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  • 25 min.
  • 25+ min.
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Recipes

Best served with:

Directions:

1. Set water to preheat:

1.1. Start with filling your large pot with water to ½ capacity and put on high heat until it begins to boil.

Note:
There is no need to add oil or salt into the water (you want to get any benefit from doing so).

2. Pasta dough:

2.1. Place all ingredients into the kitchen mixer with the hook attachment:

2 ¼ cups of all-purpose flour
4 large eggs
2 TBSP of Extra Virgine Olive Oil

Process on medium-slow speed until all ingredients are partially combined (about 2 – 3 minutes).

2.2. Then, increase speed to medium-high and process into a compact dough (about 5 – 6 minutes).

  • If the dough crumbles too much, stop the mixer and knead the dough for a few minutes by hand. Then, continue processing with a mixer until a compact dough is formed.
  • If the dough is too sticky, consider adding more flour (1 TBPS at a time). Then, process until you reach a compact dough.

2.3. Remove the dough from the mixer bowl, place into a sealed freezer bag (try to reduce the amount of air), and let rest for 15 – 30 minutes at room temperature before the next step.

Tip:
If you are busy and don’t have time to wait, you can optionally skip the resting time without significant consequences.

Important:
Do not put into the refrigerator as the dough would start turning black.

Pasta from Scratch-01Pasta from Scratch-03Pasta 4Pasta 5

3. Pre-form the dough:

3.1.

Place the dough on a floured working surface and using a dough cutter, separate into 6 pieces (lengthwise).

3.2.

Generously flour all pieces, and using a rolling pin, flatten into sheets about 1/4″ or less thick and again generously flour.

Pasta from Scratch-06

4. Basic noodle sheets:

4.1. Set the pasta maker (sheet roller) to 1 (maximum thickness) and process into sheets on high speed.

Note:
Steps 4.2 and 4.3. do not have to be performed for lasagna since our final pasta dough doesn’t have to be that compact.

4.2.

Then fold each processed sheet in half and process again (feed the folded side in). Dust between the majority of the folds to start forming a compact dough and to incorporate more flour into the dough.

4.3.

Repeat this step about 3 – 5 times to reach a nice smooth and pliable consistency. Always fold into half, either by the width or lengthwise based on how wide the dough is (a dough with a thickness of 1 should have a width that is at most ½ of the width of the pasta roller). Optionally, fold the dough or even cut it into half (lengthwise) if the dough is getting to be too wide.

4.4.

Dust each finished pasta sheet with flour.

Pasta from Scratch-07Pasta from Scratch-09Pasta from Scratch-08Pasta from Scratch-10Pasta from Scratch-11Pasta from Scratch-12

5. Final pasta dough forming:

5.1.

Form the pasta by continuing with the sheet roller.

5.1.1.

Process from a low number to a higher number until you reach the desired thickness.

5.1.2.

Starting with a thickness of 2, run each pasta sheet through the machine just once or twice and do not fold.

5.1.3.

Dust each pasta sheet with flour after each roll (or at least after a few rolls).

5.1.4.

When you reach the desired thickness, replace the sheet roller with the required cutter (only for some kinds of pasta when specified).

5.2.

Following the popular pasta recipes (note that the cooking times in the following recipes apply for fresh, not dried, homemade pasta only):

Pasta 14Pasta from Scratch-13

Soup noodles

  • Desired thickness 2
  • Switch to the spaghetti cutter and cut into noodles. You can keep the sheets long for longer noodles or you can cut them into the desired length before cutting with a spaghetti cutter.
  • You can add them directly into the soup for the last 2 – 5 minutes of cooking or cook them separately in water for about 1 – 2 minute.

Spaghetti

  • Desired thickness 2
  • Switch to the spaghetti cutter and cut spaghetti/Lo Mein.
  • Cooking time is about 1 – 3 minute (with really dense dough it may take a little longer).

Fettuccine

  • Desired thickness 5
  • Switch to the fettuccine cutter and cut the fettuccine.
  • Cooking time is about 1 – 2 minutes (with really dense dough it may take a little longer).

Pappardelle

  • Desired thickness 5
  • Cut 1″ wide pappardelle noodles using knife.
  • Cooking time is about 1 – 2 minutes (with really dense dough it may take a little longer).

Lasagna sheets

  • Desired thickness 5
  • Cut each sheet in half to reach 12 sheets (or to shape your lasagna pan), and use for preparing lasagna.
  • Do not precook (the dough will be placed raw directly on the lasagna and cooked while baking in the oven).

Ravioli

  • Desired thickness 5
  • Ravioli cut into squares or circles, add filling. Brush with egg and fold together
  • Cooking time is about 1 – 2 minutes.

Tagliatelle

  • Desired thickness 6
  • Switch to the fettuccine cutter and cut tagliatelle.
  • Cooking time is about 30 seconds to 90 seconds (with really dense dough it may take a little longer).

Tortellini

  • Desired thickness 6
  • Tortellini cut into squares or circles, add filling. Brush with egg and fold together.
  • Cooking time is about 1 – 2 minutes.

Linguine / Linguine Fini

  • Desired thickness 5 for regular linguine or thickness 6 or 7 for linguine fini.
  • Switch to the spaghetti cutter and cut linguine.
  • Cooking time is about 30 – 90 seconds (with really dense dough it may take a little longer).

Angel hair soup noodles

  • Desired thickness 7 or 8.
  • Switch to the spaghetti cutter and cut angel hair noodles. You can keep the sheets long for longer noodles or you can cut them into the desired length before cutting with a spaghetti cutter.
  • You can add them directly to soup for last 2 – 3 minutes of cooking or cook them separately in water for about 60 seconds.

Special shape pasta

  • For fusilli, penne, macaroni, etc., you will need a special pasta press – for the exact directions, follow the instructions enclosed with the machine.
  • Cooking time is about 1 – 4 minutes (based on the shape of pasta; with really dense dough it may take a little longer).

Note that there are many more kinds of pasta (not all pasta shapes are listed).

6. Drying pasta or cooking pasta?

Pasta can be dried for cooking the same day, stored for up to a few weeks, or cooked immediately.

A.

Drying:

1.

You can dry your pasta before cooking (does not apply to lasagna sheets or any filled pasta).

2.

Before you dry your freshly-made pasta, dust them generously with some extra flour and stir flour in by throwing the pasta up and down until the flour gets between all noodles, and then create small nests (at most about 1 portion for pasta) on parchment paper on a baking sheet. Or place them right after forming on a pasta drying rack and try to eliminate overlap (in this case, you don’t have to use extra flour).

3.

Do not cover and thoroughly air dry at room temperature for at least 24 hours.

4.

Make sure that pasta is fully dried and then store it in freezer bags or food containers (airtight).

5.

If the pasta is turning black during the drying process, it means that the dough was too moist and/or you didn’t dust the pasta during the process enough (pasta that starts turning black can’t be used and needs to be discharged). This can happen only when drying in nests.

6.

Cooking dried homemade pasta will take longer than cooking fresh pasta.

B. Cooking pasta:

Important:
Do not cook homemade lasagna sheets (they will cook during the baking process for lasagna) or soup noodles (add them raw directly into the soup during the last minute of cooking).

1.

Make sure that the water is boiling on high heat. Pasta needs to be cooked in boiling water on high heat.

2.

Then, create a whirlpool with tongs and place pasta into the boiling water.

3.

Lift the pasta noodles with tongs a few times to prevent them from sticking together or stir if ravioli or tortellini.

4.

Make sure you don’t overcook pasta. The cooking time for most fresh (not dried) homemade pasta is only about 1 minute (it depends on the kind of pasta and thickness). Ravioli and tortellini cook until they start swimming. To be totally sure, you can take pieces or noodles of pasta out and taste them before you make the decision to finish cooking.

5.

Drain water by pouring pasta over a colander, and from here, follow your pasta recipe. Do not leave the pasta to rest in the colander. It is still cooking (because of the hot temperature of the pasta), and you can end up with overcooked pasta. Use them immediately in the next step or place them to cool on a baking sheet if you need more time (distribute around the baking sheet).

6.

After the pasta is cooked, I like to briefly sauté it on medium-high heat with 2 TBSP of frying oil to get more texture (about 1 – 2 minutes). This step is optional.

Pasta forming: You can dip pieces of the dough in a flour bin instead of flouring them by hand. Another good alternative is to use a small strainer to distribute the flour.

About the Author:
TomFounder
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  • Published Recipes: 237
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  • Location: Iowa, USA
  • Member since: 2023-02-02

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