Fresh Pasta Dough

Last Updated: March 1, 2022

In Italy, fresh-made pasta is the norm, and can be found in practically every city and town. Fresh pasta is fun to make, and there are a million ways you can eat it! Pasta dough is a staple for any Italian household. It is made with specific ingredients and prepared a specific way. The secrets to making perfect pasta dough are in the ingredients, the proper equipment, and how you mix the dough.

Pasta dough serves multiple functions. Besides being an ingredient for pasta such as macaroni and spaghetti, it can also be a thickening agent for soups or sauces. Furthermore, pasta dough can also be baked to make beautiful and delicious ravioli.

Ingredients

2 Cups All-Purpose Flour
3 Large Eggs
1 Teaspoon Salt
1 Tablespoon Olive Oil

Equipment

Mixing Bowl
Pasta Machine
Knife
Whisk
Cutting board
Baking Sheet
Clean Towel

INSTRUCTIONS

Step 1

In the first step, take a medium bowl and add flour and salt and beat thoroughly with a fork.

Step 2

The next step is to prepare a deep groove for the eggs in the middle of the flour and break the eggs there. Begin beating just the eggs a little.

Step 3

As you whisk the eggs, begin gradually pulling in flour from the bottom and sides of the bowl. Once enough flour has been added, it will start forming a very soft dough.

Step 4

Place the dough and excess flour on a cutting board. Begin gently folding the dough on itself, flattening, and folding again. Add more flour if necessary to prevent the dough from sticking to your hands.

Step 5

Clean and dry the bowl, place the dough ball inside and cover with plastic wrap. Leave on for least 30 minutes.

Step 6

Sprinkle a baking sheet generously with flour. Then divide the dough into four equal parts. Sprinkle portions with flour and cover with a clean towel. If the dough sticks to your hands and rolling pin when you roll it out, dust it with more flour.

Step 7

Set your pasta machine to the thickest setting. Flatten one piece of dough into a thick disk between your hands and feed it through the pasta roller.

Step 8

Begin changing the settings on your roller to roll the pasta thinner and thinner. Roll the pasta two or three times at each setting. Roll the pasta as thin as you like to go.

Step 9

Cut the long stretch of dough into noodle-length sheets, usually about 12-inches. If cutting into noodles, switch from the pasta roller to the noodle cutter, and run the sheet of pasta through the cutter.

Step 10

The last step is to dry the noodles. We lay it out on the table and let it air dry until it is completely brittle.

Pasta dough is surprisingly simple to make when you start with the right ingredients. Homemade pasta is much better than store-bought: it has a better flavor and texture, and you can be sure that there aren’t any additives in your food.

It’s also easier to control how much you eat: homemade pasta is so good that you’ll want to savor every bite! You can use any kind of flour for your pasta dough recipe.