How to make Squid Ink Dough Like Flour + Water
Okay, so I was not expecting to make this, but I saw squid ink at a specialty store I shop at and got really excited, so I jumped on the opportunity. I have always wanted to make squid ink pasta, but seemed like such a chore as squid ink is not something that you are going to find at Safeway unfortunately. Squid ink is definitely a more adventurous pasta dish that you do not see everyday, but there is something about it’s attractiveness that I have always loved.
The dough making process for this dish is also slightly different as well, much well eggs, more water, more flour than traditional egg or ravioli doughs. Let’s dive in and take a look.
Chefs notes – I used about half the ink that the recipe called for because the ink comes in a pack of small 4 gram packets, and figuered that would be enough, but to truly get the jet black look, make sure to use every bit of it.
Also the squid ink I used was actually more paste like and the ink you remember from science class in high school. It may take a little time to incorporate the ink into the water, and I found that smearing it on the sides of the bowl helped immensely to do this.
As with other Flour + Water doughs, this is a very dry dough and will need a spray bottle for more water. I found this recipe to be especially dry, but could because of the lack of ink, but I am not sure.
As always with pasta, make sure to use a scale to perfectly measure out this ingredients.
Cookbook – Flour + Water
Ingredients –
- Squid Ink – 1/3 cup (25 grams) (You may also see it labeled as cuddlefish ink)
- Large egg – 1
- Water – 1/2 cup (120 grams)
- 00 Flour – 3 cups (540 grams)
Tools –
- Bench scraper helps a lot
- Spray bottle
Step 1 – Mix the Squid Ink
In a bowl, mix the squid ink, egg, and water until incorporated. As I mentioned above, my squid ink was more of a paste that a liquid substance. If that is the case with you as well, I found that smearing it on the sides of the bowl with a silicon spatula very helpful to help incorporate with the water. Continue until well incorporated. It should be very black and look kind of weird.
Step 2 – Making the Dough
Make a large well with the flour on a clean work surface. Pour in the ink mixture into the middle. I have not made this before and it looks very intense, very curious to see how this works out!
Incorporate the dough like you have done in past recipes from Flour + Water. Since the mixture in jet black, I opted to use a fork to mix the flour and water combination together. However, your hand will end up slightly inky when you knead the dough, so you cannot avoid it all together.
Start incorporating the mixture with the fork, adding more flour with your bench scraper as you go. Continue to mix. You will reach a point where the fork is not doing any mixing any more and the mixture is getting thick. At the point, start adding in more flour with the bench scraper by folding it into the dough, moving it around your work surface. Continue until a mass is being formed, continue to knead by hand. As mentioned, this was an especially dry dough, so I needed to add more water than normal.
To knead, with your non dominant hand on top of your dominant, press down in the center of the dough with the palm of your hand, and press the dough outwards. Rotate the dough 90 degrees, and continue. When the dough is flat enough, form back into a ball and continue the process for about 10 minutes, until the dough feels like it is not changing consistency. Cover with plastic wrap, and let sit for at least 30 minutes.
Great work! From here, I continue to roll the dough like in previous recipes, and then cut into your desired shape. This is a great base for many seafood pastas, and is sure to impress your friends. Let me know what you think and if you have any questions below!
