Homemade pasta is easy, tasty and far superior than buying the dried stuff from the market.
I admit I was going to post a great lasagna recipe this week. However, as I started to write the post, it occurred to me a guide to making fresh pasta makes a good post all in itself. Yes, many people know how to make pasta. But, there are people who have never made it and if you have a machine you got for the holidays or that you have not used or, maybe have just tried once or twice, this is the post for you. You don’t even need a pasta machine for this recipe. Fresh pasta can be rolled by hand and makes incredible rustic noodles for many dishes. This way I can refer to this post for future recipes, including this fabulous lasagna coming next week.
It can be debated that it originated in Asia, but there is evidence that the Romans were also making pasta long before Marco Polo made his famous journey. Whatever the actual truth is, pasta can be found in many cultures throughout the world in some form or another. All of the varieties are delicious!
Fresh Egg pasta, is generally what I make at home. The ingredients are simple and almost anyone has them already in the kitchen. Fresh pasta is eggs and flour. That is it! Nothing more. You don’t even want to add salt until you cook it, as adding salt to the dough tends to toughen it. Just remember to heavily salt the water. You can add herbs or even juice from vegetables such as beets or spinach. But, plain old egg pasta is awesome.
Pasta machines come in two varieties. There are hand-cranked pasta makers that attach to the edge of your counter. And then there are powered pasta makers that do the cranking for you. I have used the hand powered or manual one for years and it works great. You would be surprised how little effort it takes to crank out loads of pasta. The hand-cranked machine is more versatile, as there is a huge variety of attachments and pasta rollers like a wide one and a ravioli cutter that can be used. And then there is the attachment for a mixer such as this one by Kitchen Aid, which is what I use now. The Kitchen Aid comes with a few choices of cutting rollers, but it is fun to use and you don’t have to hand crank. Both are excellent investments
There is a huge difference between fresh pasta and the dried stuff you can buy at the supermarket. Yes, it does take some work, but it’s not hard and in reality, you can make the dough and in mere minutes. While the dough rests, you can make the sauce and have the whole dish ready in less than an hour. The taste and texture of homemade pasta are in my opinion, far superior. If you have never made homemade pasta, go for it!
A basic rich pasta dough
- 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 4 large eggs
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On a clean work surface or a large bowl make a large mound of the flour.
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Make a deep well and crack the eggs into the well.
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Using a fork beat the eggs until well beaten.
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Slowly incorporate into the flour in ever increasing circles. Eventually, you will get fairly stiff dough. Don't worry if you can't get every bit of flour incorporated. It will come together when you knead it.
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(If using a bowl, dump out the dough and any remaining bits of flour onto the clean work surface.) Knead the dough on the work surface for several minutes until you get a smooth ball of dough, somewhere in the 5-minute area. You may have to work at it to get it to the smooth stage. The dough will be much stiffer than bread dough. It doesn't have to be perfectly smooth, but it will have come together nicely.
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Divide the ball in half and flatten into 2 disks about 1 inch in thickness. Wrap each disk of dough in plastic wrap. Let rest for 30 minutes or up to several hours.
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Set up your pasta machine or pasta machine attachment for a mixer on a clean work surface large enough to be able to spread out the rolled sheets of pasta, or have a work surface near by.
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Set your pasta machine (both powered and manual) to the lowest setting usually #1. If using the mixer set the power to the lowest setting.
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Flatten one of the disks of pasta dough as much as you can by hand into a longish oval less than the width of the rollers.
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Pass the dough through the rollers catching the rolled sheet with your hand on the other side.
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Double up the dough lengthwise and pass through the rollers again.
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Repeat several times until the dough becomes smooth with the edges being the width of the rollers, usually 2 to 3 more times.
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You can at any point fold the dough in half crosswise to achieve smoother edges and just continue to roll until the dough rolls out to the right width.
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Change the roller settings to #2.
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Send the dough through the rollers, doubling up the dough lengthwise each time. You will need to only send the dough through #2 a couple of times.
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Continue to setting #3. Again roll twice
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Set the rollers to #4 and roll out once or twice if you need to get the edges of the dough less ragged.
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At this point, the dough can be cut in lengths for lasagna or filled pasta. It can be rolled thinner or cut at this thickness by passing through the cutter attachments for other pasta.
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Roll the pasta out in a rectangle as thin as possible.
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Flour the sheet on both sides with just enough flour to keep the sheet from sticking together as you roll it up.
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Roll the pasta sheet up into a long cylinder.
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Using a sharp knife, slice thin or thick slices depending on if you want thick or thin noodles.
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Unroll the slices and keep in small mounds of cut pasta until ready to cook.
5 thoughts on “My Guide Fresh Pasta Dough, better than store bought”
I’ve thought over the years I’d like to try my hand at making pasta, and your instructions here are so clear, it really makes it seem totally do-able! Definitely going on the to-do list now. Thanks!
Thanks so much Arden! Making pasta should be fun and I hope after writing this, it should not be intimidating . have fun!
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