Originally published on November 18, 2010
People say that you should make your own pasta dough for a reason! There is a huge, hugedifference between what you buy in the store and what you make at home. And it’s not hard. I have been making my own pasta dough for years, although it used to only be reserved for special occasions. Perhaps that’s why I feel as though I’m only now perfecting it. But all it takes is a few tricks, and I’ve tried to include some of them (such as using a fork and thenyour hands) in the actual recipe.
It is worth mentioning that it also much, much easier if you have a pasta machine. You can roll it out until it’s extremely thin but that’s much harder and it takes much longer. And you probably won’t enjoy making pasta dough so much.
I don’t know if it made a difference or not but last time I made this, I ran out of all-purpose flour. So I used 1 cup all-purpose and 1 cup bread flour. They were some of the lightest and most delicious noodles I’ve ever eaten! I don’t know if it was that minor substitution or whether I really am just getting better at making pasta dough, but it was wonderful!
And another bonus? If you let your kids watch you put it through the cutter, you get to hear them squeal, “Ooooohhh! It looks like hair!!!!!” Try it once and you’ll see just how easy it is!
Ingredients:
2 cups all-purpose flour
3 large eggs
1/2 teaspoon salt
Directions:
1.) On a countertop or other large work surface, place the flour in a mound. Make a fairly large well in the centre. In the centre, place the eggs and the salt.
2.) Start by lightly whisking eggs and salt together, being careful not to touch the flour. Once the eggs are beaten, slowly incorporate the flour. Do this very slowly! Take about a teaspoon of flour each time and mix well with the egg mixture. When fully incorporated, take another teaspoon of flour with the fork and fully incorporate into the egg mixture. Keep doing this until it becomes difficult to move the fork through the flour and egg. Once that happens, mix the flour and eggs with your hands, mixing until it’s just combined and a nice, elastic dough forms.
3.) Form the dough into 2 or 3 small bowls. Cover with a tea towel and allow to rest for 30 minutes. Then use immediately, or freeze for later use.
4.) When ready to use, roll the dough out as thinly as possible using a pasta machine – this will be the “1″ setting. Follow the machine’s instructions, which is usually to start with the thickest (the biggest number) and work your way to the thinnest (the smallest number.)
5.) Once your dough is rolled you can make whatever kind of pasta you want! For these long noodles, you can put the rolled pasta dough through the cutters on the pasta machine. You can also cut it yourself with a sharp knife.
6.) When noodles are ready, bring a large pot of salted water up to a rolling boil. Add the fresh pasta noodles for two to three minutes, until el dente, and drain. Toss with your favourite sauce.
7.) Serve and enjoy!