Step 1

cut chicken into bite-size pieces

Step 2

put 4 cups of water in a saucepan and bring to a quick boil

Step 3

add the chicken, cook briefly, drain chicken and set aside

Step 4

add the broth to a large dutch oven and bring it to a simmer

Step 5

add the par-cooked chicken

Step 6

stir in 1 teaspoon of salt, you may need to add more salt later, this is just to get you started

Step 7

add 2 teaspoons Italian Seasonings and the bay leaf and stir in as well

Step 8

cover and let the chicken simmer gently for 60 minutes

Step 9

meanwhile, make the noodle dough, if using

Step 10

put the flour and salt in the bowl of a KitchenAid Mixer, mix the eggs, water, and oil together

Step 11

pour the liquid ingredients in the bowl with the flour

Step 12

add the dough hook, and run the mixer on low

Step 13

once it comes together let the machine knead the dough for 1 minute

Step 14

remove from the bowl, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until ready to roll out

Step 15

once the chicken is tender it's time to roll the dough

Step 16

set up your machine, dust it with flour, dust a clean counter with flour as well, divide the dough in half or thirds

Step 17

run it through the machine, on the KitchenAid I went to setting three, those make thick noodles, you can roll it out thinner if you like

Step 18

lay the finished dough on the prepared counter, sprinkle with a little flour

Step 19

repeat with the rest of the dough

Step 20

use a pizza cutter or a knife to cut the noodles to your desired size, the bigger the noodles the longer it takes to cook (but fresh noodles cook quickly)

Step 21

if you've had the broth lose volume during the cooking time, add another quart of water, don't worry it won't thin it down too much, the flavor just gets concentrated and adding water will just make it taste right

Step 22

bring the broth back to a low boil, add the noodles, stirring as you go, once the noodles are all added, it will start to get thick as the noodles cook and the extra flour adds to the broth

Step 23

check for doneness after 5 minutes, continue checking until they are cooked to your preference

Step 24

now is the time to taste for salt and pepper and add as needed