Making Pasta From Scratch Hand-making pasta is an act of love that’s well worth your efforts. However, it’s significantly more time-consuming than pre-packaged options and requires some practice. Here’s a tutorial to get you started.
Pasta-Cooking Pointers
Whether dried or fresh, pasta-cooking techniques can make the difference between sensational and so-so.
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Salt the water to add flavor to your pasta. More on this below. Ensure your water is at a full rolling boil before adding pasta. Stir pasta as soon as you drop it into the water to keep it from sticking together. Do not add oil to your water as this can hinder sauces from sticking to the pasta. Keep a close eye on your pasta and don’t overcook it. If you need water for your sauce recipe use the pasta water. It contains salt and starch to flavor and thicken your sauce. Fresh pasta cooks much faster than dried pasta. It typically only takes 2-5 minutes so watch it closely and perform frequent taste tests.
Flour
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In Italy, the culinary world pairs different types of flour with the task at hand. When it comes to pasta, flour and egg dough is made with “00” flour, which is very finely ground. In the United States, “00” is more difficult to find. While you can use all-purpose, or even bread flour, with satisfactory outcomes, investing the effort to source “00” will create a softer pasta that’s easier to handle. If you are kneading and rolling your dough entirely by hand, use “00” to make the job easier. If you are using a machine, use whatever you have on hand. While dried pasta is primarily made from semolina flour, fresh pasta typically relies on white flour. If you follow a vegan diet or just don’t have the ingredients for flour and egg dough, a semolina and water dough is easy to make too. It’s good to keep semolina flour around for pasta making, even when using white flour for your dough, because it’s perfect for dusting freshly cut pasta to keep it from sticking.
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Eggs
Flour and eggs are premier partners in the masterpiece of pasta. The amount of each depends on factors such as the type of flour you use, the size of the eggs, and your preferences. You’ll see recipes measured by weight (most accurate), number of eggs, and even recipes with a combination of whole eggs with additional yolks to balance moisture and enhance color. However, the best place to start is with a basic combination of the simplest ingredients.
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