This recipe isn’t so much a recipe as it is a technique, and the
technique is all about getting the steam out of the gnocchi. The
cooler you get it, the less flour it’ll take and the lighter it’ll be. Feel
your way through it and you’ll create what may very well be the
best gnocchi of your life.6 large baking potatoes (older potatoes are better; they have
less water), skin on, wiped clean*
3 to 4 cups all-purpose flourESSENTIAL TOOLS
Food mill or ricer
Bench scraper (also called a pastry scraper)Preheat the oven to 350°F. Place the potatoes on a cookie sheet,
poke each several times with a fork or knife, and bake until easily
pierced with a knife, 1 to 1½ hours*.
Immediately slice the potatoes in half lengthwise to expose the
maximum amount of surface area. Quickly scoop the steaming-hot
insides* into a food mill or a ricer. Pass the potato flesh through
the mill (on its finest setting) or the ricer onto a clean, wide work
surface (marble, granite, or metal work best). Do not use a cutting
board.
Stab the pile of potatoes with a small metal spoon, spreading it
out into an even, shallow layer but being careful not to drag the
spoon (that works the starch); stab downward and evenly across