Kitchen tips
This is how you can make fresh, homemade pasta dough
With or without a pasta machine: Homemade pasta dough succeeds every time.
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October 25th is World Noodle Day. Pasta is one of the most popular foods in the world – this is how homemade pasta dough is made.
Spaghetti, linguine, rigatoni, farfalle – hardly any other food is as diverse as pasta. Noodles are an integral part of the diet almost all over the world and even have their own holiday: World Noodle Day has been held on October 25th since 1995. Most pasta comes out of the pack in a dried form, but fresh pasta has a completely different taste experience and is fairly easy to make. How do you make the perfect dough and for which types of pasta is it worth starting your own production?
The advantage of homemade pasta dough: The noodles only have to be cooked for a very short time and can be refined according to personal taste – the color, shape and filling are up to you. The disadvantage: The production requires a lot of patience and sensitivity.
Classic pasta dough
The classic pasta dough only needs a few ingredients: wheat flour, water and a little oil and salt. The right flour is important – Italian durum wheat flour (type 00) is very suitable, but you can also make a good dough with normal wheat flour (type 405 or 550) mixed 50:50 with durum wheat semolina. If you want something healthier: simply replace wheat flour and durum wheat semolina with whole grains or spelled. Gluten-free alternatives include lentil, chickpea, buckwheat or rice flour.
Basic recipe: mix 300 grams of pasta flour (or 150 grams of flour, 150 grams of durum wheat semolina) with half a teaspoon of salt in a bowl. Make a well in the middle and slowly pour 150 milliliters of water and two teaspoons of olive oil into it. Mix everything with a fork. Then place on a floured work surface and knead into a smooth dough for ten to 15 minutes. Shape the dough into a ball, wrap it in cling film and let it rest in the refrigerator for at least half an hour.
The noodles then have to cook in salted water for about three to four minutes.
With or without an egg?
Eggs ensure that the pasta dough is firmer, they also give it a yellowish color and a certain aroma. Eggs also replace the water. Pasta dough with egg is particularly suitable for ribbon noodles or filled pasta.
Basic recipe: For every 100 grams of flour you need one egg, one teaspoon of olive oil and one teaspoon of salt. Put the flour on the work surface and form a well. Add the eggs, salt and olive oil and slowly mix the flour with the other ingredients from the outside in using a fork. Then knead vigorously for about 15 minutes and wrap it in cling film and let it rest in the refrigerator for at least an hour.
Pasta with eggs is al dente after just two to three minutes in boiling salted water.
Do you need a pasta machine?
Anyone who owns a pasta machine will definitely save some time. In addition, the pasta will be more even. The machine makes the work easier, but it is not absolutely necessary. Particularly flat, elongated pasta types such as linguine, tagliatelle or fettuccine, but also filled pasta such as ravioli or tortellini can be easily made without a machine.
If you don’t have a pasta machine, roll out the dough with a rolling pin and then cut it into the desired shape with a knife. To prevent the pasta from sticking together, dust with enough flour and leave to dry on a kitchen towel or wooden stand a little apart.