Tips for making home-made pasta?

I have to agree that your dough was too dry. It's better to be a bit too wet as you can always work in more flour as you are rolling it out. Knead some as well, not like with bread, but some. Dough should be smooth, silky and I always leave it very slightly sticky. Resting is essential. Form it into a disk and wrap it in plastic wrap and let it sit for a minimum of 20 minutes. I often make dough early in the day, stick it in the fridge, then bring it out an hour or so before we are ready to start rolling. Don't do it overnight though, the dough will start to turn gray.

I'll admit, more often than not, I use the food processor to make the dough. Put the flour in (I use AP mostly, sometimes 00 if I have it), then add eggs and process until the dough starts to form a ball, adding a little bit of water only if needed. Scrape it out onto a floured board, knead a few times to pull it together, shape into a ball, flatten, then wrap and rest. Nearly always comes out perfect, but like Sarana, I occasionally have a fail though very rarely anymore.

When it comes time to roll, if the dough is still too sticky, work a little bit of flour at a time into it as you are rolling to keep it from sticking to board and rolling pin.

I'm guessing the book you were using wanted you to use the mound/well method, where you make a mound of flour, then a well in the middle, where you put your egg(s), use the fork to beat them together, then start working in the flour a little at the time. Maybe it didn't explain it that way, but I'd guess that was what they meant.

I wouldn't try a filled pasta as my first go round. Try just making noodles of some kind, then once you've mastered that go onto filled pasta. If you guys like spinach pasta, try this recipe. It's one of the first homemade pastas we made. It's a bit non-traditional in that salt actually goes into the pasta dough, but it's a great dish and fairly easy to make.
 
Saranak said:
Bello you mention filling is this kind Ravioli or Tortellini? If this case I think I recommend for steam pasta, this work very well.

Sarana x
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It was for a dessert/sweet ravioli. A good bit of sugar in the dough, filled with pecorino, pan-fried, then drizzled with warm honey and dusted in a bit of cinnamon.
 
TastyReuben said:
It was for a dessert/sweet ravioli. A good bit of sugar in the dough, filled with pecorino, pan-fried, then drizzled with warm honey and dusted in a bit of cinnamon.
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Ahh OK Bello, si I understand. I never try fry pasta I think it dry to fast an break.

Sarana x
 
medtran49 said:
I'm guessing the book you were using wanted you to use the mound/well method, where you make a mound of flour, then a well in the middle, where you put your egg(s), use the fork to beat them together, then start working in the flour a little at the time.
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Yes, the well method, though in a bowl, not right on the board. Believe me, halfway through, that dough was so stiff, there was no mixing with a standard fork. It was just clumped around the fork, with about two inches of handle exposed, so no way to get any leverage. I just used my hands after that.

Normally, when it's my first time making something, I do a bit of research, but this was a spontaneous thing, and it looked simple enough, so I just went with it. That's why, halfway in, I started questioning things, like, "This looks like pie crust...should I be kneading this or resting/chilling it?" Of course I didn't do either of those, because the book just said to mix thoroughly, shape into a disk, and roll thin, all in one go.

I'm looking forward to trying again, and I like the idea of the food processor, thanks for that. That's what I use for pie crust.
 
TastyReuben said:
It was for a dessert/sweet ravioli. A good bit of sugar in the dough, filled with pecorino, pan-fried, then drizzled with warm honey and dusted in a bit of cinnamon.
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I would do something like that the same way I cook pot stickers. Saute in butter/oil until golden brown on bottom, except I'd turn with yours and brown the other side for a minute or so, then add 1/4 to 1/3 cup water, pop a top on the pan real quick, allow to steam for a few minutes, then take top off and let rest of water evaporate, then finish with the honey and cinnamon.

Reminded me of a dessert we used to make, using fresh moz, pine nuts, butter, and amaretto. I'll post in another thread. We haven't made it in years, but it's so simple.
 
epicuric said:
Using a food processor seems a bit brutal. I know it is supposed to work, but it seems wrong. I use a food mixer (Kenwood Chef) with a dough hook, then finish kneading by hand.
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I have a stand mixer as well. Options! :)
 
epicuric said:
Using a food processor seems a bit brutal. I know
it is supposed to work, but it seems wrong. I use a food mixer (Kenwood Chef) with a dough hook, then finish kneading by hand.
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It's really not, you only let it run for a very, very short time, less than 30 seconds. It doesn't take long to start to form a ball. I will say I learned this from an Italian-American chef.
 
medtran49 said:
It's really not, you only let it run for a very, very short time, less than 30 seconds. It doesn't take long to start to form a ball. I will say I learned this from an Italian-American chef.
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I know, you are right. It is Jamie Oliver's recommended method (for what that's worth), its just that a a sharp blade ripping through the dough at high speed seems so far removed from the traditional gentle kneeling by hand. A bit like using a chain saw to slice bread - perfectly effective, but not quite in the spirit of things!
 
TastyReuben said:
[Mod.Edit: This post moved from another thread to invite general discussion about pasta making tips (MG)]

Ugh, I tried making fresh pasta for the first time ever. Didn't turn out so well.

For one, it was too thick. Way too think. The recipe called for filling and pan-frying the pasta, and it came out thick, dry, hard, and crumbly, like a bad pie crust.

Second, I don't think I mixed it very well. It called for just mixing it with a fork, and that worked for about a minute, and after that, I had to use my hands, but I was afraid of overworking it (I don't even know if that's a thing with pasta dough, but it seemEd like it would be), so it wasn't a nice silky dough like I'm used to with most dough things - again, it was very much like a pie crust.

The thickness factor and the mixing are on me, but going out and comparing this recipe to a few others on the internet, it seems like this one left a few things out. Other recipes I found did include kneading for a bit, so I suppose I should have done that, and others also said to let it relax for a while after kneading, and I didn't do that at all.

Anyway, not irritated enough to say I won't try it again, but still fairly irritated. I was really excited when I bought this cookbook; but I've made two recipes from it, and I've found that it lacks a whole lot of detail.
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It looks like none of the recipes you've seen have answered all your questions about fresh pasta. You may need to experiment with developing your own techniques until you discover what's best for you.
 
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