Browsing the menu at dinner, I came across a dish called ‘Spicy Shrimp Bucatini’. “Which one is bucatini?” I thought to myself, mentally scrolling through a multitude of pasta shapes. I had no idea. The pasta connoisseur in me had to know.
My mind began racing. What does she mean “with a hole through the middle?” Does the hole go all the way through the noodles? “Ok, I’ll have that, please,” I said.
I waited excitedly for my food. Conjuring up various mental s of what this mysterious noodle would look like, taste like, and feel like. After what felt like forever, my dish arrived. They were long and moderately thick like spaghetti. The hole was thin, too small for a prong on my fork to fit through, and went right through the center of the noodle. The sauce-retention was outstanding because the hole in the middle maximized the surface area. They were cooked through yet firm, perfectly al dente.
The pasta dough is fed into a machine that forces it through a perforated disk, very similar to a meat grinder. The shape of the pasta depends on the shape of the perforations. Bucatini are made with a disk with tiny circular perforations, which forces the pasta dough to emerge in long tubes.
Bucatini is a type of pasta very similar to spaghettoni, meaning large spaghetti (yes there are thick spaghetti!) However, bucatini have a tiny hole running through them, which some Italians say makes it a great pasta for hearty or creamy sauces as the sauce actually gets inside. I’m not sure about sauce getting very far into the pasta unless you use it like a straw and suck the sauce through it. Yes, you can! But maybe all the sucking and slurping that ensues might shock your dining companions, unless you’re 12 years old of course!!
Although most probably invented in Southern Italy, this pasta is very popular in Central Italy, in particular Rome and is used in many classic Roman pasta recipes such as carbonara and cacio e pepe. Bucatini is also ‘the’ pasta to eat with amatriciana in Rome and that is one of the first recipes I have posted for it. I also like to eat this pasta with arrabbiata, even though penne is the more traditional pasta for that sauce. If you haven’t tried this pasta before you must do so. It’s super tasty and all that sucking and slurping is such fun!
The name ‘bucatini’ comes from the Italian ‘buco’ meaning hole. However, like so many pastas, this type has a different name in Southern Italy where it is often called perciatelli from the Neopolitan word ‘perciato’ meaning pierced. I have read that in the USA it is sometimes easier to find it packaged as perciatelli rather than bucatini.
I do know that one reason for the hole is it enables the pasta to cook more evenly, inside and out. Otherwise the inside would still be hard when the outside is cooked. However, the origin of the hole most probably lies in the original method of making this type of pasta by hand with a rush or a thin rod known as a ferretto. A small piece of pasta dough was rolled and stretched around the ferretto which was then withdrawn, leaving a hole inside the length of the piece of pasta. This is also the way busiate , maccheroni al ferretto and fusilli are still made by hand in southern Italy.
I approach the world as I did the bucatini, always curious and seeking to understand rather than simply accept. It’s not enough to know how to do a math problem. But I need to know why it’s done that way. I’ve never been afraid of airplanes because I researched how lift and thrust work together to keep the giant metal tube airborne. After wondering why my morning coffee wakes me up, I found that the caffeine tricks neuroreceptors in my brain. No, the bucatini didn’t turn out perfect. But my curiosity led me to explore the world of the kitchen and something new– something of my own. I look forward to making “bucatini” wherever I go.
Through numerous rounds of trial and error, I finally made the perfect dough. It pained me to roll it out. I cut and rolled it into what resembled bucatini. Then popped them into 100 degrees Celsius H20 with just the right amount of NaCl. Would my hypothesis of perfectly tubular noodles be confirmed into the theory of General Bucatini? Or would the pasta be an imposter?
I waited excitedly for my food. Conjuring up various mental s of what this mysterious noodle would look like, taste like, and feel like. After what felt like forever, my dish arrived. They were long and moderately thick like spaghetti. The hole was thin, too small for a prong on my fork to fit through, and went right through the center of the noodle. The sauce-retention was outstanding because the hole in the middle maximized the surface area. They were cooked through yet firm, perfectly al dente.
Browsing the menu at dinner, I came across a dish called ‘Spicy Shrimp Bucatini’. “Which one is bucatini?” I thought to myself, mentally scrolling through a multitude of pasta shapes. I had no idea. The pasta connoisseur in me had to know.
Ingredients ready, it was only a matter of mathematics to combine them in the right proportions. I divided the recipe by three to conserve resources. Then applied the order of operations. Adding the flour first. Then the eggs. And finally the olive oil. Making sure each flour particle got its fair share of oil and egg, I created my first batch of dough. After rolling it into a rectangular sheet, I analyzed the data on my cutting board, noticing a network of cracks. I deduced that there was too much flour.
Easy trick to extrude FRESH BUCATINI!
FAQ
Why does bucatini have a hole in the middle?
How do they get the hole in the macaroni?
How are bucatini made?
Does bucatini have a hole in it?
However, bucatini have a tiny hole running through them, which some Italians say makes it a great pasta for hearty or creamy sauces as the sauce actually gets inside. I’m not sure about sauce getting very far into the pasta unless you use it like a straw and suck the sauce through it.
What does bucatini look like?
It looks similar to spaghetti but is slightly thicker thanks to its signature hole. The pasta’s thinness and length sets it apart from other hollow pasta shapes like ziti and penne, and its hollow center it better at capturing sauce than spaghetti. Bucatini’s origins can be traced to the Lazio region of Italy, especially in and around Rome.
How do you make homemade bucatini?
To make the homemade bucatini, I used the extruder. In doing so, I cut off a small piece of the prepared pasta dough and worked it a little bit so that the small ball of dough had a nice, pliable consistency. Then I popped it into the extruder tube and pushed it through cutting it to my desired length.
How do you cook bucatini al dente?
Cook bucatini in a pot of boiling water for 10 minutes. To prepare bucatini al dente, cook bucatini in a pot of boiling water for 2 minutes less than indicated on the package instructions. What can you use instead of bucatini? Use spaghetti, linguine, or fettuccine pasta.