Preparation: 1. Make the dough. Place your flour on a clean countertop and create a deep hole in the middle. Crack your eggs into the hole. Then mix your eggs with a fork, gradually pulling in flour from the sides as you work. As the dough thickens, use a scraper to pull the remaining flour into the egg mixture. At this point knead the dough until it becomes smooth. It typically takes 8-10 minutes so be patient. To test readiness, form the dough into a ball and press your finger into the center. If it springs back, it’s ready. Another test is to slightly pull a section of dough away from the ball. If it appears brittle, knead longer. It should be pliable and soft. It’s difficult to overwork pasta dough so if in doubt, knead it for one more minute and test it again. As you work, add very small quantities of flour, water, or oil to make adjustments if your dough is too sticky or dry. 2. Rest the dough. Once your dough is ready, let it rest for at least 30 minutes and up to a few hours. You can wrap it in plastic wrap or simply cover it with an upside-down bowl to keep it from drying out. At the end of your wait, the dough will be much more responsive to rolling without tearing. 3. Roll the Pasta. Use a rolling pin, if desired. Otherwise, set up your manual or electric pasta roller. Regardless of whether you have a hand-crank or a KitchenAid attachment, the process is the same. Start by cutting off a section of dough, approximately ⅓ to ¼ of the batch. Cover the rest of the dough while you work. Flatten the dough and shape it into a rough rectangle. Dust with flour as needed. Start with the widest setting (zero) and run the dough through a few times. Then fold the
dough into thirds like a letter. Put the folded dough back through the roller lengthwise. The goal is to straighten the edges of the dough so if it’s thinner on one end than the other repeat the process as needed. Once your rectangular shape is established, move to the number one position and put your dough through two times. Continue with each setting until you reach the desired thickness. If your dough gets too long, cut it in half and put each section back through. Since rollers are not standardized, neither are the thickness guidelines. For reference, on a roller with eight settings, you might achieve a medium thickness for noodles such as spaghetti, pappardelle, and ravioli at levels 4-5. For thinner pasta like tortellini, thin fettuccine, and linguini, level 7 might be a better choice. 4. Cut the dough. Once your dough is the desired thickness, swap in the cutting attachment and put the dough through again to cut. Alternatively, use a knife or pasta cutter to cut the desired shapes. 5. Coat with semolina flour. As you work, place your cut pasta onto a tray. Heavily coat the pasta with semolina flour. This will keep the pieces from sticking to themselves and each other, and help the pasta dry out. However, it won’t affect the cooking process. 6. Cook the pasta. Bring salted water to a heavy, rolling boil. Add the fresh pasta and stir immediately. Cook for 2-3 minutes and test for doneness. Cook another few minutes as needed. Use a strainer with a handle or pasta spoon to pull the noodles out of the water and into the sauce or onto a plate. Buon appetito!
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