Making fresh pasta can be quite tedious when you're new to it, but after you master the process and especially if you have a food processor, it can become part of a weekday dinner. Your initial flings, however, are best left as weekend exhibitions.
ingredients
6 Oz (about 1 1/2 cup) Whole Wheat Flour, plus more for kneading & dusting
5 Oz (about 1 cup) Semolina or Pasta Flour
3 Grams (1 Teaspoon) Kosher Salt
6 oz (3-4) Eggs
deviations & tips
Experiment with any blend of whole wheat, white, and pasta flours. Pasta flours will have the most gluten (proteins) to help the pasta keep its shape, but whole wheat flours have the most fiber.
Go vegan by substituting about 3/4 cups of water for the 4 eggs.
the method
Blend together flours and salt.
Add mixture to food processor with eggs. Process until a ball forms and leave run for about a minute. If the dough is sticking too much to the work bowl, sprinkle in more flour. If it's too dry and not holding together, a little water can be added.
A food processor makes quick work of kneading.
Dough will clean the sides of the work bowl.
Alternatively, in a mixing bowl, add eggs to flour mixture and slowly stir together until a dough mass forms. Knead dough for 5-10 minutes. If the dough is sticking too much to your hands and work surface, sprinkle in more flour. If it's too dry and not holding together, a little water can be added.
Wrap in plastic wrap and leave rest for about a 1/2 hour to let the glutinous bonds form. This is a good time to make your sauce.
Unwrap the dough and cut in quarters. Make sure your pasta roller is set to the thickest setting (#1 on my Atlas 150).
Flatten the dough, either with the palm of your hands or a roller, so that it's thin
enough to pass between the rollers. Sprinkle each side with a little flour and roll through your machine. If you want to tidy up the ends, fold the misshapen end back and process through the rollers. Continue to pass the dough on the initial setting, sprinkling with flour as needed, at least 3 times or until the pasta sheet has a shape that is agreeable to you.
Fold the misshapen end back and process through the rollers.
Continue to pass the dough through each subsequent setting until the desired thickness is achieved. Remember to sprinkle the dough with flour when the dough gets sticky. On my Atlas 150, I go to setting 6 for most purposes- thin spaghetti and fettuccine. For soup noodles, which partially disintegrate into the broth, I like thicker noodles and stop at 5. Use pasta machine to cut pasta into desired shape.
Drop pasta into boiling water. Stir with a pasta spoon to keep pasta from sticking. Cook for just about 2 minutes. Check for al dente. When pasta has reached the desired firmness, drain in a colander and rinse with cold water. This stops the pasta from continuing to cook and turning to mush. Add to your favorite sauce and cook for just a minute or 2 on low so that pasta starts to absorb the sauce.
Rinse with cold water to stop cooking.
Mix with sauce & cook for a minute or 2 on low so sauce absorbs into pasta.