Why Gnocchi Recipes Use Different Potato and Flour Methods

Question

I notice that some gnocchi recipes involve baking the potatoes and ricing them while they’re still hot while others involve boiling the potatoes, dry them in a pot on the stove top, and waiting until they’re cooled before ricing.  Also, some recipes have a higher proportion of flour to potato and some has the opposite. How do these differences affect the outcome?

April Dodd · Accepted Answer

Good questions, Chi. In our gnocchi recipe, we recommend boiling the potatoes until tender, draining, and then drying them further in a hot pot back on the stove top. Our goal is  cloudlike, airy gnocchi, meaning that we want to avoid anything that might produce dense or gummy texture. To that end, we are looking to minimize the moisture trapped inside the dough and to control gluten development. That's why we wait until the potatoes cool before ricing; as they cool, steam evaporates off the surface of the potatoes, and excess moisture drains through the wire rack. This is also why we use a comparatively small ratio of flour to potatoes: more flour produces a glutinous, chewy pasta, not the airy one we want. Using too little flour, however, results in a gummy texture reminiscent of overwhipped mashed potatoes. - April D.

Why Gnocchi Recipes Use Different Potato and Flour Methods

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