Homemade Pasta

If you want to have a totally new pasta feeling, make it yourself. Home made pasta is ready after about 2 minutes cooking and gives you the real "al dente" taste. It's tender but also firm. Italians realy like their pasta. They have stores, that sells "pasta fresca", handmade tagliatelle, ravioli, tortelini, that are made some hours ago and not dried yet. Or "mama" makes it on Sundays.

based on 342 reviews

Ingredients for 4

As this web site can calculate ingredient amounts for both Metric and US visitors and for any amount of persons, some measures may appear a bit odd at times. We do round and try to be as clever as we can with the calculations... If you have any ideas on improving this system, we would like your comments on our contact page.

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Ingredients
450	grams	semolina durum wheat
4	eggs	egg	(200 grams)
1 1/4	tablespoon	water	(20 mls)

Salt content: 0% (by weight, not counting salt in other ingredients)

For Spaghetti, only use water and no egg.

Method

As you can't add liquid after you have made the pasta, it is very important to get the liquid - solid ratio right from the start. The egg and water should weight 43-45% of the weight of the semolina. The water is only used to adjust this ratio - so if you have enough egg, you won't have to add extra water. Or, if your egg already weighs too much (large eggs), take a bit of the egg away.

Step-by-Step Instructions

	Weigh your semolina durum wheat.
	Weight the eggs and water together. You should have 43% - 45% of the weight of the semolina.
	Put the semolina in the food processor or mixer and add the eggs and water.
	We just started mixing and the ingredients are starting to combine.
	After about 2 minutes, we have the right consistency.
	Form the dough into a ball.
	Cover it and let it rest for 5 minutes.
	Fix the pasta maker to your work surface.
	Divide the dough into two, form two balls and flatten them.
	Turn pasta maker setting to "1".
	Roll out the dough.
	Don't worry about the frayed edges, we'll get there ...
	Fold both sides over to the middle as shown in this photo and roll out again. Repeat three or four times until your pasta sheet is nearly rectangular.
	This is what it should look like.
	Set your machine to the next position ...
	... and roll out again.
	Repeat rolling out with the next position of the cylinders, up to number 6 (if you like your tagliatelle firm and a bit "chunky") or number 7 (if you prefer them tender and thinner). The "scarf" gets pretty long. Make sure there is enough room for it and take the folded scarf out from time to time.
	Ready to cut.
	Cut off the end with the back side of a knife.
	Here, we are cutting tagliatelle.
	Just before you reach the end of your pasta, hold the tagliatelle with your hand and cut the rest of the sheet.
	Hang the pasta over a broomstick to dry or use it immediately.
	Take a large saucepan and use 10 x as much water as the weight of the pasta you want to cook.
	Bring the water to a boil and put the pasta into the boiling water and cook for 2 minutes or until "al dente". Don't cook for more than three minutes - fresh pasta is quite delicate.
	When the pasta is done, pour the saucepan out into a colander. Serve immediately.
	Here with scalopina, jus and chanterelle mushrooms.

10	Like Mark, my machine hasn't been used for years but it will be now! Many thanks
10	Fresh pasta cannot be cooked al dente. Only dry pasta can.
10	Thanks, clear and useful.
10	I love the pictures! Good job!
10	Thanks, clear and useful.
10	Thankyou,clear,precise and enjoyable to follow....My pasta machine hasnt been used for years however now it will be put to regular use. Kind regards Mark in France
2	not appropriate
10	Thanks for taking the time to do/share this - much appreciated!
10	thaankyou v understandable
10	Just bought a pasta machine with directions in ITALIAN!! Love this guide- think I can do this. Had homemade pasta in NYC and loved it. A big Difference.
10	Loved you realistic process, easy to follow instructions. Many thanks!
10	very helpful
10	very very helpful
10	Brilliant - love the instructions with the photos. They make it very easy to follow. Many, many thanks, I am very grateful!!!
10	Brill!!
10	Absolutely clear instructions for someone about to make fresh pasta for the first time, and best i have found. Thank you.
7	could you put a summery or something so that you can do it without the pics thanks xx me
10	educative indeed
10	was good. helped with my school cooking thanks
10	Thanks, I like the info on proprtion of liquid versus flour. 10
10	thanks got the pasta machine but very basic instructions this is just what i was looking for here goes
10	Very well detailed, and useful for a beginner. Thank you. 10
10	Very detailed! thank you!
10	brilliant thank you
10	nice detail-thanks
10	Thanks! I love it. Very simple and easy to do.
10	you are a generous brother,from rajson india
8	you are a pig wjo are youserving andre the giant portion control my friend
10	I bought a new pasta maker but the instruction sheet is unclear. I found this web page and your instructions are very clear and easy to understand. Very helpful, thankyou.
10	Eccellente!!!
10	easy to understand - like it
10	really found the photos helpful!
9	Photos and instructions are very detailed and helpful. I use the kitchen aid pasta attachements, now that's easy.
10	Easy and woderful
10	What a useful guide! Very helpful and easy to follow. When making ravioli in a machine, how much filling do you put in the hopper?
10	yummy yummy I CAN MAKE MUCH BETTER LOSER!!!
10	nice , with all the photos - really helpfull.!
10	Brilliant!!!
10	this has helped us to better understand the process of using our machine, th epictures and explanations are very clear thankyou
10	THANK YOU this has helped me decide to go ahead and buy a pasta machine.
10	easy peasy
10	Thank you! I have been thinking about buying a pasta machine, but when you shop for one , no one tells you the basics. this has helped alot!
10	yum yum
10	The dough must be very firm. Another method are some fast 'cuts' with the backside of a knife over semolina, egg and water, put together with your hands and roll it through the pasta maker several times.
10	I love the guy who said your spelling is wrong (which is true - but that's OK - you're Italian!) and then couldn't spell grammatical! Hubris or what!!! Just bought a pasta maker at a car boot sale, so I'm looking forward to trying it this afternoon - thanks!
10	That's good. Another way to make the dough is to put 500grams of plain flour in processor and sloooowy add mixed up egg mix (around 5 eggs or so), keep mixing on medium to high setting (it should resemble little bread crumbs that gradually get bigger and bigger), 'til you hear motor 'groaning, a little more, then stop. Remove dough - leaves no mess!. Lee Kirby
8	This page was useful however there were countless spelling and gramatical errors, which is unacceptable in my opinion.
9	Great!!!
10	The weighing tip was key for me. Another tip; half way through the rolling, press the free end of the sheet back onto the end about to go through the rollers - so you have a belt. Then put your wrist into the belt, jiggling at as you roll... When finished, cut it again so you have a strip.
10	very very helpful thank you