Preparation

面粉在一个碗里混合。堆在一个干净、preferably wood, surface, and form a well in the center. Slowly pour in the water, and sprinkle in the salt. Beat lightly with a fork to combine. Mix the dough, and knead it into a smooth ball. Cover with plastic wrap, and let rest at room temperature for at least 30 minutes and up to 2 hours.

Set up a pasta machine with the rollers on the widest setting, or use the pasta roller attachment for a stand mixer. Scatter a little semolina on the ball of dough and on the work surface around the machine. Cut the dough into quarters and wrap three pieces. Flatten the fourth piece with your hand or a rolling pin into an oval 3 to 4 inches long and 3 inches wide. Feed it through the rollers, then lay it on the work surface. Fold it into thirds, like a business letter, sprinkle with a little semolina if it’s tacky, and pass it through the rollers again. Repeat the folding and rolling process three or four more times to smooth out and compact the dough and give it an even rectangular shape. Move the roller setting to the next narrower notch, and feed the dough through twice, sprinkling it with semolina as needed. Continue to pass the dough through the rollers twice on each successively narrow setting until the strip is about 20 inches long and 1/8 inch thick (I stop after running the dough once through setting #4 on my pasta machine). The strip should be just a bit too thick to see the shadow of your hand through it. Lay the strip on a semolina-dusted surface, and roll out the remaining pieces of dough in the same way.

Use a fluted pastry cutter to cut the strips lengthwise into thirds. Then cut the strips crosswise to obtain squares. They should look more or less like large postage stamps, but don’t be too precise; the point of maltagliati is to make them slightly haphazard. Spread the maltagliati in a single layer on a semolina-dusted wood board or tablecloth, and let them dry slightly. Note that unlike other pasta cuts, maltagliati dry well and do not need to be frozen for longer storage. If you’re not planning to use them immediately, let them dry for 24 to 48 hours, until there is no trace of moisture left. Once dry, transfer to a tightly lidded container and store in the pantry for up to 3 months.