I’d like to preface this by saying that I am by no means an expert at making pasta. It’s taken me a very long time to work up the courage to blog about this, as I don’t like to convey myself as anything other than what I truly am… a recreational pasta maker. That being said, you don’t need to be an expert to enjoy making and eating fresh pasta, in the comfort of your own home. If you’re interested in dabbling in fresh pasta for the first time, then you’ve come to the right place. My philosophy when it comes to at-home cooking, is that nothing needs to be perfect. Don’t get wrapped up in how things “should be”. The more you do it, the better you’ll become. Just enjoy the process, or you’ll never do it again!
If you’ve never made pasta before, it seems like a very technical and challenging task. It’s not! Fresh pasta is made with just two things… flour and eggs. Sometimes a little added water is necessary, but we’ll talk about that later. You don’t need a special machine to roll out the dough; you don’t even need a rolling pin! Believe me, a bottle of wine will suffice. Once you give it a few tries, you’ll be doing it with your eyes closed.
If I could give only one piece of advice, it would be to trust your judgement. Do not blindly follow a recipe (including this one). You need to use your senses and intuition when making pasta. This might sound scary, but it will get much easier after a couple of tries. No recipe can anticipate the quality of your flour, the size of your eggs, or the state of your environment (humidity can make a difference). My biggest failures all occurred when I stopped paying attention to anything other than the recipe. However, those failures showed me how forgiving pasta actually is, because there’s usually something you can do to salvage the dough. In time, I have found that I have the most success when I keep the dough a bit on the wet side, where it remains very soft and fluffy, and on the verge of sticking. This way, when I go to roll it out, I can sprinkle flour on top and underneath as needed, which gives me a bit more time to work with the dough, before it starts to dry out. Even when it isn’t perfect, it will still be delicious.
Lastly, this recipe uses all purpose flour. There are other types of flour (“00” and semolina are the most common) that can change the consistency of your noodles, but I recommend starting here before experimenting with other combinations.
Hand-Rolled Egg Pasta: A “How-To” For Beginner
Ingredients
- 3/4 Cup Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
- 1 egg
- Room Temperature Water, if needed
Instructions
- Note: The ingredient list above is per serving, and the servings are not large. I recommend making at least one more serving than you have people to feed, especially if you don’t plan to serve the pasta with anything else. This should account for big eaters, or small eggs. When in doubt, make extra.
- Pour the flour onto a clean surface (or into a bowl if you’re more comfortable with that), making a pile. Using your fingers, create a hole in the centre, big enough to hold the eggs. You want the walls of the flour-bowl to be thick and high enough that the egg will not run onto the table, with a layer of flour at the bottom that will slowly be incorporated as you whisk.
- Crack the eggs into the centre of the flour and, using a fork or your fingers, carefully whisk the eggs until they are solid in colour. Then, begin to slowly take in bits of flour from the sides, whisking continuously. As the flour-walls become thin, it may be difficult to keep the yolk from running out. Use your free hand to reinforce the walls, in order to keep them from collapsing. If the egg escapes, don’t worry. Act quickly, and try to get it back into the bowl. If you can’t, then use your hands to quickly combine it with flour, to thicken it fast enough that it can be built back into one mass. Otherwise, continue slowly incorporating flour until the egg begins to thicken and it becomes difficult to whisk. Then, begin to slowly incorporate the remainder of the flour with your hands.
- Note: It’s important to know that you might not use all the flour. Especially on your first try. In my experience, less is more, when it comes to the flour. If your eggs are small, there will almost certainly be more flour than they can handle. Aim to keep your dough on the “wet” side, so you can add flour as you knead, and even as you roll it out. If it’s too dense and dry, the kneading process can be difficult and you’ll have to add water.
- Once the dough no longer feels overly sticky (it can be a little bit sticky at this point), but remains soft and fluffy, try to gather all the remaining bits of dough, from your hands and the table, and add them to the large mass (avoid any pieces that may have already dried up). Quickly clean your hands and the work surface well, and dry it off. Have a small bowl of fresh flour and a glass of room temperature water on handed, with a tablespoon available for the water. Sprinkle flour over the surface and, if it’s still sticky, overtop of the dough so it doesn’t stick to your hands. Then proceed to knead the dough, by placing the heal of the hand at the centre and pushing it forward (away from you). The dough should stretch slightly and roll with your pressure (lean into it). Then fold the far end towards you, turn the dough 90 degrees, and repeat. Continue kneading the dough for about 10 minutes, sprinkling flour above and below until it’s no longer sticking to your hands, but is still sticking to itself. If it is too tough and not incorporating into itself, then you will want to add water, until it is the right consistency. Knead to incorporate the water, 1 tbsp at a time, until it consistently sticks to itself and takes to the kneading process. When finished, the dough should be perfectly even in colour, and have formed into a smooth ball.
- Note: My dough has required water on a few occasions, and it can take time to correct the consistency. Don’t be alarmed if the kneading process takes much longer than the approximated time. This will become easier to avoid the more you make pasta.
- Once the kneading process is complete, clean off the work surface. Place the dough-ball on the surface and cover it with an upside down bowl. Let it rest for no less than 30 minutes. Don’t skip this step.
- When the dough has finished resting and you’re ready to roll, sprinkle a thin layer of flour over the work surface. Cut off an egg-size piece of dough, and return the bowl over the rest. Place the dough on the floured work surface and , if it’s still a bit sticky, sprinkle some flour over it as well. Technically, you can roll out the entire ball of dough at once, but this requires you to work quickly enough that it doesn’t begin to dry out before you’re finished. I recommend starting with smaller pieces, and graduating to larger amounts when you become more comfortable with pasta-making.
- Using a rolling pin, begin rolling out the dough in the long direction, turning it 90º, every so often, and flipping it over periodically. Sprinkle more flour underneath and overtop, as needed. The dough will want to be an oval. Try your best to get it as close to a long rectangle as possible. Continue the rolling process until you’ve achieved your desired thickness, considering the fact that the noodles will expand slightly, when cooked. I like my noodles to be very thin and soft, so I roll until it’s fairly transparent. Especially if I plan to serve it with a less “robust” sauce (i.e. oil or butter based). Bolognese or Ragu can manage a slightly thicker noodle, as they are very hearty.
- Once you have achieved a long, thin, rectangular sheet of pasta, consider how long you want your noodles to be. If the length of the sheet is too long, cut it in half and repeat the next step with the second sheet. Sprinkle some flour over the sheet and rub it around lightly so it covers evenly. Beginning from one end, flip the sheet over itself (one or two inches in length), and repeat until the entire sheet is folded up. Cut the sheet anywhere from 1/8-1 inch, depending on the kind of pasta you prefer (linguini, fettuccine, tagliatelle, pappardelle, etc.). Lift the noodles and carefully drop them onto a sheet pan into a nest-like shape, separating them as they leave your hands. Sprinkle lightly with flour (I like to use semolina flour for this), to avoid sticking.
- Repeat the process of rolling and cutting, until all the dough has been used.
- Once all the noodles are cut, they are ready to cook. Bring a pot of water to a boil, with the lid on. Then, and only then, add a couple tablespoons of coarse salt to the pot, depending on how much pasta you’re cooking. The water should be salty! Once the water returns to a boil, add the noodles and give them a stir, and return the lid to ensure the water comes back up to a boil. Once boiling, remove the lid. The noodles are likely done once they rise to the top. Check by tasting, then drain them, saving about 1/4-1/2 cup of the pasta water to add to your sauce. This helps loosen the sauce, and allows it to cling to the noodles.
- Serve immediately with your favourite sauce and enjoy!
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