Two Christmases ago I was given a traditional pasta maker as a gift. For a while it sat unused. Then one day I realized how silly this is…I need to make fresh homemade ravioli! I’m not going to lie, the first time I made fresh pasta it turned out great, but it was HARD. It took me all day to crank the paste into sheets and then stuff my ravioli. Please don’t let this scare you off, it is 100% worth it. The best compliment I’ve ever gotten have been from dishes I’ve made with homemade pasta. Which in my book cancels out all the hard work. There’s definitely a learning curve…the more you do it the easier it becomes.

I did however, grow tired of cranking that pasta machine. So I caved in and sold my old machine for an upgrade! I got the Kitchen Aid pasta attachment and it works like magic! Magic I tell you, fresh pasta sheets in half the time! I would highly recommend this awesome kitchen tool to anyone who enjoys pasta and whose arm is well, tired.

Call me a cheater, but I love anything that can save me some time! If you have a traditional pasta machine, please don’t give up! Your first time might take a little time, but I promise it will go faster the more pasta you make and trust me you’ll want to make more.

This is a very simple egg pasta dough that comes together in minutes. I really like the texture of this dough and it rolls out beautifully. If your dough seems too crumbly to roll out just add some water, a teaspoon at a time. Be careful not add too much water though, you do not want your dough to become sticky and stick to your pasta roller.

Honestly if you have never had fresh pasta dough then you need to try this. As my mom put it, “Tieghan, it melts in my mouth, this is heaven”. It really it does just melt in your mouth!

If you would like to cut the pasta into noodle you can use a sharp knife (if you can keep it in a straight line), a pizza wheel, or a long pizza/bread cutter.

To cook the noodles, just boil them in salted water (very important!) for probably two minutes. They cook lightning fast, so don’t let them cook too long.

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4.34 from 3 votes

Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.

The Recipe

Pasta Dough

By halfbakedharvest

Course: Main Course
Cuisine: Italian
Keyword: dough

A simple classic

Prep Time 30 minutes
Total Time 30 minutes
Servings 1 Pound
Calories 1389 kcal

Ingredients

  • 2 1/2 cups Flour
  • 4 Eggs
  • Water

Instructions

  1. Using a mixer: In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook, place flour and eggs.
  2. Knead until the dough comes together and forms a ball. If your dough seems to dry add water a teaspoon at a time, being careful not too add to much water*.
  3. By Hand: Mound the flour on a work surface; make a well in the center. Crack in the eggs and beat with a fork. Gradually mix the eggs into the flour. Using a bench scraper, mix in the last of the flour until the dough comes together.
  4. Scrape the surface clean and dust with flour. Knead the dough, dusting with flour, until firm and smooth, about 8 minutes. Shape into a ball.

  5. Quarter the dough and shape into 4 disks. Place the disks on the lightly floured board; place in a gallon size ziplock bag.

  6. Flatten 1 dough piece and lightly dust with flour, brushing off excess. Set a pasta machine to the widest setting; run the dough through. Fold the dough into thirds like a letter, then run it through again, short end first. Run it through 2 more times, dusting with flour if it seems sticky. return the dough sheet to the board, cover with a towel and repeat with the remaining 3 dough disks. (Keep any dough you're not working with covered.)

  7. Roll all the dough sheets through the machine again 5 or 6 more times (machines vary), adjusting the machine to the next setting each time. (If the sheets become too long to handle,halve crosswise and proceed.) When you see your hand through the pasta sheet, its thin enough to cut*.
  8. Cut the dough sheets into your desired shapes or cut the noodles really thin. You can use a sharp knife (if you can keep it in a straight line), a pizza wheel, or a long pizza/bread cutter.
  9. To cook the noodles, just boil them in salted water (very important!) for probably two minutes. They cook lightning fast, so don’t let ‘em go too long.

Recipe Notes

*If your dough becomes to sticky just need in some extra flour. *For most things like lasagna and ravioli I like to use the 5th setting. *Make sure to keep the dough covered. When it gets dr the dough will not be workable. I fin it is best to keep the dough not being used in a plastic bag.

 

Nutritional value based on whole recipe

This is a two-part post! Check back tomorrow for part two!