Homemade Pasta

I have been meaning to make homemade pasta for a very long time. I don't know why I've left it so long since I am obsessed with pasta. I even got a pasta machine for Christmas 2010!

I guess this just goes to show how time really can pass us by. So no more stalling! I made my first small batch of homemade pasta (fettuccine noodles to be exact) this week. After a bit of struggling with stickiness, breakage, re-kneading and re-rolling, I must say I am quite impressed with my homemade pasta

The homemade pasta recipe is very simple. It will take some practice to get to know the consistency you want but after using the pasta machine this understanding should come quite quickly


500g (1lb) flour *
5 eggs

* I used sifted all purpose flour since that is all I had in my cupboard, but I've read that using semolina or extra fine flour such as 00 works best. 00 flour is also lower in gluten than all purpose

Instruction:
- Place the flour on a clean counter top or bowl. Make a well in the center and break the eggs into the well. Using a fork, beat the eggs, gradually pulling in the flour until the dough begins to form a homogeneous mass.
- Dust the work surface with flour and begin kneading the pasta dough.
If the dough is too dry or crumbly, drizzle with a little room temperature water. When the right texture has been reached, form a ball and wrap in plastic and place to rest in the refrigerator for about 30 minutes
- Roll out the dough using a roller pasta machine (as per the machine's instructions). Keep the dough dusted lightly with flour at all times to prevent from sticking. Fold up and roll a second time and put through the roller again a couple times until it becomes smooth. Continue to roll each sheet, gradually decreasing the setting until you've reach the desired thickness.
- To make ribbon noodles there are a couple ways to do this; roll up the sheet like a jelly-roll, and slice to desired width to make noodles, or use the cutter attachment of your pasta machine. If you use the machine make sure the sheets have enough flour dusting otherwise you could have a sticky situation

Fresh pasta only needs about 2-5 minutes, depending on thickness, of cooking in vigorously boiling salted water

Coat your homemade pasta with your favourite pasta sauce. One of my favourites is Fettuccine Alfredo

Enjoy!