Homemade Pasta
Making your own homemade pasta is easier than you think, and you only need 2 ingredients! Drying it for storage is even easier. Why make your own pasta? Well, if you’ve ever had fresh pasta and noticed how much better it was, there is your reason! In this post I will show you how to make, dry and store your own pasta.
Just Like Nonna
Start with a pile of flour—I just used a cup of all purpose for this video and it turned out great. The best flour to make pasta dough is a combination of 00 flour and semolina. You can use nothing but semolina or nothing but 00. You can also use a combo of all purpose and whole wheat. Experiment with different flours and let me know your favourite!
Make a well in the pile and crack the eggs inside. Beat the eggs with a fork—don’t be too aggressive and break your flour pile—the egg makes a huge mess when it leaks out! Of course, if you are not feeling very authentic, use a bowl or even the dough hook attachment on your stand mixer.
Knead the dough for at least 10 minutes—if you don’t, then the gluten won’t develop and your pasta dough won’t stretch. Add a few drops of water if things are looking too floury, and likewise, sprinkle in some flour if it’s too sticky—you will likely have to do the former.
Let the dough rest, wrapped in plastic, for 30 minutes. If it doesn’t have a chance to relax, it will lack flexibility.
Roll your dough in smaller pieces rather than one large piece. Keep all other pieces of dough wrapped so they don’t dry out. It doesn’t matter if you roll lengths separately or if you loop the dough into one piece and roll it in one fell swoop—as long as you end up with thin sheets of pasta.
You can use the cutter that came with your machine to cut noodles, but cutting them by hand gives you more flexibility. Roll the pasta sheets (using plenty of flour to avoid sticking) and cut whatever size noodle you like.
Eat Now Or Dry For Storage
Dry your pasta for 15 minutes before cooking—allowing some drying will make it easier to achieve al dente. Make sure the water is well salted and at a full boil—it will only take 3-4 minutes to cook. If you want to dry your pasta for storage, spread the noodles out onto a well floured baking tray. Toss them around from time to time to allow full circulation. Or hang the noodles from anything you can find that is clean and allow to dry for 12-48 hours. They are fully dry when they are pale and you can break a noodle with a clean snap rather than a chewy bend. Once fully dry, they will keep in a zip lock bag for several months. The dry pasta will take closer to 5-7 minutes to cook.
And that’s it, guys! Try a batch of fresh pasta for your next Italian feast and you may be making it more often than you thought.
Ingredients
- 1 cup all purpose flour
- 2 eggs
- Water
Instructions
- Dump flour onto a clean table or add to a bowl. Make a well in the center.
- Crack eggs into the well and beat with a fork, keeping the egg inside the well and gradually allowing the flour to incorporate and become a dough.
- Once dough is formed, knead with your hands. If there is too much flour, add a few drops of water so it comes together.
- Knead dough for 10 minutes or until smooth.
- Wrap dough in plastic and allow to rest for 30 minutes.
- Roll or shape pasta as desired.
Yum