Homemade Pasta Dough

There is absolutely nothing like homemade pasta. I do not make it too often because of the time investment and because I do not usually use white flour. I know you can make pasta with whole grain flour but I am never really too impressed with it. So, I just save the pasta for special occasions. Making homemade pasta dough is easy, but it is also a little time consuming (and more so when you have two little curious kiddies underfoot). The result is worth the effort! In my fathers Italian family they call homemade pasta "homemades". You know it is a special occasion when the homemades are being served. I am not an expert pasta maker, nor do I claim to be. I am sure others may make it differently but this is how I make mine.

Continue reading after the jump...



Homemade Pasta Dough
(from Imperia recipe that came with my pasta machine minus the salt and pepper which is my thing)
Makes 1 lb, I have doubled this recipe for the dough you see below.

• 2 1/4 Cups of Flour
• 3 Eggs
• Salt and Pepper (optional)

Method:


Measure the flour out onto a clean countertop. Make a nice sized well.

Into the well goes all of the eggs and a tiny bit of salt and pepper (optional).

Using a fork (not pictured, I am sorry!) you can kind of stir up the eggs (or you could do that before you add them, your choice) and gently pull some of the flour into the egg mixture. Keep going until a dough starts to form. Abandon your fork and get in there with your hands to form a ball. Add additional flour if needed (I usually don't, I think this recipe has the perfect amount). Knead the dough to break up any lumps of flour and until it gets smooth and not too sticky. When finished it looks like below picture.

At this point the dough needs to rest. Wrap it in plastic and pop it in the refrigerator for at least an hour.

Take it out after an hour or when you are ready to use it. I like to shape mine kind of into a log (as pictured below), because I feel like it is easier to get uniform pieces that way. 

Then I cut it in half.

And then half of that half.

And again until I have 8 uniform pieces. (If you are making less than 2 lbs use your judgment on how many pieces, it is totally up to you.)

Now that they are nice and even I am taking my operation to my large dining room table. I laid out a long sheet of parchment paper to work with. Sprinkle the pieces of pasta with flour liberally.

After you have done that make sure they are evenly floured. Start on the highest setting your machine has. Feed the dough into the machine.

It should come out looking kind of like this (below).

I fold it in half and feed it in again on the same setting.

Here is how mine looked after that. If it is not smooth, just keep running it through until it is.

Repeat with each piece of dough.

Next you will put your machine on the next setting. And run the dough through. Continue until you get the dough to the thickness you prefer. Let the dough dry out for a little bit before using. I turn once during the process.

At this point you can use the dough in strips for lasagna or ravioli or you can cut it into linguini or spaghetti.

Sprinkle with some flour to make sure it does not stick together. If it has dried properly it should not.

All done! Now you can cook and serve. Enjoy!

Don't for get to make the marinara sauce and the meatballs to go with these "homemades"!

I submitted this recipe to Simple Lives Thursday, check it out for other great recipes from real food bloggers!

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