Pasta Dough
Submitted by pattyannb
Homemade fresh pasta dough from scratch with flour, eggs, olive oil, and a splash of water. Hand-kneaded, machine-rolled pasta base for fettuccine, tagliatelle, lasagna, or any cut you want.
YIELD
1 recipePREP
40 minCOOK
30 minREADY
1 hrsFresh pasta dough is the kind of kitchen project that sounds fussy until you actually make it, then you wonder why you ever bought the dry boxed stuff. Four basic ingredients do all the work: flour, eggs, a glug of olive oil for suppleness, and water (or heavy cream if you want richer noodles headed for an Alfredo sauce).
Kneading is where you build structure. Ten minutes on a floured surface, pushing and folding until the dough turns satiny and springs back when poked. If it feels tacky, dust in a little more flour; if it feels tight, wet your hands.
The 30-minute rest is non-skippable. Gluten needs time to relax or the dough fights the rollers and snaps back every time you try to stretch it.
Roll progressively through each setting on your machine without skipping. Jumping ahead tears the sheet and gives you ragged edges.
Chef Tips
- Let the rolled sheets dry 2 to 3 minutes before cutting. Too wet and the strands stick together into a solid mat.
- Use semolina flour to dust finished pasta. It doesn’t absorb moisture like all-purpose and keeps strands separate.
- Boil in heavily salted water, it should taste like the sea. Fresh pasta cooks in 2 minutes flat, so have everything else ready.
- Freeze extra cut pasta in nests on a sheet pan first, then bag it. Cooks straight from frozen.
Variations
- Swap water for heavy cream for silkier, richer pasta destined for cream sauces.
- Replace one egg with two yolks for a deeper yellow color and tender bite.
- Work in finely chopped spinach or beet puree for colored pasta sheets.
Ingredients
Directions
Mix 2 cups flour and salt in bowl, reserve ⅓ cup for later.
Make a well in the center Mix eggs, olive oil and water and pour into well.
Stir flour into egg mixture until dough forms into a ball.
Turn out onto floured surface and kneed for about 10 minutes, adding extra flour if too moist.
Kneed until dough is smooth and elastic.
Cover with towel and rest for 30 minutes.
Cut into 4 portions, keep pieces covered until used.
Get out your machine and set dial on widest setting (1 on the Atlas).
Flatten dough ball and run through rollers several times until smooth (you may add a bit of flour here too).
Move rollers to next setting and roll again once.
Continue to roll until pasta is the proper thickness (5 or 6 on the You may cut sheet in half if it’s too long. Continue with other pieces and then put the finished sheet aside to dry for about 3 minutes. Attach desired pasta cutters and run the sheets through. You can use right away or spread out the pasta to dry overnight and then freeze extra. To cook, drop into large pot of boiling water with a bit of salt and oil. Cook until al dente, which should only take about 2 minutes for fresh. A tip - be sure the dough is fairly dry, otherwise it won’t cut into separate strands. Another tip - You can substitute heavy cream for the ⅓ cup water for a richer pasta. Great for fettuchini alfredo.
Comments
