The Best Recipe For Making Homemade Pasta Noodles Plus A Look At The Kitchenaid Pasta Press Attachment

HOMEMADE ITALIAN PASTA NOODLES RECIPE

Steps:

• • Homemade pasta can be adjusted according to how many people will be eating- the ratio is 3 1/2 ounces flour to 1 large egg. • Have a rolling pin, knife or pasta cutter, and additional flour nearby to work with dough. • Start with a clean work surface then mound the flour creating a large well in the center to place the eggs. • Crack the eggs into the center and break the yolks for ease in mixing. • Start to mix the dough by bringing the outside edge of the flour into the center of the eggs. • Work quickly in this same way to being the dough together before the eggs can run away! • Knead for 4-5 minutes until smooth and elastic, set on freshly lightly floured surface, cover with plastic wrap to rest for 30 minutes. • Check for elasticity by poking the dough to see the indentation release. • Divide dough into 4 pieces, working them one at time, and roll or use pasta machine to sheet pasta into 4×10 inches rectangular shapes. • If you have a pasta sheeter it will make this process easier- we used an attachment for a kitchen aid mixer. • Keep hands, dough, and counters lightly floured. • Thinly slice with pasta cutter or knife, tossing with a small amount of flour, and piling in small nests to be cooked. • Roll out the homemade pasta by hand using a rolling pin instead of a pasta machine. • Roll out the dough, and rotate it constantly: turn 90 degrees and then flip it it over. • Be sure to keep your work surface, hands, and rolling pin are lightly floured- always! • Continue this process until you have a pasta sheet of the desired thickness, about 1 millimeter or less. • Bring 3-4 quarts of cold water to boiling, add 1 1/2 tablespoons salt, cook 3 minutes for al dente. • Serve immediately with your favorite sauce! ** Noodles freeze very well and easily- just lay flat to freeze and then package for long term storage.

THE BEST RECIPE FOR MAKING HOMEMADE PASTA NOODLES (PLUS A LOOK AT THE KITCHENAID PASTA PRESS ATTACHMENT)

Steps:

• In your Kitchenaid mixer, combine the flour and 5 large eggs and mix. Add in olive oil to make the dough come together just a bit. The dough should be very dry-so dry that it won't even come together into a single mass.
• Pour the dough out onto the work surface and pinch off walnut-size pieces to feed into the extruder.
• Don't shove it down in there as that will cause a big clog and mess everything up. Larger amounts of dough tend to bind up in the extruder as they reach the auger.
• Using the cutter on your attachment, as the pasta comes out, cut it off and lay it in a single layer on a floured surface to dry.
• Cook the homemade extruded pasta as you would any other pasta, in a large pot of boiling, salted water until al dente. Cooking time will vary depending on how wet the dough was and how long the pasta was dried. Mine took about 4 minutes.
• Finally, disassemble the extruder, remove any large gobs of dough, and let the rest dry overnight before attempting to clean the parts. The dough will flick right off once it's completely dry.
• Remove using a slotted spoon and add to your sauce
• Toss to coat the pasta and serve

PERFECT HOMEMADE PASTA OR SPAGHETTI FOR KITCHENAID MIXERS

Steps:

• Combine the semolina flour, all purpose flour, and salt in a large bowl. Using a fork, mix these ingredients together, then using a sifter, sift into another bowl. Set aside.
• In a separate bowl, combine the eggs & beat well with a fork.
• Add extra-virgin olive oil to the eggs and mix with a fork.
• Add the cold water to the egg & olive oil mixture, and mix with a fork.
• Pour the liquid ingredients into your mixer bowl and attach the flat beater.
• Add half of the sifted flour mixture, turn to speed 2 and mix 20 seconds. Add the rest of the sifted flour mixture and mix an additional 20 seconds.
• Exchange flat beater for the dough hook. Turn to speed 2 and knead for 2 to 3 minutes, until a dough ball is formed.
• Remove dough from bowl and hand-knead for 2 to 3 minutes. NOTE: Good pasta dough should be elastic and pliable, but FIRM (not soft like bread dough). It should not stick to your fingers or fall apart. To test for the correct consistency, pinch a small amount of dough together after kneading for 2 to 3 minutes -- if the dough stays together without sticking to your fingers or falling apart, it should work well. If too soft, add more flour by dusting the top of the dough and knead some more, continuing to dust the dough with flour until achieving the right consistency. If too dry, wet your hands and knead some more, continuing to wet your hands a little at a time & knead until the right consistency. (Achieving the right consistency isn't hard at all -- I got it just right the very first time I tried this recipe).
• Wrap dough in plastic wrap and put in the refrigerator for a minimum of 1 hour (this step is important).
• Remove dough from refrigerator and let it rest for 15 minutes. Using your hands, roll dough into a log, about 12 inches long.
• Cut log into 8 slices, then flatten each piece slightly. Spread slices out so they aren't touching and cover with plastic wrap.
• Using the widest setting (1 on the Kitchenaid), turn mixer to speed 2 and taking one piece of the flattened dough, feed through rollers. Fold dough in half & roll again. Repeat 3 more times, lightly dusting the sheet of pasta in between each rolling if it feels the slightest bit sticky.
• Move adjustment knob to setting 2 and feed the dough sheet through the rollers once.
• Move adjustment knob to setting 3 and feed the dough sheet through the rollers once.
• Continue to increase roller setting until desired dough thickness is reached: 3 for Thick "kluski" type egg noodles; 4 for standard egg noodles; 4 or 5 for lasagna noodles, fettuccine, spaghetti, and ravioli; 6 or 7 for tortellini, thin fettuccine, and linguine fini; 7 or 8 for VERY thin "angel-hair" type pasta/capellini or VERY fine linguine.
• Separate sheets once desired thickness is achieved with a thin towel or piece of plastic wrap dusted with flour, so the dough doesn't dry out too much.
• To cut the noodles, exchange the Pasta Roller Sheet attachment for the cutter attachment of choice, either the fettucine cutter for wider noodles or the spaghetti cutter for spaghetti or linguine. Run each sheet through the cutter. NOTE: Each sheet can be cut in half or thirds before putting through the cutter to prevent "too long" of strips. I prefer to use the longer sheets, rather than cutting them in half or thirds, as this reduces the time it takes to cut each sheet & hang to dry.
• After cutting each sheet, hang to dry on a pasta rack. Dry for a minimum of 10 minutes. If you don't have a pasta rack, plastic hangers work great! IMPORTANT: Flour the pasta rack or the plastic hangers before placing pasta on them. ALSO, separate the strips of pasta as best you can, so they aren't touching. This way they won't dry sticking together. If you want to dry the pasta for later use, dry for several hours and then store in airtight plastic bags (i.e. Ziploc Freezer or Storage Bags).
• When ready to cook, boil your water and add salt. For the 1.5 pounds of pasta, I use 2 teaspoons of salt. Oil in the water is not necessary.
• Fresh pasta will cook faster than commercially bought pasta -- about 4 to 5 minutes in vigorously boiling water for el dente.