Basic Pasta Dough Food

BASIC FRESH PASTA DOUGH

Steps:

• Mound the flour in the center of a large, wide mixing bowl. Dig a well in the center of the mound and add eggs and yolks. Using a fork, beat together the eggs and begin to incorporate the flour, starting with the inner rim of the well. The dough will start to come together in a shaggy mass when about half of the flour is incorporated.
• Use your fingers to continue to mix the dough. Press any loose bits of flour into the mass of dough. If needed, add another egg yolk or a tablespoon of water to absorb all of the flour. Once the dough comes together into a cohesive mass, remove it from the bowl.
• Transfer to a lightly floured surface and knead by hand for 4 to 5 more minutes until the dough is smooth, elastic and uniform in color. Wrap the dough in plastic and set aside for at least 30 minutes (and up to 4 hours) at room temperature.
• Line three baking sheets with parchment paper and lightly dust with semolina flour. Set aside.
• Cut off a quarter of the dough. Rewrap rest, and set aside. Use the heel of your hand to flatten the dough into an oval approximately the same width as your pasta machine, about six inches. Set the rollers to their widest setting and pass the dough through.
• Lay the dough out onto a lightly floured cutting board or countertop and neatly press together into halves, so it's again about the same width of the pasta machine. Feed the pasta through again at the widest setting. Think of these first rollings as an extended kneading. Continue to fold the dough in thirds and roll it until it is smooth, silky and even-textured. Do your best to make the sheet the full width of the machine.
• Once the dough is silky and smooth, you can begin to roll it out more thinly. Roll it once through each of the next two or three settings, adding flour as needed, until the dough is about 1/4-inch thick.
• Once the pasta is about 1/4-inch thick, begin rolling it twice through each setting. As you roll, lightly sprinkle all-purpose or 00 flour on both sides of the pasta to prevent it from sticking to itself.
• Roll out pasta until you can just see the outline of your hand when you hold it under a sheet, about 1/16-inch thick for noodles, or 1/32-inch thick for a filled pasta. (On most machines, you won't make it to the thinnest setting.)
• Cut pasta into sheets, about 12 to 14 inches long. Dust the sheets lightly with semolina flour and stack on one of the prepared baking sheets and cover with a clean, lightly dampened kitchen towel. Repeat with remaining dough.

CHEF ANNE'S ALL-PURPOSE PASTA DOUGH

Steps:

• Put the flour on a clean dry work surface. Make a hole (this is also called a well) in the center of the flour pile that is about 8 inches wide (bigger is definitely better here). Crack all of the eggs and the yolk into the hole and add the olive oil, salt and water.
• Using a fork beat the eggs together with the olive oil, water and salt. Using the fork, begin to incorporate the flour into the egg mixture; be careful not to break the sides of the well or the egg mixture will run all over your board and you will have a big mess! Also, dont worry about the lumps. When enough flour has been incorporated into the egg mixture that it will not run all over the place when the sides of the well are broken, begin to use your hands to really get everything well combined. If the mixture is tight and dry, wet your hands and begin kneading with wet hands. When the mixture has really come together to a homogeneous mixture, THEN you can start kneading.
• When kneading it is VERY important to put your body weight into it, get on top of the dough to really stretch it and not to tear the dough. Using the heels of your palms, roll the dough to create a very smooooooth, supple dough. When done the dough should look VERY smooth and feel almost velvety. Kneading will usually take from 8 to 10 minutes for an experienced kneader and 10 to 15 for an inexperienced kneader. Put your body weight into it, you need to knead! This is where the perfect, toothsome texture of your pasta is formed. Get in there and have fun!
• When the pasta has been kneaded to the perfect consistency, wrap it in plastic and let rest for at least 1 hour. If using immediately do not refrigerate.
• Roll and cut the pasta into desired shape.
• How smooth and supple!

BASIC PASTA DOUGH (NO EGG)

Steps:

• Put flour in large mixing bowl, making a well in the center.
• Add wet ingredients to well and very slowly mix together with a fork, incorporating only a little flour at a time so it mixes smoothly and evenly. Trust me, the more patient you are with this the better it will turn out.
• Continue kneading by hand for about 10 minutes, let rest for a half hour covered with a towel. Repeat a couple times until dough is smooth and silky, and just slightly sticky.
• Shape by hand or with a machine.
• Note: Boiling fresh pasta takes significantly less time than dry pasta. Depending on the shape, cook for 30 seconds to 2 minutes.

HOMEMADE PASTA DOUGH

Steps:

• In a small bowl, whisk the first 6 ingredients. On a clean work surface, mix the all-purpose and semolina flours, forming a mound. Make a large well in the center. Pour egg mixture into the well. Using a fork or fingers, gradually mix flour mixture into egg mixture, forming a soft dough (the dough will be slightly sticky)., Lightly dust work surface with flour; knead dough gently 5 times. Divide into 6 portions; cover and let rest 30 minutes., To make fettuccine, roll each ball into a 10x8-in. rectangle, dusting lightly with flour. Roll up jelly-roll style. Cut into 1/4-in.-wide strips. Cook in boiling water 1-3 minutes.

BASIC PASTA

Steps:

• In a medium sized bowl, combine flour and salt. Make a well in the flour, add the slightly beaten egg, and mix. Mixture should form a stiff dough. If needed, stir in 1 to 2 tablespoons water.
• On a lightly floured surface, knead dough for about 3 to 4 minutes. With a pasta machine or by hand roll dough out to desired thinness. Use machine or knife to cut into strips of desired width.

BASIC PASTA DOUGH

Steps:

• Place the flour, semolina and salt in the bowl of a food processor and pulse several times to combine the ingredients.
• Add the egg all at once and process for 30 seconds, drizzling the oil through the opening in the lid. The dough should look like coarse, wet sand.
• Dust a work surface generously with semolina.
• Transfer the dough to the work surface and bring it together in a ball.
• Knead the dough for a good 3 or 4 minutes, using the heels of your hands to push it away from you again and again, and occasionally rotating the dough 180 degrees. The dough should appear smooth and silky when you are done; it should not be sticky.
• Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and let it rest for 20 minutes.
• Set up the pasta maker next to a work surface.
• Sprinkle a rimmed baking sheet liberally with semolina.
• Sprinkle the work surface with semolina. You'll need to keep it dusted with semolina at all times so the pasta doesn't stick as you roll and cut it.
• When ready to roll out the pasta, cut it into quarters. Work with one quarter at a time and keep the remaining portions wrapped.
• Use your fingers to work the dough into a rough 3-by-4-inch rectangle. (The dough should have the texture of Play-Doh.).
• Use the heel of your hand to flatten the dough to a thickness of 1/2 inch.
• Pass the dough through the highest (thickest) setting of your pasta machine.
• Fold it into thirds, as you would a business letter, then flatten it to 1/2 inch and pass it through the machine again. Fold, press and roll one more time.
• Set the rollers on the next-highest setting and pass the dough through twice. (You don't have to fold it.).
• Continue to lower the setting one increment at a time, passing the dough through twice each time, until your dough reaches the desired thickness.
• Setting 3 is good for fettuccine and lasagna sheets.
• Setting 2 is good for filled pastas, such as tortellini, ravioli and agnolotti, or for thinner lasagna sheets.
• Use plenty of semolina to keep the dough from sticking to itself as it falls into accordion folds while coming out of the rollers.
• If you're making filled pastas, make them as you go, one sheet at a time. (If you roll all the sheets beforehand, they will dry out and might tear as you try to work with them.).
• If you're not making filled pasta, use a knife to slice the sheets into lasagna noodles or use your machine's cutters to make fettuccine or spaghetti.
• Use plenty of semolina as you stack lasagna noodles (alternate the layers lengthwise and crosswise) or form piles of cut pasta, fluffing them with semolina so they remain separate.
• Transfer the finished pasta to the prepared baking sheet as you work.
• TO FREEZE: When you have finished rolling and cutting all the pasta, transfer the baking sheet to the freezer for an hour or two, until the pasta is frozen. Wrap it in plastic or store in resealable food storage bags and freeze for up to a month. (It is a good idea to weigh the pasta and freeze it in portions.).
• MAKE AHEAD: The dough can be made a few days in advance, wrapped tightly in plastic wrap and frozen. The uncooked pasta can be frozen in portions for up to 1 month.
• NOTE: Depending on the humidity, the size of your eggs and the brand of flour you are using, you might have to adjust the amount of oil you add to achieve the desired texture. Weighing the flour and the eggs rather than relying on our uneven American measuring methods leads to more consistent results.
• NOTE: To make saffron fettuccine, combine the oil with a half-teaspoon of saffron threads in a small bowl and microwave on HIGH for 30 seconds. Allow the oil to cool, then add it and the threads to the dough.

EASY HOMEMADE PASTA DOUGH

Steps:

• Beat flour, eggs, olive oil, and salt together in a bowl. Add water, 1 teaspoon at a time, to flour mixture until a smooth and very thick dough forms.
• Turn dough out onto a work surface and knead for 10 minutes. Let dough rest for 5 to 10 minutes. Divide dough into 8 balls and use a pasta machine to roll and cut dough into desired pasta shape.

BASIC PASTA DOUGH

Steps:

• Put the flour, eggs, and egg yolks in the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and mix on low speed until the dough comes together. Turn off the mixer, remove the paddle attachment, and replace it with the dough hook. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and beat the dough with the dough hook on medium speed until it forms a ball, about 5 minutes. Dust a flat work surface with flour. Turn the dough out onto the dusted surface and gently knead it for 20 to 25 minutes, until the ball begins to feel elastic and the surface of the dough feels smooth and silky. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate to rest for at least 45 minutes and up to overnight before sheeting it (any longer and the dough will discolor).