I don’t really know Karen Walron, the lovely author of the blog Chookooloonks. We’ve never met, but I put her firmly in the category of “People I think I’d be friends with if we ever ended up in the same room.” I’ve been inspired by Karen’s photography and writing for several years now, and I cannot wait to see her book, The Beauty of Different
, which is out this October (but available for preorder now). The trailer she made to describe the project got me all excited.
, which is out this October (but available for preorder now). The trailer she made to describe the project got me all excited.The past few months I’ve enjoyed watching Karen make (and quickly start checking items off) her life list: 100 things she wants to do while she’s here on earth. I’m fascinated by these lists—every one of them different (though Karen and I share flamenco dreams). Each list is inspiring and silly and moving and fun, and every time I read one I want to help the writer achieve their goals. What could be better than helping someone do something they find meaningful?
One of the things Karen would like to do is to make pasta from scratch. If I lived in Houston, where Karen lives, I would invite her over—or show up on her doorstep with my pasta machine—and we’d have a fun afternoon of pasta making (if she didn’t think I was a total freak, that is, and actually let me in the front door).
Alas, I live nowhere near Houston (probably for the best, the humidity might kill me). So here is the next best thing: a step-by-step tutorial for Karen—and anyone else who wants to learn how to make your own pasta.
Are you ready? Let’s go.
Here’s the recipe:
1 ¾ cup four (Italians use what is called Type 00 flour, but all purpose white is fine)
2 eggs
1 tsp olive oil
2 tbs water
generous pinch of kosher salt (about ½ tsp)
Put the flour on a counter or cutting board and make a well in the center. Add the salt and olive oil to the well, then crack the two eggs in. It should look like this.
Break the yolks with a folk and begin to mix the eggs, adding flour gradually into the mixture. I do this with my hand, slowly pushing the flour from the outside closer and closer to the eggs. This is hard to do while you are taking pictures.
The mixture will begin to look a bit more dough-like, as the flour gets incorporated.
You can add the water, slowly, as you go along (1 tsp at a time is good). The dough will be stiff and you might want to add some extra olive oil to make it more pliable.
At some point it will become easier to do the mixing with your hands, rather than a fork.
The dough will be a shaggy mess, don’t worry about it.
Eventually, if you keep kneading, it will come together. Add little bits of water and oil if it’s too dry and crumbly.
It’s a messy process.
Eventually the dough will hold together in a ball. You’ll probably be pretty annoyed with it by now. This is to be expected.
Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and put it in the fridge to rest for half an hour. After all that kneading, you guys need a time out.
While the dough was resting, I decided to try some other approaches to making fresh pasta dough: namely, using appliances. I put all the same ingredients into the bowl of a Kitchen-Aid mixer.
I read on a food discussion website that people have burned out the motor of their mixers trying to make pasta dough, so be warned that this is a possibility. I had no problem, however, though I discovered you need to use the paddle attachment rather than the dough hook. Add the water slowly, around the edges, as the mixer runs on medium speed. You’ll want to stop mid-way and scrape down the sides. After about three minutes, it will look like this. You can gather it into a ball easily and wrap it in plastic.
Next I tried the same thing in a food processor, fitted with the blade attachment (it comes with a plastic dough blade, but I haven’t used mine in years and didn’t want to hunt for it).
This worked fine too, although the finished product looked more crumbly. I used 3 tbs of water to get the dough to hold together, but it was soft and balled up easily. I wrapped it in plastic and put it in the fridge. This was, by far, the easiest way to make pasta dough. In the future, I plan to use the food processor exclusively.
All three versions of the dough, after they rested, were pliable and easy to work with (and when cooked, I couldn’t tell the difference). Knead it a bit, using the heel of your hand and pushing away from you. The dough should feel soft and smooth, sort of like baby skin.
Cut the dough in four equal parts, and get your pasta machine ready. It is possible to roll pasta out by hand, but it’s a bit tricky. If you can get your hands on a pasta machine (garage sales and thrift stores are great for this, or ask to borrow a friend’s). Make sure to wrap up the other three pieces of dough while you’re rolling out the first. You don’t want to let the dough dry out.
This is the part of the process where an extra set of hands in really useful, so one person can feed the dough through the press while another person turns the crank. If you’ve got a friend or family member hanging around, put them to work. Until you get the hang of it, it will be very hard to do by yourself. There are, however, pasta machines with an electric attachment that will do the cranking for you.
There’s a dial on the back of the machine, with number settings 1-9. Start on number 1, the widest setting, and run the dough through once. Then turn the dial to number 2 and repeat. Each setting will move the rollers closer together and create a thinner dough. If the dough shreds or rips, don’t worry, you can just fold the dough over and start on number 1 again. This dough is very forgiving. Don’t worry about ripping it up or ruining it. You can always go back to the beginning. I wish life were like this.
If the dough gets too long, you might want to cut it into two pieces. When it stacks up like this it will begin to stick and that’s a hard thing to get unstuck. Again, you can always go back to the beginning and start over.
Once you have your sheets of pasta, you can do all sorts of things with them. You can use them for lasagne or ravioli (I have a tutorial on ravioli here). I like to cut them free form, into these fat ribbon shapes. They’re good for chunky sauces.
You can use the pasta machine attachment to make different types of noodles.
But here’s a tip: a handful of fresh angel hair pasta, boiled briefly (fresh pasta cooks in a flash) and tossed with roasted pinenuts and a dollop of pesto made from the basil in last year’s garden, is a heavenly thing indeed. It would make a pasta maker out of the strongest skeptic. The fresh stuff is head and shoulders above the rest—even commercial fresh pastas you can buy in the store. There’s really no comparison.
There you have it: step by step instructions on how to make fresh pasta. Now, go forth and achieve life dreams—or just a really awesome dinner.
Though it should be noted, that if you put your fresh pasta in cute little bundles like this, it will be very hard to detangle them in order to cook without clumping. Do as I say, people, not as I do.
Twitter
Flickr
RSS
the food looks scrumptious. whet my appetite. i love pasta.
that pasta looks so delicious!
wow,..thnks for this
That looks amazing!
And highly intimidating!
(thank you so much, friend. I can't wait to try.)
I love making pasta from scratch! I've done it without a pasta machine, but it's a lot harder to roll out the dough. Flour substitutions work well too (semolina, whole wheat). One thing that I do is make a double batch of dough, wrap some of it in plastic wrap, and put it into the freezer. That way I don't have to make pasta dough every time I want fresh pasta. I'll then put the ball in the fridge on the morning I want to use it, and roll it out in the evening.
Once you've had fresh pasta and fresh bread, it's hard to go back to store bought.
If you've rolled out cookie dough or pie crust, you can roll pasta dough by hand. Really. You probably won't get it as thin as a machine but it's still wonderful.
One little caution. If you're an ambitious beginner, this process takes some time. Allow for that and enjoy the process.
You got me – I haven't made fresh pasta in years but I'm going to do it again. Might even find a pasta machine this weekend at a garage sale.
Gor-geous!
I've never made pasta from scratch. Too scared… Not enough time… There's always a reason.
Came I come over?
I love love love Karen from Chookooloonks!! I was so happy to see you write about her and her book b/c I never see her mentioned in food blogs. I've been following her for about 3 years now. So cool that she commented back.
I just made black-peppered pasta/noodles a few days ago so I understand about the frustration with forming the dough ball.
I always heard that an authentic pasta dough doesn't contain water, but many people in the United States tend to add a bit of water. Even the pasta recipes that came with my KA pasta roller/cutter set called for water. I find that olive oil, eggs, salt, and flour are all you need. Nevertheless, I'm sure the pasta turn out the same way in the end. Your pasta looks fantastic. What a great tutorial.
I grew up with homemade pasta and really love it. I don't make it frequently, but because that's what tastes "normal" to me when I eat pasta, I won't eat semolina noodles. The only store-bought noodle I like are Chinese or Japanese noodles. My husband and I pull out the pasta machine sometimes when we have guests. Last time one of our friends put most of the dough through the machine for us because she was fascinated by the process.
Wonderful! I will make pasta this year, I *will*.
How funny that I would pop over to your bloggie today and see this specific post. I just asked a friend of mine if I could borrow her pasta roller outer as soon as I find a recipe for making my own pasta… and the even more fun part… MY name is Karen! I figure that was my hint from above to go ahead and ask to borrow the thing and get on with it! Thanks for the post I can't wait to try.
Karen
I use my food processor to do pasta dough and it's working fine indeed. Sometimes the dough can come out a little dry (depending on the size of the eggs) but the waiting time allows the moisture from the eggs to get into the flour.
For the rolling part, I like to run the dough twice on each settings (mine has only 6 stops) to improve the elasticity of the dough.
I have such fond memories of making fresh pasta and i haven't made it in a long while. thanks for sharing!
But those bundles are so cute!
What a super tutorial. And her I am with no pasta machine! Guess I'll bookmark this and ask, no beg, my kids for one next Christmas!
As I started reading this post, I thought to myself, "I live in Seattle! She can come give me a pasta lesson!" But you did such a wonderful job – great photos, witty and funny directions – that I think I can do it on my own. However, I think our next date should be a pasta making one. I know I CAN do it, I just wouldn't mind a little hand holding.
Looks heavenly! I always feel like making pasta is like making a quilt — the end results have a homespun charm and are miles above anything you can buy in a store, but once you're done, you're pretty much okay with not doing it again for another year. But perhaps I'm doing it wrong.
What are your thoughts on regular flour vs semolina?
Okay – I have you bookmarked now! I am so happy to have found such awesome instructions and pictures on this. I have the exact pasta machine that you show and have been so intimidated by it that I have not used it. I cannot understand how to clean it either! Aren't there dried eggs germs all over it if you don't wash the inside pieces? Couldn't that cause illness? I would love to know how you keep it clean.
Also – thanks for the info on the flour substitutions – I cannot wait to make this using Kamut Khorasan Wheat! We love the stuff and I have been wanting to make my own pasta and bread with it – so thanks!!
Thanks so much for this tutorial. You inspired me to unearth the pasta machine I got from my brother's mother-in-law's cousin a year ago
For the record, my Kitchenaid mixer was pushed to the max (as you cautioned) so next time, I'll do the food processor. I'm looking forward to more tutorials from you, Tea.
when I was a kid, we had to do a presentation on how to make something. Being the avid cooking show watcher, with my mom every Saturday morning curled up in my parents bed, I decided to make pasta….oh my was that an experience! It didn't turn out the way I hope and I made a God awful mess and no one wanted to try it. Not that I blame them, as there was no way to cook it. Be as it may, I have never tried it again….yet. Good thing that the local Sprouts sells bulk semolina flour, as I have some waiting for me in the freezer. Now I just need a few moments to do it! Major plus I also have a pasta machine that my in laws gave my hubby for Christmas. Looks like its time to put it into good use! Thanks for the post!
My Mom remembers pasta making day when she was growing up, with sheets and strands of fresh pasta laid out over the beds to dry. Apparently my grandmother never bought pasta from a store in her life – sadly, she passed away when I was four years old so I never got a chance to learn from her. My Mom likes to buy ready-made things at the store and never bothered to keep or research her mother's recipes. Me, I've been wanting to make pasta for a long time but have never really dared. Your tutorial is great, perhaps I'll finally give it a go!
I love fresh pasta and have been trying to convince myself that a pasta maker would be an investment rather than an extravagance – this might have swayed me to buying more kitchen equipment! Yay! Thanks for the great post