I had sooo much fun making pasta last weekend! Seriously...it think it was the most fun I've ever had making food! Maybe simple things just amuse me, but the way you feed the dough through the roller and have it turn out nice and thin and then put it through the fettuccine cutter....awesome!
This was, however, my second attempt at making pasta. My first attempt failed miserably...my dough was way too dry (think sawdust) so I had to throw it away. However, I mustered up enough strength to try it again and it turned out perfectly! Just follow your instinct...when the dough looks like it has enough flour it probably does. And when you are rolling it you add more flour anyways.
When searching for a recipe I turned to
Good Things Catered because I've yet to be disappointed with a recipe from there! The only thing I did differently was add about a tbsp. of extra virgin olive oil when I was whisking the eggs into the flour.
IngredientsSource:
Good Things Catered - Originally from Williams-Sonoma
2 ¼ c. unbleached all-purpose flour, plus more as needed
3 eggs, lightly beaten
(I added 1 tbsp. Extra Virgin Olive Oil in with the eggs)Semolina flour for dusting
(I used all purpose)Directions: -Place the 2 ¼ c. flour in a mound on a work surface.
-Make a well in the center large enough to hold the beaten eggs and pour the eggs into the well.
-Using a fork, begin gradually incorporating some of the flour from the sides, taking care not to break the flour wall.
-When the eggs are no longer runny, you can stop worrying about the wall.
-Continue working in more flour until the dough is no longer wet.
-Begin kneading the dough by hand, adding as much additional all-purpose flour as needed until the dough is smooth and no longer sticky, 3 to 5 min.
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After reading other recipes online, I decided to let the dough rest for about 15 minutes at this point. -Scoop up any remaining flour and pass it through a sieve to remove any large particles.
-Set the sieved flour aside.
-Dust baking sheets with semolina flour.
-Divide the dough in half.
-Keep one half on the work surface, covered with a kitchen towel to prevent it from drying.
-Set up your pasta machine alongside another work surface.
-Lightly flour the work surface with some of the reserved sieved flour.
-Using a rolling pin, flatten the other dough half into a rectangle thin enough to go through the rollers at the widest setting.
-Pass the dough through the rollers once, then lay the resulting ribbon down on the work surface and flour it lightly.
-Fold into thirds lengthwise to make a rectangle and flour both sides lightly.
-Flatten the dough with the rolling pin until it is thin enough to go through the rollers again.
-With one of the two open edges going first, pass the dough through the rollers nine more times at the widest setting; after each time, flour, fold and flatten the dough as described.
-After 10 trips through the wide rollers, the dough should be completely smooth and supple.
-Now you are ready to thin the dough. Starting at the second-to-widest setting, pass the dough through the rollers repeatedly, setting the rollers one notch narrower each time.
-When the pasta ribbon gets unwieldy, cut it in half and continue rolling one part at a time until the dough reaches the desired thinness.
-Arrange the finished pasta sheets on the prepared baking sheets and cover with kitchen towels to prevent drying.
-Repeat the entire process with the second half of dough.
-Cut the pasta by hand or machine as desired.
