Basic Fresh Pasta Dough Recipes

BASIC PASTA

Steps:

• In a medium sized bowl, combine flour and salt. Make a well in the flour, add the slightly beaten egg, and mix. Mixture should form a stiff dough. If needed, stir in 1 to 2 tablespoons water.
• On a lightly floured surface, knead dough for about 3 to 4 minutes. With a pasta machine or by hand roll dough out to desired thinness. Use machine or knife to cut into strips of desired width.

BASIC PASTA DOUGH

Steps:

• PLACE the flour on a board or in a bowl and make a well in the centre. CRACK the eggs into the well, add a pinch of salt then with a fork, mix the egg into the flour as much as possible so it's not sticky. Don't worry if there are lumps in the dough. Keep mixing and then when crumbs form put it on a flat surface and knead together. You can also speed this up by mixing your ingredients in a food processor until they bind. ONCE it is all combined, knead until you have a silky, smooth, elastic dough. You are aiming to achieve a playdough texture. If your dough is crumbly (too dry) add a teaspoon of olive oil. If the dough sticks to your hands (too wet) add a little extra flour. COVER with cling film and rest for 30 minutes. TIP: The general rule for portions is 100g flour, 1 egg and a pinch of salt for a generous portion of pasta for 1 person *****You can catch us making this on our YouTube channel***** WHEN using a pasta roller, take a tennis ball-sized amount of dough, squash it flat with your fingers (remember to keep the rest of your dough covered with the cling film so it doesn't go dry and crusty) push it through the pasta roller on the widest setting. Fold into thirds, then repeat 3 times. Once you have a rough square shape, start working it through the machine, taking it down one setting at a time, until the thinnest setting. If your pasta is too sticky, it won't go through smoothly, so add a little flour to each side before you put it through the roller. Try to avoid too much flour - the less you use, the better otherwise your pasta can start to feel heavy and claggy when cooked. YOU should end up with a long sheet of pasta about 8-10cm wide. Place this on a flat surface with flour underneath to stop it from sticking. This is the most versatile form as from this sheet you can create so many different shapes and dishes. See our individual recipes for suggestions on how to make linguine, tagliatelle, pappardelle, ravioli and tortelli etc. LINGUINE: Sprinkle a little flour over both sides of the pasta sheet and fold it into thirds (short edges together). using a sharp knife, cut into 3mm- wide strips, lengthways. When you unfold the pasta you will have long linguine. TAGLIATELLE: Sprinkle a little flour over both sides of the pasta sheet and fold it into thirds (short edges together). using a sharp knife, cut into 1cm- wide strips, lengthways. When you unfold the pasta you will have long tagliatelle. PAPPARDELLE: Sprinkle a little flour over both sides of the pasta sheet and fold it into thirds (short edges together). Trim the long edges straight with a sharp knife, and cut into 2.5cm-wide strips, lengthways. When you unfold the pasta you will have long pappardelle. FARFALLE: Place your sheet of pasta on a floured surface. Use a pasta cutting wheel or sharp knife to cut your pasta into strips roughly 3-4 cm wide then cut across to create little rectangles. Take each rectangle and with lightly floured fingers, pinch in the middle to create your butterfly shaped pasta. If your pasta is too dry, wet your fingertips with some water. Lightly dust a few trays with polenta or semolina to prevent the farfalle from sticking together. Place the farfalle onto the trays and repeat the process until you have used all the remaining dough. Leave to dry for 20 minutes so they hold their shape when cooking. YOU can also roll your dough by hand using a rolling pin but you'll need some serious elbow grease to get your pasta sheets really thin (about 1 playing card thick). DOUGH can be stored in the fridge overnight if you don't want to cut it immediately, however any longer and you risk the dough turning black. ONCE you've cut your pasta shapes, if you make more pasta than you want to use (I like to cook 100g of pasta per person), leave it to air dry for 2-3 days and once completely dry it will keep in a bag or jar for several months. COOKS TIPS QUANTITIES: 100g of flour makes approximately 150g dough - enough for 1-2 people. 400g flour makes approximately 600g dough - enough for 4-6 people. Add one egg per 100g flour and scale up or down depending on the number of people you are serving. THE CUP: Find a cup that is equivalent to 100g flour when full. Keep this to avoid having to weigh your flour each time. THE DOUGH: This recipe is easy and basic and doesn't change. What does change is the quality of the flour, the size of eggs and the humidity in the air (think of how your hair reacts differently when you wash it if it's a sunny day or wet day). Don't panic; what is important is to know what consistency you are trying to achieve, then you can adjust things accordingly. THE FEEL: The consistency of the dough should be like playdough - it shouldn't be too dry or fall apart but it shouldn't be too wet either or stick to your hands. It's ok if it's a little crumbly provided that all the flour is binding together. Once rested it will be much better. To help you achieve the right consistency you can do the following: Hold back the last egg if you are using more than 100g of flour. Check the consistency, then add the final egg slowly yolk first, then the white - if you need it. This should help make sure the dough isn't too wet. If it is too wet (sticking to your hands) add a little flour until it binds. If the dough is too dry (i.e. completely falling apart and not binding) add a teaspoon of olive oil. But only do this if it is absolutely necessary. Remember it's ok for the dough to look a little dry and crumbly after you've done the kneading. If you leave it to rest it will improve. You should be able to easily mop up all the remaining flour on the surface with your ball of dough. NOT TOO MUCH FLOUR: Don't be tempted to add too much flour - the more flour you add, the heavier the pasta will be. When flour is added to water it basically turns to glue, so if you add too much flour to the mix, your pasta will become claggy and heavy. This is why, you should always place pasta shapes on a tray with polenta or semolina rather than flour, as it disperses when the pasta is put in the water. TYPE OF FLOUR: You really should use type '00' flour when making fresh pasta as it makes the world of difference to the texture. You don't want to make your life difficult, so invest in your flour. TYPE OF EGGS: Again you can use any medium sized eggs but the better the quality, the better the dough. In Italy they buy eggs with a large and very yellow yolk which gives the dough and pasta a vibrant yellow colour - try corn fed for the same effect. CLING FILM: Always keep the dough under cling film or a plastic bag once formed - otherwise it risks going hard and forming a crust. RESTING: If you are in a hurry, then it is not essential to rest the dough, but if you do have time, a 15 or 30 minute rest will really help your pasta have the elasticity it needs to stretch. PREPARING YOUR SHAPES: Once you've cut your pasta shapes, place them on a tray which has a dusting of polenta (as mentioned above). Space them out so that they air-dried a little and don't stick together. Alternatively, if making long strips of pasta, you can hang them on a clean coat hanger or clothes horse. STORING EXTRA PASTA: Once you have cut your pasta shapes, if you make more pasta than you want to use, leave it to air dry for 2-3 days and once completely dry it will keep in a bag or jar for several months. WASHING UP: You might call us crazy but don't wipe your surfaces with a dish cloth if they have lots of flour on them. Remember flour + water = glue. Our mum used to go mad if we wiped up a load of flour with her new clean dish cloths. Instead, we use anything with a firm flat edge (plastic scraper, back edge of a blunt knife) to get the excess flour off and then wipe the remains with kitchen towel.

BASIC FRESH PASTA DOUGH

Steps:

• Mound the flour in the center of a large, wide mixing bowl. Dig a well in the center of the mound and add eggs and yolks. Using a fork, beat together the eggs and begin to incorporate the flour, starting with the inner rim of the well. The dough will start to come together in a shaggy mass when about half of the flour is incorporated.
• Use your fingers to continue to mix the dough. Press any loose bits of flour into the mass of dough. If needed, add another egg yolk or a tablespoon of water to absorb all of the flour. Once the dough comes together into a cohesive mass, remove it from the bowl.
• Transfer to a lightly floured surface and knead by hand for 4 to 5 more minutes until the dough is smooth, elastic and uniform in color. Wrap the dough in plastic and set aside for at least 30 minutes (and up to 4 hours) at room temperature.
• Line three baking sheets with parchment paper and lightly dust with semolina flour. Set aside.
• Cut off a quarter of the dough. Rewrap rest, and set aside. Use the heel of your hand to flatten the dough into an oval approximately the same width as your pasta machine, about six inches. Set the rollers to their widest setting and pass the dough through.
• Lay the dough out onto a lightly floured cutting board or countertop and neatly press together into halves, so it's again about the same width of the pasta machine. Feed the pasta through again at the widest setting. Think of these first rollings as an extended kneading. Continue to fold the dough in thirds and roll it until it is smooth, silky and even-textured. Do your best to make the sheet the full width of the machine.
• Once the dough is silky and smooth, you can begin to roll it out more thinly. Roll it once through each of the next two or three settings, adding flour as needed, until the dough is about 1/4-inch thick.
• Once the pasta is about 1/4-inch thick, begin rolling it twice through each setting. As you roll, lightly sprinkle all-purpose or 00 flour on both sides of the pasta to prevent it from sticking to itself.
• Roll out pasta until you can just see the outline of your hand when you hold it under a sheet, about 1/16-inch thick for noodles, or 1/32-inch thick for a filled pasta. (On most machines, you won't make it to the thinnest setting.)
• Cut pasta into sheets, about 12 to 14 inches long. Dust the sheets lightly with semolina flour and stack on one of the prepared baking sheets and cover with a clean, lightly dampened kitchen towel. Repeat with remaining dough.

BASIC PASTA DOUGH

Steps:

• On a clean dry work surface, make a mound of the flour and, using your fingers, make a well in the center of the mound. Using a fork, break the shell of the eggs one by one and drop the eggs into the center of the well you made of the flour. With the fork, beat the eggs together. Again using the fork, slowly begin to fold the flour in towards the center of the well to incorporate the flour into the beaten eggs. As you mix the flour with the beaten eggs, it will begin to form a doughy mass. Work this mass using your fingers until it begins to lose its moist and sticky character.
• When the mass begins to feel uniformly dry, begin to work the dough using both hands: kneading with the palms of both hands, pushing from the center of the ball of dough outwards and folding the near edge inwards to begin the kneading cycle again. The kneading stage should take about 10 minutes by hand.
• After the dough has been fully kneaded, it is time to thin the dough into sheets suitable for cutting. A manual pasta machine works wonders at this stage. Cut the ball of dough into three equal pieces. Form these pieces, by hand, into equal rectangular shape to be passed through the rollers of the pasta machine. Set the cylindrical rollers at their widest opening, put a piece of dough in the space between rollers and crank the handle to pass the dough through. As the sheet of pasta comes out the bottom of the rollers it should be set on a dry cotton towel to rest while you begin on the next piece. Repeat the thinning process with the remaining pieces of pasta, thinning and then setting aside, consecutively so that each piece of pasta is equally rolled out. When all the pasta has passed through the first rolling stage, set the machine to the next setting to begin rolling the pasta thinner. Start the rolling process again, beginning with the first piece of dough and continue with the remaining pieces. As each is rolled thinner set it aside and continue onto the next.
• As you return to the first piece of dough, set the cylinders one setting closer. Continue in this fashion until the pasta dough has been rolled out as thinly as possible.
• As the sheets of dough rest, keep them on a cotton towel, to prevent sticking to the work surface. When they are all rolled out you are ready to cut the pasta into the desired shape. They can be cut using the cutting wheels of the rolling machine or by hand using a knife.

FRESH PASTA DOUGH

Steps:

• Mound the flour on a clean work surface. Hollow out the center making a well in the middle of the flour with steep sides.
• Break the eggs into the well. Add the salt, and olive oil to the hollow center and gently mix together with a fork. Gradually start incorporating the flour by pulling in the flour from the sides of the well. As you incorporate more of the flour, the dough will start to take shape.
• With your hands or a bench scraper continue working the dough until it comes together. If the dough is too dry, add a little water; if too wet or sticky, add a little flour.
• Begin kneading the dough and keep kneading until it becomes smooth and elastic, about 8 to 10 minutes. At this point, set the dough aside, cover it with plastic, and let it rest for 15 to 20 minutes. You can store the dough in the refrigerator for up to 24 hours, but allow it to return to room temperature before rolling it out.
• Divide the pasta dough into 4 even sections. Keep each section covered with plastic wrap or a clean towel while you work with each one. Flour the dough, the rollers of a pasta roller (or your rolling pin), your hands, and the work surface.
• If using a pasta machine: Flatten 1 of the of the dough pieces between your hands or with a floured rolling pin until it forms a thick oval disk. Dust the disk, the roller, and your hands with additional flour. Flour a baking sheet to hold the rolled out finished pasta.
• With the roller on the widest setting, pass the pasta through the machine's rollers a few times until it is smooth. Fold the dough over into 1/3, and continue to pass through a few more times until the pasta is smooth again. Begin adjusting the pasta machine settings to become thinner, passing the dough through a few times at each setting.
• If rolling the pasta by hand: Flatten a dough piece into a thick oval disk with your hands. Flour a baking sheet for the rolled out finished pasta. Place the oval dough disk on a floured work surface, and sprinkle with additional flour. Begin rolling out the dough with a floured rolling pin working from the center of the dough outwards, constantly moving the dough and lifting it to make sure it's not sticking.
• Flavor and color variations:
• Cook's Note: All color additions should be added to eggs before incorporating into the flour. Keep in mind that you will need to add a little bit of flour to your basic pasta recipe to compensate for the additional liquid added
• Spinach Pasta Dough (green hue): Blanch 8 ounces (about 3 cups) spinach leaves. Puree in a food processor or blender until smooth. Press the spinach puree through a small strainer or chinois, removing the liquid before mixing with the eggs. Add 3 tablespoons spinach puree to the eggs before mixing. If the dough feels too sticky, add additional flour until a soft, silky dough is achieved.
• Tomato Pasta Dough (orange hue): Add 2 1/2 tablespoons tomato paste to the eggs before incorporating into the flour.
• Beet Pasta Dough (pinkish-red hue): Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Roast 1 large beet in aluminum foil, about 45 minutes, or until tender. Peel the beet and puree in a food processor. Add the beet puree (about 4 tablespoons) to eggs before incorporating into the flour.
• Herb Pasta Dough (speckled): Mince 1/2 cup fresh herbs and add to eggs before incorporating into the flour.
• Squid Ink Pasta Dough (black hue): Add 1 tablespoon squid ink to the eggs before incorporating into the flour.

EASY HOMEMADE PASTA DOUGH

Steps:

• Beat flour, eggs, olive oil, and salt together in a bowl. Add water, 1 teaspoon at a time, to flour mixture until a smooth and very thick dough forms.
• Turn dough out onto a work surface and knead for 10 minutes. Let dough rest for 5 to 10 minutes. Divide dough into 8 balls and use a pasta machine to roll and cut dough into desired pasta shape.

HOMEMADE PASTA DOUGH

Steps:

• In a small bowl, whisk the first 6 ingredients. On a clean work surface, mix the all-purpose and semolina flours, forming a mound. Make a large well in the center. Pour egg mixture into the well. Using a fork or fingers, gradually mix flour mixture into egg mixture, forming a soft dough (the dough will be slightly sticky)., Lightly dust work surface with flour; knead dough gently 5 times. Divide into 6 portions; cover and let rest 30 minutes., To make fettuccine, roll each ball into a 10x8-in. rectangle, dusting lightly with flour. Roll up jelly-roll style. Cut into 1/4-in.-wide strips. Cook in boiling water 1-3 minutes.

BASIC PASTA DOUGH

Steps:

• Put the flour, eggs, and egg yolks in the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and mix on low speed until the dough comes together. Turn off the mixer, remove the paddle attachment, and replace it with the dough hook. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and beat the dough with the dough hook on medium speed until it forms a ball, about 5 minutes. Dust a flat work surface with flour. Turn the dough out onto the dusted surface and gently knead it for 20 to 25 minutes, until the ball begins to feel elastic and the surface of the dough feels smooth and silky. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate to rest for at least 45 minutes and up to overnight before sheeting it (any longer and the dough will discolor).

SIMPLE PASTA DOUGH

Steps:

• In food processor, or by hand if you don't have a food processor, mix the flour and salt.
• Add eggs, and process (mix) until just starting to come together.
• Turn out onto a floured bench and knead until satiny, smooth and a bit springy.
• This will take 5-10 minutes.
• It should not be sticky.
• If it's sticky, knead in a little more flour.
• Wrap with plastic wrap and leave it on the counter to rest for an hour.
• The dough will then be ready to roll either by hand or in a machine.

BASIC DOUGH FOR FRESH EGG PASTA

Steps:

• Put flour and salt in a mixing bowl. Add eggs and yolks, and mix with hands or wooden spoon for a minute or so, until dough comes together. (Alternatively, use a stand mixer with a paddle attachment.) If dough seems dry or crumbly, add 1 or 2 tablespoons cold water, but only enough to keep the dough together.
• Turn dough out onto a board and knead to form a ball. Flatten dough ball to a 1-inch-thick disk, wrap in plastic, and let rest at room temperature for at least 1 hour (several hours is fine).
• Divide dough into 4 pieces. Knead each piece until smooth. Roll with a rolling pin or pasta machine as thinly as possible (but not quite paper-thin). Cut each sheet in half, making 8 smaller sheets. Dust dough sheets lightly with semolina to keep them from sticking. Stack 2 or 3 sheets, roll loosely, then cut into 1/2-inch-wide noodles or other desired shape. Continue until all dough is used. Gently fluff noodles and spread on a semolina-dusted baking sheet. Refrigerate, uncovered, until ready to cook.

HOW TO MAKE HANDMADE PASTA RECIPE BY TASTY

Steps:

• On a clean, sturdy work surface, turn out your chosen flour(s) and salt and make a large well in the middle with your hands.
• Whisk the eggs, egg yolks, and olive oil together in a medium bowl until combined, then pour the mixture into the well.
• Using the same fork, whisk the eggs, slowly incorporating more and more flour into the eggs by moving your fork along the edges of the well.
• Once almost all of the flour is incorporated, start bringing the dough together with your hands. (The dough should be malleable, but not sticky--add more flour if the dough is sticking too much to your hands or the surface. Alternatively, if it's too dry and tough, whisk another egg with 1 tablespoon of water and use your hand to sprinkle some of the mixture over the dough, continuing to do so until the dough is easier to knead.)
• Knead the dough for 7-10 minutes, until the dough is smooth and elastic. When you poke the dough, it should spring back.
• Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and let rest at room temperature for 30 minutes to an hour, or until the dough does not spring back when poked.
• Unwrap the dough and cut into 8 equal pieces so that it's easier to work with. Take 1 piece and wrap the rest in the plastic wrap so that they don't dry out.
• Lightly flour your work surface, and begin rolling out the piece of dough into one long piece. Then, fold the top third down, and the bottom third over that, like a letter. Rotate the dough 90˚ and roll the piece back into a long shape. This helps form a more even rectangular shape and makes the dough a little bit easier to work with.
• Continue rolling out the dough until it is very thin. When you lift the dough, you should be able to see your hands through it.
• Fold the top and bottom of the rectangle to meet in the middle, then fold over again--this will make the dough easier to cut. Cut the dough to your ideal shape. Loosen or unravel the cut dough immediately, so it doesn't stick, sprinkle with a bit of extra flour, or semolina, if using. Let the pasta sit out for about 30 minutes to dry out slightly.
• Bring a large pot of heavily salted water to a boil. Add the pasta and stir to ensure it doesn't clump. Cook for 2-3 minutes, or 30 seconds to 1 minute after the pasta comes to the surface (fresh pasta will cook much faster than dried pasta!)
• Take out a noodle and taste for doneness. Once cooked to your liking, remove the pasta from the water, being sure to save at least 1 cup (240 ML) of the pasta cooking water.
• Add the cooked pasta into your preferred sauce and stir to coat, adding some of the reserved pasta water if needed to add a bit of body and silkiness to the sauce.
• Enjoy!

BASIC PASTA DOUGH (NO EGG)

Steps:

• Put flour in large mixing bowl, making a well in the center.
• Add wet ingredients to well and very slowly mix together with a fork, incorporating only a little flour at a time so it mixes smoothly and evenly. Trust me, the more patient you are with this the better it will turn out.
• Continue kneading by hand for about 10 minutes, let rest for a half hour covered with a towel. Repeat a couple times until dough is smooth and silky, and just slightly sticky.
• Shape by hand or with a machine.
• Note: Boiling fresh pasta takes significantly less time than dry pasta. Depending on the shape, cook for 30 seconds to 2 minutes.

FRESH PASTA

Steps:

• Put the flour in a food processor with ¾ of your egg mixture and a pinch of salt. Blitz to large crumbs - they should come together to form a dough when squeezed (if it feels a little dry gradually add a bit more egg). Tip the dough onto a lightly floured surface, knead for 1 min or until nice and smooth - don't worry if it's quite firm as it will soften when it rests. Cover with cling film and leave to rest for 30 mins.
• Cut away ¼ of the dough (keep the rest covered with cling film) and feed it through the widest setting on your pasta machine. (If you don't have a machine, use a heavy rolling pin to roll the dough as thinly as possible.) Then fold into three, give the dough a quarter turn and feed through the pasta machine again. Repeat this process once more then continue to pass the dough through the machine, progressively narrowing the rollers, one notch at a time, until you have a smooth sheet of pasta. On the narrowest setting, feed the sheet through twice.
• Cut as required to use for filled pastas like tortellini, or cut into lengths to make spaghetti, linguine, tagliatelle, or pappardelle. Then, dust in semolina flour and set aside, or hang until dry (an hour will be enough time.) Store in a sealed container in the fridge and use within a couple of days, or freeze for 1 month.