Making Pasta

Making Pasta In 10 Steps

1.

To make one pound of pasta, you will need 2 cups of unbleached flour, 3 large eggs, and a 1/2 teaspoon of salt.  Place the flour on a table in a mound and form a well in the center.  Place the eggs and salt into the well.  Mix the eggs together with a fork without disturbing the flour.

2.
Using a fork, gently mix the flour into the egg a little at a time.

3.

Once you have mixed all of the flour together with the egg, use your fingertips to thoroughly blend the mixture together.

4.

Use your hands to form a ball. If the dough seems to dry, add a little more egg mixture. If the mixture is too wet and sticks to your fingers, rub your hands with flour and form the dough into a ball.

5.

Knead the pasta.  Continue this until the dough is smooth.

6.

Cut the dough into 3 equal sections. Form each section into a ball. Cover the dough balls with a towel and let sit for 15 minutes.

7.

Flatten one of the dough balls with the palm of your hand until it's 1/2 an inch thick. With the slot of the pasta machine on its widest setting, turn the handle while feeding the dough into the slot. Gently hold the flattened dough as it comes out of the pasta machine, but don't pull.

8.

Turn the slot down to the next smallest setting and pass the dough through the slot. Continue to do this, making the slot one knotch smaller each time.  Your sheet of dough will grow longer. Hold the dough gently as it passes through the pasta machine so that it doesn't tear.  Continue passing the dough through the machine until it's 1/16th of an inch thick.

9.

Feed the dough into the cutting blades. Hold your hand under the center of the cut dough to pick it all up in one bunch.

10.

Hang the pasta on a dowel (the back of a chair, hanger or clothing rack are fine alternatives) immediately after it has bee cut.  The pasta can be used immediately or will keep up to one week.