I use my kitchenaid mixer to mix and knead the dough. Depending on the use, I mix in maybe 50% semolina, otherwise straight all purpose. I add salt to he dough. If I want more smooth supple dough, I add a splash of olive oil. When I make filled pastas, I use water only to seal (never egg).
My quick and dirty ravioli technique is
1 to work the dough down to a 5, then
2 use a rolling pin to thin and widen just a touch.
3 Then mentally divide the strip of pasta in half lengthwise but don’t cut. Filling glops centered along the nearest side every 2-3 inches.
4. Flatten out the glops a bit to avoid air bubbles.
5. Paint around the glops w water,
6. Carefully fold the far side over making sure to avoid trapping air
7. Gently rolling pin the spaces between filling to seal
8. Cut with pastry wheel, pizza cutter or knife.
I often end up making fresh pasta using a wine bottle when we’re traveling or in a vacation rental. If you let the dough rest for half an hour or so after kneading it then cut it into a few pieces, roll each sheet as thin as it’s willing to go before pulling back, then move to another piece. By the time you’ve rolled out the last sheet the first will have rested long enough to be rolled thinner. Repeat until it’s all the thickness you want.
I’m so frikkin lazy. I dump the stuff in the kitchen aid mixer, then proceed to use the kitchen aid attachment to flatten and cut the noodles. I’ve made it by hand and don’t think it tastes any different. But YMMV.
Yeah, but compared to these guys making the damn well on the counter, man…
The more I eat homemade pasta the more I think it should have a different name than the boxed stuff. It’s just soooo different. Not that I don’t like dried pasta but they aren’t even in the same ballpark.
Certain pastas do better when dried: Penne & rigatoni are great examples and can only be made with an extruder. The rougher surface the better to hold all that goodness. Some artisian brands are truly amazing. Having to pay upwards of $6-10 per pound would have made me balk loud years ago, but I can now say some are truly enlightening. Little towns in Italy that do nothing but make duram wheat pastas.
My wife had put me on a pasta buying freeze. Having about 30 bags of assorted shapes & sizes has made her pay attention. Strazzapretti is my favorite right now and ‘I buys them when I see’z them’.
No, as long as you avoid getting your dough too dry (that it forms little dry chunks), and that you avoid overworking the dough ball once it’s formed. Both are salvageable, but cause problems.
Today I used my new Imperia Facile (motor) 180
It’s like I have a third hand! Easy, fast and convenient. If it were not made from plastic I would feel much better…
The egg to flour ratio is an estimate. You really need to add flour or water gradually with the goal of a nice firm, smooth, not too wet or dry dough ball.
I guess I’ve been lucky so far but I’ve only made pasta dough about 10 times over the last year and I’m still learning. I’m not sure when I’ve kneaded enough? I usually go for about 10 min. and then rest the dough for a few hours. What do you experts say about knowing when you have kneaded enough?
I knead it until it springs back when you press your thumb into it. Then I let it rest in theory for 60 minutes, but sometimes I just do 20-30 minutes. You can also wrap it up in plastic wrap and let it rest for a day in the fridge, but you need to let it warm up before you roll it out.
