IN THE BOWL
1. Mizumawashi — Pouring. The key is to add water in small amounts and evenly distribute it in a flour mix.
2. Neri — Kneading. The key is to let the dough crumbs come together without adding more water. Shape the dough into a ball and squeeze to see how it cracks.
3. Kukuri — Making the Dough Smooth. The key is to add tiny amounts of water and continue kneading until the dough is smooth and doesn’t crack.
ON THE BOARD
Buckwheat doesn’t have gluten, so the dough is pliable but not elastic. We are not stretching it. We are shaping it. The dough should be moist enough to keep it together. Dusting is also essential for the next steps. It allows the dough to slide between the rolling pin and the working surface while making it thinner and thinner.
4. Marudashi — Shaping a Disk. Shape the dough into a disk with your hands and ensure it doesn’t crack on the edges. The key is to roll out the dough gently without applying any force.
5. Yotsudashi — Shaping a Square. We reshape the disk of dough into a square during this step by rolling out future diagonals.
6. Honnoshi — Shaping a Rectangular. Continue rolling the dough, making a thin and even rectangular.
CUTTING
7. Tatamu — Fold. The key is to dust with flour generously to prevent layers of the dough from sticking to each other during the cutting.
8. Kiru — Cut. Avoid pressing too much on the wooden guide. Set a pace and a rhythm — cut, tilt your knife a little to slightly move the guide to the next position, and expose the next noodle to cut.
COOKING
9. Yuderu — Boil. In a large pot, bring water to boiling. Put noodles gently into the boiling water and use chopsticks to stir gently. Cook for 45 sec to 1 minute. During the cooking, buckwheat starches gelatinize, but they are not stable while hot, not like wheat noodles. To drain soba gently, place a strainer in the boiling water and use chopsticks to fill it with cooked noodles. Then transfer them to the cold water bath to set and rinse thoroughly.
