home made pasta for the first time?

positivenote

Hi all,
got a pasta machine for me birthday and have never made pasta before. Any recipes and/or tips for a novice? going to give it a go for dinner tomorrow

Thanks

oscarBravo

100g of "00" flour to each egg (pinch of salt and a dash of oil if you like) and knead the dough until it's smooth and elastic. Wrap it in clingfilm and leave it in the fridge for at least half an hour. Run it through the machine at its widest setting, then fold it in half and run it through again, then fold it and run it through again... you're basically laminating the dough until it's completely elastic and showing no tendency to break or split. When it gets to that point, narrow the rollers by one notch and roll it through, then another notch and through again, once on each thickness until it's as thin as you want it. Cut it as required, hang it over something to rest, then cook it in lots of well-salted boiling water for maybe three or four minutes, until it's al dente.

the beer revolu

I don't think there is anything to add to that last post!

oscarBravo

Oh yeah: don't be shy with the flour while laminating and rolling. Keep your work surface lightly dusted, and have a light dusting on both sides of the pasta sheet before it goes through the machine. Sometimes the dough can develop a slightly sticky tendency while you're working it, and you don't want it sticking to the rollers. Also, it will get very long while you're rolling it thinner (it has to go somewhere, and it can't get wider), so you'll probably have to cut to length at least once in the process.

positivenote

can I use 'strong white flour' (that I use for pizza dough) instead of the 00 flour mentioned?
thanks so far

kylith

I have used 'normal' flour and it's turned out perfectly edible. Just be aware that it won't be quite as good as if you'd splashed out on the )) stuff.

dee_mc

positivenote wrote: »

can I use 'strong white flour' (that I use for pizza dough) instead of the 00 flour mentioned?
thanks so far

Yes, that's what I've used in the past and it worked perfectly.

oscarBravo

positivenote wrote: »

can I use 'strong white flour' (that I use for pizza dough) instead of the 00 flour mentioned?
thanks so far

Yeah, should be almost indistinguishable.

positivenote

oscarBravo wrote: »

100g of "00" flour to each egg (pinch of salt and a dash of oil if you like) and knead the dough until it's smooth and elastic. Wrap it in clingfilm and leave it in the fridge for at least half an hour. Run it through the machine at its widest setting, then fold it in half and run it through again, then fold it and run it through again... you're basically laminating the dough until it's completely elastic and showing no tendency to break or split. When it gets to that point, narrow the rollers by one notch and roll it through, then another notch and through again, once on each thickness until it's as thin as you want it. Cut it as required, hang it over something to rest, then cook it in lots of well-salted boiling water for maybe three or four minutes, until it's al dente.

Hi,
just did a test run there. Tagliatelle with pesto ... its actually remarkable the difference in the taste. Simple as can be but beautiful.
How long will the dough keep for if I make a larger batch?

oscarBravo

Should be OK for a few days, but you should be able to freeze it.

positivenote

had serious problems with the dough tonight.... it kept on flaking. I used sme as was used as mentioned above but for some reason the dough just wasnt the same. could it be that it wasnt kneaded enough prior to using the pasta roller...
cheers

positivenote

any help with this ? im having the mother in law over tomorrow for dinner and shes the one who got me the pasta machine...
thanks

Mr Simpson

Possibly a tad dry. Can happen when your using eggs, due to the variation in size.