In my house, we didn’t often make fresh pasta. One of the things we did more often was these eggless maltagliati, cut freely. I decided to vary my mom’s recipe by making them with more rustic flours. This is how the whole wheat eggless maltagliati were born, a very easy pasta to make and very rustic, capable of clinging to the sauce for an explosive flavor. All you’ll need is a bowl, a ladle, a knife, and a pastry board, and you’re good to go! Come knead with me!

As for the toppings, here are some suggestions

Difficulty: Very Easy
Cost: Very Cheap
Rest time: 1 Hour
Preparation time: 30 Minutes
Portions: 2 People
Cooking methods: Boiling
Cuisine: Italian
Seasonality: All Seasons

Ingredients

To make these whole wheat eggless maltagliati, I was inspired by a masterclass held some time ago by Giorgione at the Giallozafferano headquarters. His maltagliati were made with dry white wine. I, faithful to my home’s traditions, made them simply with water but kept the simplicity of execution he showed us. They can obviously be made with less rustic flours by replacing some or all of the whole wheat flour… but I think their charm comes from this rusticity.

3/4 cup whole wheat flour
3/4 cup type 1 flour
1/2 cup water (warm, around 100°F)
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

Tools

As anticipated in the introduction, this pasta is very easy to make, with very few tools and you don’t even get that dirty! Of course, you can also use a mixer, but I promise that with just a bowl, it will be perfectly doable!

1 Bowl
1 Fork
1 Ladle
1 Rolling Pin
1 Pastry Board
1 Dough Scraper
1 Pasta Cutter
1 Pot
1 Skimmer

Steps to Make Whole Wheat Eggless Maltagliati

In a bowl, combine the two flours by mixing them. Place the oil in the center.
Use a ladle to mix the oil and flour. It will be a small amount, but make sure it is well absorbed as it will make the dough elastic.
Start adding half of the water
Mix it to allow the flour to absorb the water
Proceed with the rest of the water and let the flour absorb it
Continue working the dough with the wooden ladle until you create a compact ball. Now it’s time to move to the pastry board.
Begin kneading energetically using the heel of your hand to press down
Use your fingers to pull the dough towards you and continue for about 5 minutes.
Now to develop elasticity and softness, you need to energetically slam the dough on the pastry board by grabbing it from one end for at least ten times. Just think of someone you don’t like, and it will be fun!
After this treatment, round and smooth the dough and let it rest on the pastry board for at least half an hour to an hour, covered by the bowl.
After the resting time under the bowl, the dough for the whole wheat eggless maltagliati will be soft and elastic, ready to be rolled out.
To make it easier to roll out the dough, divide it into two with a dough scraper.
After dusting the pastry board with plenty of semolina, start rolling out the dough with your fingers.
Dust the dough again and roll it out with a rolling pin. This type of dough prefers a thicker cut, so I recommend not going below 1/8 inch.
Use a pasta cutter wheel or a very sharp knife to cut the pasta. The beauty of maltagliati is that they don’t need to be precise or have a defined shape, so everyone can cut them as they like. I made mine into irregular lozenges.
While you cut all the pasta, transfer it to a semolina-dusted surface to dry and turn on the heat under the pot.
Once it reaches a boil, add a handful of coarse salt and the pasta. Stir the maltagliati with a ladle to prevent them from sticking and cook for 3-4 minutes. Drain them with a skimmer and transfer them to a pan to toss them with the sauce.
Whole wheat eggless maltagliati can be dressed with any sauce. I made my fake ragù but without wine and tossed the maltagliati in the pan with some cooking water.
Serve with a bit more sauce and, if desired, some Parmesan cheese. I’m sure your guests will ask for seconds!