Within any kitchen laboratory session there are errors, guesswork, practice and skill. Making pasta is as much a test of finesse as it is testing one’s mettle. Pasta can be a light, sophisticated and crafty canvas on which to paint a beautiful sauce. As kitchen work is part ballerina and part mechanic, a graceful notion can turn brutally laborious to get the best results. Fresh pasta dough is no exception. A delicate pasta is the endgame of less-than-genteel brute force to render an uncooperative dough mixture into the pliable, ribbon-esque pasta for which we long.
Hardware You Need
- Stand mixer, with dough hook attachment, mixing bowl; preferred but not necessary
- No mixer? A lonesome fork
- Small bowl
- Large bowl
- Plastic wrap
- Pasta roller or rolling pin
- Knife
Ingredients
- 2 cups, all purpose flour
- 2 cups, semolina
- 6 large eggs
- 2 Tablespoons, olive oil
Method
With the aid of a stand mixer, place the flour in the work bowl fitted with a dough hook. Break eggs into a separate bowl, mixing in one tablespoon of the oil, then add to flour. On low speed, combine the ingredients. Allow the dough to pull neatly from the sides of the bowl. Work the dough to a kneaded, smooth ball of dough. Think balloon in appearance rather than a pebbly brain. Smooth dough should take about seven minutes of gentle kneading. Spread the remaining oil in the large oil. Place the dough in the oiled bowl and turn several times to coat. Securely cover the bowl with plastic wrap. Allow the dough to rest at least one hour.
Without the assistance of a mechanical mixer, pasta dough has been made for centuries using nothing but a fork, a work table and hand strength. Combine the flours and mound like a snow-covered volcano. A circular canyon in the center will hold the wet ingredients; break the eggs into a bowl, mixing in one tablespoon of the oil, then add to the hollow of the floury hill. Working in gradual, intentional passes with the fork, stir the flour into the egg mixture in the center of the flour mound. With each pass, flour is worked into the coalesced pool of eggs. As the mixture becomes more viscous and pliable, the fork can be retired and the dough mixture can be gathered by hand. The kneading is the manual manipulation that requires energized force to accomplish a smooth, elastic mound of pasta dough. Spread the remaining oil in the large oil. Place the dough in the oiled bowl and turn several times to coat. Securely cover the bowl with plastic wrap. Allow the dough to rest at least one hour.
Divide the dough into eight equal pieces. Roll the pasta to desired thickness, generously dusting with flour to prevent sticking. As pasta rollers vary, this process will take various trials for optimal results. Depending on the shape of the pasta and application, the pasta will be rolled accordingly. For lasagna, the pasta can be rolled into thin sheets, cut widthwise and used for the layers. For cut pasta like spaghetti and fettucini, the sheets can be passed through the pasta machine cutter attachment. Filled pastas can be created with the help of a ravioli tray, biscuit ring, assorted cutters or by hand. In lieu of a pasta roller, a rolling pin can reduce the thick pieces into the more pliable sheets.
7 Kitchen Tips for Pasta Success
- Avoid breaking eggs on an edge or on the lip of a bowl. Rather, break the eggs on a flat surface with a single semi-forceful strike. Cracking a shell on a bowl lip forces little shell particles to commingle with the egg, and multiple, genteel strikes create little shell bits that will likely find their way into the pasta dough.
- Use a bowl to pre-screen errant shell pieces. This is a lot easier to use than trying to identify and fish white egg shells from white flour.
- Salt the water with a heavy hand. Salt enhances the natural flavor of food. Pasta is little more than flour, so elevating the dough to a more flavorful place can happen with the addition of salt in the water.
- Use plenty of water so the water temperature does not drop sharply when the pasta is added. Also, copious amounts of water keep the pasta from sticking.
- Fresh pasta cooks in a fraction of the time of dry pasta. Add the pasta to salted, boiling water, stir a few times and test for preferred doneness.
- Storing fresh pasta dough is not advisable. The dough will begin to oxidize almost immediately and turn an unpleasant shade of murky brownish gray. Make the dough, let it rest then cut rather than trying to get too far ahead.
- Cut pasta can be bundled into little portion nests of spaghetti or fettuccine and frozen. Conversely, if space allows, the pasta can be spread out and allowed to dry.
- Photos: Jim Berman
