Rolling in the Dough

I started making pasta because we were not, in fact, rolling in the dough. It's very cheap and the extra work pays off! I was initially intimidated by all the accessories recipes called for - drying racks, presses, dough hooks, etc. Those things are helpful (especially the pasta press), but people have been making pasta for centuries without KitchenAid mixers. It's actually really easy to make by hand and roll with a rolling pin.

For the pasta:

3 1/2 - 4 cups flour (semolina or all-purpose)

4 large eggs

1/2 tsp. olive oil

For the rolling:

Rolling pin 

Plastic wrap

1. Mound flour on a clean surface (like a wooden cutting board) and hollow out a well in the center. Add olive oil.
2. Slowly crack eggs into the well, using a fork to incorporate flour from the mound walls into the egg mixture.
3. Don't panic! Your mound walls may collapse before eggs are incorporated. (Mine always do, but I think that may just be me.) Just keep mashing it together with your hands — the wet paste will form a cohesive dough in a couple of minutes. Pasta is Italian for "paste," so really you're doing good.
4. Be impressed. The dough is starting to come together. Knead for about six minutes until you've got a yellow, slightly sticky ball about the size of the palm of your hand. (If your dough is too dry, add a little more egg. If it's too sticky, add more flour. That's the beauty of dough!)
5. Wrap your dough ball in plastic wrap and set aside to rest for 30 minutes.
6. Roll the dough as thin as you can with a rolling pin (paper thin is suggested, but my hand rolled pasta is a little thicker than that) or run it through a pasta press.
7. Cut dough into any shape you want. For pasta shape ideas, check out this site.
8. Dry, boil and enjoy! If you don't have a drying wrack, no worries: Here are a couple creative ways to dry pasta.

 

Have you tried making pasta dough? Did your well collapse? I'd love to hear!

Linking up to Coffee Beans and Bobby Pins Friday's Five Linkup!