Essential Homemade Pasta
- PREP 1hrs 30min
- COOK 5min
- TOTAL 1hrs 35min
Our homemade pasta dough is perfect for home cooks of all levels, even beginners! We’ve included photos showing the key steps as well as a short, helpful video to guide you (coming soon). Here’s what to keep in mind for pasta success: (1) Accurate measurements are key: For the best results, we highly recommend weighing your flour and eggs. If you don’t have a kitchen scale, we’ve included tips below the recipe for accurately measuring flour by volume to avoid adding too much. (2) Flour is your friend: As you work with the dough—kneading, rolling, and cutting—lightly dust all surfaces of the dough frequently with flour. This will prevent it from sticking to your work surface, pasta machine, or cutters.
Equipment needed: Pasta roller (also called a sheeter), pasta cutter attachments, baking sheets, and a pasta drying rack (optional). Our photos and video use a KitchenAid Stand Mixer with KitchenAid Pasta Attachments.
You Will Need
3 cups (390g) Italian-style “00” flour or unbleached all-purpose flour, spooned and leveled
220g to 228g large eggs, approximately 4 large eggs without shell, eggs with rich yellow or orange yolks are best
3/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
Directions
Pile the flour on a clean work surface. Make a well in the middle and add the eggs, 3/4 teaspoon salt, and 1 tablespoon olive oil.
Use a fork to rupture the egg yolks and mix in a circular motion, slowly mixing the flour with the eggs while being careful not to break the walls of your well.
Once about half of the flour is mixed in, use a bench scraper or your hands to bring the rest of the flour and eggs together, working all of the flour in.
When the dough comes together, lightly flour your work surface and knead it for 5 to 7 minutes or until it is a smooth ball that bounces back slightly when you push a finger into it.
Wrap the pasta dough with plastic and let it rest at room temperature for 30 minutes to 1 hour.
Cut the dough into quarters. Grab one of them, and cover the remaining quarters with the plastic wrap.
Use a rolling pin or your fingers to press the dough into a thin oval that fits through the largest setting on a pasta roller (setting #1).
Run the dough through the largest setting 5 to 6 times before going to a smaller setting, always ensuring the dough is lightly floured before guiding it through the roller. To make uniform sheets, fold the dough in half lengthwise, then run it through the machine. Then, fold it widthwise before running it through the machine again. If you have uneven ends, you can fold the uneven ends into the center and run it through to even it out (photo provided in article).
After the thickest setting, continue with thinner settings, always keeping the pasta dough lightly floured as you go. We recommend running the dough through #2 and #3 three times and the rest from #4 to #8 once or twice. Go through each thickness setting until your desired thickness. The higher the number, the thinner the pasta. #6 is a good all-purpose thickness, and #8 is ideal for thin noodles like capellini.
Give the pasta sheet on both sides another light dusting of flour to prevent sticking, and then fold it over itself and place it onto a floured surface or baking sheet. Repeat with the remaining dough.
Choose a pasta cutter attachment and run each sheet through it. If your sheets are very long, cut them to a more manageable length before guiding them through the cutter. Hang your cut pasta noodles on a drying rack or place small nests of noodles onto a parchment-lined and lightly floured baking sheet. Let the pasta dry until it is no longer sticky before cooking.
Adam and Joanne's Tips
- To cook the pasta: Bring a pot of salted water to a boil, add the pasta, and cook until tender, with a nice chew (test it after 2 minutes, and continue to cook and test until you are happy). Fresh pasta typically takes between 2 and 5 minutes to cook.
- To store the pasta: Arrange the fresh pasta on a parchment-lined baking sheet in a single layer, either in strands or as little nests. Place the baking sheet into the freezer for 30 minutes or until the pasta is hard, then gently transfer it to a freezer bag or airtight container. Freeze for up to 3 months. Then, when ready to cook, you can cook from frozen.
- Measuring your flour: Measuring flour by weight is best for this recipe. To use volume (cup) measurements, fluff the flour in its container, then gently scoop it into your measuring cup until slightly mounded. Level off the top with a knife for accurate measuring.
- Nutrition facts are estimates.