No-cook, or oven-ready, lasagna noodles, are pastas designed to eliminate the need for boiling noodles before baking. Noodles are transferred from the box directly to the lasagna pan, ready to cook in seconds.
Identification
Typically, pastas are processed by extrusion, wherein the dough is pressed through a custom-shaped cutting tool called a die under very high pressure. This results in the standard, dense lasagna noodle that must be boiled before it can be baked.
Features
No-cook lasagna noodles, on the other hand, are rolled rather than extruded. The resulting dough is lighter and more porous, allowing liquid (sauce or added water) to hydrate the noodles while baking.
Types
Some manufacturers create oven-ready lasagna noodles by precooking then dehydrating the pasta before packaging. Still others adhere to conventional processing methods but add eggs to achieve the same effect.
Warning
Cautious cooks who doubt the efficacy of oven-ready noodles may want to play it safe by boiling them first anyway. However, this will most likely cause the noodles to fall apart in the oven.
Considerations
Be sure to include enough liquid, in the form of sauce or a small amount of added water, in oven-ready lasagna. Without adequate hydration, the noodles will not cook properly.
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