Fresh Pasta
I can't lie to my loyal readers, making fresh pasta has a learning curve. The first 2 times you make it, you won't enjoy the process. It will probably take you a long time too, and you will make a mess, but you WILL enjoy the results. The next few times, you will start to like it more and become more efficient. By the 5th time you make fresh pasta, you will have it down. At this point it becomes easy and totally worth making when the recipe needs it. So if you have never made fresh pasta before, get in there and start practicing!
Start with a heaping 3 cups of flour on the workspace. Make a well in the middle, kinda like when you're a kid and you make a well in your mashed potatoes to pour the gravy in.
Now break 4 eggs in here. This will be a true test of your well integrity! Add a pinch of salt and a splash of olive oil.
With a fork, start breaking up and beating the eggs in the center. Slowly add more flour bit by bit as a batter begins to form.
Once it becomes too thick to use a fork on, grab it up with your hands and start kneading it. Let the dough decide how much flour it wants to take on. You do want it to be on the dry side or it will stick to the pasta roller, but not too dry. See what I meant about learning curve? Anyway, knead it for just a few minutes, and then put it into plastic wrap to rest for a half hour.
When you start rolling out your pasta, you need to continue the kneading process. What this means, is begin rolling at the widest setting, then fold it over and roll it at the same setting again. After 4 or so runs at this setting, you can begin to tighten the setting. We usually only go one notch at a time.
Having 2 people is very helpful. Mandi stepped aside and let Amy try this time. See it isn't THAT hard for beginners!
If you really want to get into pasta making, but this seems like too much effort, it isn't a bad thing to start out using the food processor. Just put your ingredients in, give it a couple zips...
and Presto!
3 cups flour, a little extra if you are doing the well method
4 eggs
Small splash olive oil
Small pinch salt
Refer to method above
thanks. looking forward to trying this
As Mrs. Lovett, a woman I know, always said, "Three times. That's the secret. Three times through..."
Do you have a recipe for gluten free pasta? I'd really like to try your recipes, but my husband has Celiac Disease.
Thanks for this. i've been making pasta for years using the James Beard recipe and/or the Giovanni Bugialli recipe. Your visuals are great.
One thing I do in advance is to lay out 4 sheets of plastic wrap. I knead the big mass of pasta dough a bit, then cut it into 4 and knead each until pretty smooth. Then I lay the balls of pasta on the plastic, flatten them firmly, and let rest until ready to rollout.
Mary Z, you can use this same recipe substituting the regular flour for any fine/superfine GF flour blend (I like King Arthur Flour's GF multi-purpose flour best, but you can make your own if you're ambitious, the standard ratio is usually 2:1 flours to starches) just make sure to add about a tablespoon of xanthan gum as a binder so everything stays together!
This inspired me to try making homemade pasta! I REALLY want to make some giant, fresh raviolis, but that may take some practice. I bought an amazing pasta roller from the 1950s...I can't wait to try it out! Thank you for the clear instructions!