Pasta Dough Recipe
Fresh homemade pasta is so easy to make at home in a few simple steps! This pasta dough recipe makes the perfect chewy and delicious pasta every single time with just a handful of ingredients!
Servings 6 servings
Calories 271kcal
Equipment
- Fork
- Pasta roller
Ingredients
- 2 to 2¼ cups all-purpose flour (240g-270g)
- 3 large eggs
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- ½ teaspoon salt
- semolina flour for dusting
Instructions
- On a smooth clean work surface, place 2 cups of the flour in a mound. Using the back of a rounded bowl or large spoon, create a well in the center of the flour large enough for the wet ingredients, about 4 inches wide. Crack the eggs into the well, and add olive oil and salt.
- Using a fork, start beating the egg mixture at the center, slowly making your circles bigger to start to incorporate the flour from the sides. Beat gently to try and keep the well from breaking. Continue mixing in the flour until the egg mixture is thickened and starts to form a shaggy mixture.
- Using a bench scraper or your hands, fold the mixture together until a shaggy dough ball comes together. Knead the dough by hand until smooth and elastic, about 10 to 15 minutes, adding the remaining ¼ cup of flour 1 tablespoon at a time during kneading if the dough feels sticky at any point. The dough may feel dry and crumbly at the start but should feel smooth and only slightly tacky by the end.
- Shape into a ball and wrap the dough ball tightly in plastic wrap. Let the dough rest at room temperature for at least 1 hour and up to 3 hours. Or, refrigerate the dough for up to 24 hours. Bring to room temperature before rolling.
- Lightly dust a large baking sheet with semolina flour. (Or, you can use all-purpose flour.)
- Cut the rested pasta dough into 4 equal pieces and loosely cover with plastic wrap. Working with one piece of dough at a time, press the dough into a rectangle, about ¼ inch thick. Sprinkle with semolina flour.
- Set an electric or hand-crank pasta rolling machine on its widest setting (Number 1). Pass the dough through rollers. Fold the dough in half, and pass through again, feeding the shortest side through the rollers on each roll. Repeat the folding and rolling one more time, then pass the dough through the rollers 2 more times without folding it in half.
- Adjust the rollers down to the next setting (Number 2). Pass the dough through the roller 2 times, sprinkling with semolina as needed to keep the dough from sticking.
- Continue adjusting the roller thickness and passing the pasta through the rollers twice on each setting, down to the third thinnest setting (Number 6). The pasta sheets will continue to get longer with each pass.
- Sprinkle the finished pasta sheet with semolina flour and gently fold it to fit the prepared sheet tray. Cover with a tea towel.
- Cut each pasta sheet into the desired shape by either cutting by hand or running them through a pasta cutter attachment. Toss in semolina flour and return to the prepared baking sheet. Uncooked fresh pasta can be formed into small mounds and frozen on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet until solid, then stored in an airtight container in the freezer for up to 1 month. (Cook from frozen.)
- To cook the pasta, drop it into a large pot of salted boiling water and cook, stirring occasionally until tender, about 3 to 5 minutes depending on the shape and size of the pasta.
Video
Notes
- The easiest way to cut pasta by hand is by taking a pasta sheet, gently folding it in half, and then gently folding it over a few times. Cut across into ribbons of your desired width, and you can unfold them into long strands.
- If your pasta dough seems difficult to knead, add more water a tablespoon at a time. If it feels too soft, add more flour a tablespoon at a time. It should feel smooth and elastic.
- Do not skip allowing the dough to rest. Resting the dough allows the gluten a chance to relax, which makes it easier to roll out.
- If you do not want to knead the dough by hand, you can place the flour and make a well for the eggs, olive oil, and salt inside the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook. Knead on speed 1 or 2 until the dough becomes smooth and supple. Let the dough rest and continue with the rest of the instructions.
- You can also make pasta dough in a food processor. Like in a mixer, add the ingredients to the food processor and run until the dough comes together into a rough ball. Then knead the dough on the counter until smooth, let the dough rest, and continue with the rest of the instructions
- If you do not have a pasta machine, you can roll the pasta out with a rolling pin. However, it will take a lot more time and effort and may lead to inconsistent thickness. If you’re using a rolling pin, make sure the pasta is paper-thin enough that you can see your hand through it.
Nutrition
Calories: 271kcal | Carbohydrates: 45g | Protein: 10g | Fat: 5g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 3g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 93mg | Sodium: 230mg | Potassium: 108mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 135IU | Calcium: 23mg | Iron: 3mg