of buckwheat and wheat flour creates a well-balanced soba in terms of texture and flavor. This ratio is ideal for beginners or those unsure about their preference for buckwheat’s taste. It’s naturally less prone to failure than higher buckwheat percentages.
- % Buckwheat, 70% Wheat (Sanwari soba):This is the lowest buckwheat content that can still be called “Japanese soba.” While it has a milder buckwheat flavor, it’s the easiest to work with and has the lowest chance of failure.
- Use the fingertips of both hands to combine the flour and water.
- Mix in a circular motion from the outside of the bowl inward, ensuring even distribution.
- Resist the urge to rush: It’s vital to incorporate the water gradually and thoroughly, not all at once or too quickly.
- Add water according to the feel of the dough, you might need more or less than the amount stated in the recipe due to temperature and humidity.
- Carefully fold the rolled-out dough, overlapping the top half with the bottom half.
- Divide the folded dough into three equal portions, ensuring even width throughout.
- Dust one-half of the dough with cornstarch. Then fold the left 1/3 of the dough so it overlaps the middle 1/3.
- After dusting with more cornstarch, fold the right 1/3 of the dough over the previously folded part.
- Lightly dust a cutting board with flour. Place the folded dough on the board and sprinkle flour over the dough.
- Create a guideline called “komaida” using something light like a straight piece of cardboard. Cut the dough slowly, checking the width of the cut while keeping your hand on the guideline. This ensures the soba noodles will cook evenly.
- Duck Soba Noodle Soup (Kamo Nanban Soba)
- Soba Noodle Salad with Summer Vegetables
- Tempura Soba Noodle Soup
- Zaru Soba (Cold Buckwheat Noodles)
- Hiyashi Kitsune Soba
- 250 gsoba flour
- 70 gbread flour
- 150 ml water
- cornstarchfor dusting
- Start by whisking250 g soba flourand70 g bread flourtogether, then sifting them into a large bowl. Measure out150 ml waterand set it next to the bowl.
- Place the bowl on top of a damp tea towel to stop it from moving. Add a small amount of water from the jug to your hands, and mix it into the flour mixture by hand. Make a claw shape with your fingers and swirl in a circular motion.
- Continue to add the water a little at a time and mix thoroughly before adding the next part. It's important not to add too much water at once as this can make the flour unevenly hydrated. Depending on the season or climate, you might not need all of the water (or you might need a little more), adjust accordingly.
- Once there is no more dry flour and it becomes small rice grain-sized clumps, start pressing it together to form a dough.
- Knead the dough by folding the edges inward repeatedly. If the dough seems crumbly or cracks easily, moisten your hands with water and continue to knead until smooth. The bottom of the dough will show creases from the folding motion.
- Using the edges of the bowl, roll the dough into a cone shape.
- Place the dough on a surface lightly dusted withcornstarch, then press the cone flat to make a perfect disc shape. Dust the top with additional cornstarch.
- Use your palms to evenly stretch out the edges, flattening as much as possible before moving onto a rolling pin. Turn the dough occasionally to ensure it doesn't stick.
- Roll the dough out as thin as possible, preferably about 3 mm thick. Then cut it into manageable piece sto feed through your pasta machine.
- Dust each piece with cornstarch before feeding through the pasta machine. Start with the widest setting (usually 0) and reduce by 1 setting each time until you reach "3" or spaghetti thickness equivalent.
- Use a spaghetti-cutting attachment to cut the soba noodles to the appropriate size.
- Bring a pot of water to a rolling boil and add the noodles. Cook for 1 minute 45 seconds, then drain and rinse with cold water to wash. If serving hot, rinse once more with hot water to warm through.
- Divide the noodles into individual portions and carefully wrap them with plastic wrap, taking care not to squash them together. Place the bundles in a sealable zip lock bag or airtight container and store in the refrigerator for 1-2 days, or up to 1 month in the freezer.
Instructions
- Start by whisking 250 g soba flour and 70 g bread flour together, then sifting them into a large bowl. Measure out 150 ml water and set it next to the bowl.
- Place the bowl on top of a damp tea towel to stop it from moving. Add a small amount of water from the jug to your hands, and mix it into the flour mixture by hand. Make a claw shape with your fingers and swirl in a circular motion.
- Continue to add the water a little at a time and mix thoroughly before adding the next part. It's important not to add too much water at once as this can make the flour unevenly hydrated. Depending on the season or climate, you might not need all of the water (or you might need a little more), adjust accordingly.
- Once there is no more dry flour and it becomes small rice grain sized clumps, start pressing it together to form a dough.
- Knead the dough by folding the edges inward repeatedly. If the dough seems crumbly or cracks easily, moisten your hands with water and continue to knead until smooth. The bottom of the dough will show creases from the folding motion.
- Using the edges of the bowl, roll the dough into a cone shape.
- Place the dough on a surface lightly dusted with cornstarch , then press the cone flat to make a perfect disc shape. Dust the top with additional cornstarch.
- Use your palms to evenly stretch out the edges, flattening as much as possible before moving onto a rolling pin. Turn the dough occasionally to ensure it doesn't stick.
- Roll the dough out as thin as possible, preferably about 3mm thick. Then cut it into manageable pieces to feed through your pasta machine.
- Dust each piece with cornstarch before feeding through the pasta machine. Start with the widest setting (usually 0) and reduce by 1 setting each time until you reach "3" or spaghetti thickness equivalent.
- Use a spaghetti cutting attachment to cut the soba noodles to the appropriate size.
Tips
This section aims to provide a comprehensive overview of the cooking steps and techniques with visuals. It also includes more in-depth tips and tricks and explains why I do what I do.