Handmade Pasta As Estimated By Tina Caputo Food

HANDMADE FRESH PASTA

Steps:

• Recipe can be doubled, tripled, etc. I usually make a LOT and store in the fridge.
• Combine the first 4 ingredients and whisk together well with a fork.
• Add 1/2°C flour and mix with the fork until all lumps are gone.
• Keep adding flour little by little until a non-sticky ball is formed. (You will use between 1 & 1-1/4°C of flour, depending on the humidity, etc.
• Knead WELL about 10 minutes. Add light coating of flour as needed, until a firm ball is formed.
• Allow it to sit for 30 minutes.
• Cut off billiard ball-sized pieces and roll them out flat on a well-floured board. (Maybe 1-2 mm. thick).
• Fold thrice (3x) and cut noodles with a sharp knife roughly 4 mm. thick. - Similar to cutting soba noodles (Japanese buckwheat noodles) though with the thickness of udon noodles.
• Stretch out pasta and let dry (either hanging or on a plate) for a few minutes up to an hour.
• Cook in a pot of boiling, salted water for 2-3 minutes or until the pasta floats to the top.
• -->Super delicious with olive oil, crushed, raw garlic, salt and parm. cheese, but can be combined with any sauce. This pasta really holds onto sauces, unlike commercial dried pastas.

FRESH PASTA

Steps:

• Place the cake flour, all-purpose flour, egg yolks and salt in a food processor. Pulse to combine. With the machine running, gradually add the oil then 1/3 to 1/2 cup water until the mixture forms a dough (the dough should stick together if pinched between your fingers). If necessary, add additional water, 1 teaspoon at a time if the dough is too dry.
• Place the dough on a lightly floured surface. Gather the dough into a ball and knead until the dough is smooth, 5 to 8 minutes. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
• Cut the dough into quarters and press flat. Run each piece of pasta dough several times through a pasta-rolling machine, adjusting the setting each time, until the pasta is about 1/8 to 1/16-inch thick. Cut the pasta into the desired shape and use as needed.

HOMEMADE PASTA

Steps:

• Combine the eggs, flour, olive oil, salt and 1 tablespoon water in the bowl of a food processor. Pulse until a dough forms, about 10 seconds. Remove the dough from the food processor to a lightly floured surface. Knead the dough until smooth and elastic, 4 to 5 minutes. Shape the dough into a ball; wrap with plastic and rest at room temperature for 30 minutes.
• Cut the dough in half and keep one half refrigerated. Cut the remaining half into two equal pieces. (Make sure to keep the unused dough pieces covered.)
• Working with one piece at a time, roll the dough with a rolling pin as thin as possible (but still thick enough to be lifted off the counter without breaking, about a 10-by-16- inch rectangle; the dough should be paper-thin, but you shouldn't be able to see through it.)
• Dust each dough sheet with flour. Fold the dough in half (using the short ends) and dust the top with flour. Repeat twice more, dusting with flour between each layer to create a stack. Use a sharp knife to cut the dough into thin strips (1/4-inch wide).
• Separate the noodles into "nests" and let dry on a lightly floured surface, about 1 hour. Repeat the process with the remaining dough piece, then with the remaining refrigerated dough.

HOW TO MAKE HOMEMADE PASTA

Steps:

• Place the flours on a work surface and create a hole with your hands. For those who are making homemade pasta for the first time we recommend using a bowl because the job will be easier. Split the eggs and put them in a bowl then pour the eggs into the hole.
• With the help of your hands, mix the eggs with the flours, incorporating a little at a time, until everything is combined. Knead the pieces of dough together.
• After ten minutes, make a big ball and wrap it in a cling film. Let it rest for 15/30 minutes.
• Make sure that your pasta maker machine is clamped firmly to a clean surface. Dust your work surface with some durum wheat flour. Take a lump of pasta dough the size of a tennis ball and press it out flat with the palms of your hands. Roll the lump of pasta dough through the widest setting of your pasta machine. Remember to dust the pasta dough with durum wheat flour if you feel it's becoming sticky.
• Fold the pasta dough in half and then again in half.
• Roll again the sheet of pasta dough through the widest setting of the pasta machine. Repeat the process for 3/4 times. You have to work the dough till it's smoother. Finally, you can start to roll the dough through all the remaining settings of your pasta machine, from the widest to the narrowest.
• So now you have long strips of fresh pasta dough that you can use for different types of pasta, like tagliatelle, tagliolini or lasagna.

HANDMADE PASTA (AS ESTIMATED BY TINA CAPUTO)

Steps:

• Mound flour on a cutting board or clean work surface and make a hole/well in the center of the flour. Crack the eggs into the well and add water and salt. Use a fork to break the yolks and slowly begin scooping flour into the well, a little at a time, until all the flour is incorporated into the liquid.
• Knead dough until smooth. If the dough feels sticky it is too wet; add more flour 1 tablespoon at a time until it feels smooth and doesn't stick to your hands. Form dough into a log shape.
• Cover dough with plastic wrap and let it rest 10-15 minutes. While you're waiting, you can relax and drink some wine (this also applies to steps 4 and 7).
• Knead again for a few more minutes until dough is smooth, adding a bit more flour if needed. Again, form it into a log shape, cover and let rest another 10-15 minutes.
• Slice log into five pieces of equal size. Dip each slice in flour to coat it, and brush off any extra flour. Roll each slice with a rolling pin to flatten into small ovals and sprinkle with flour.
• Run dough slices through a hand-crank pasta machine or KitchenAid mixer roller attachment at the 1, 4 and 6 (wide, medium, and small) thickness settings. (Run all the sheets through on the wide setting, then roll al of the sheets on medium, etc. That allows the sheets to rest for a few minutes between rollings.) Skip the smallest setting if sheets have reached the desired thickness after two trips through the roller. You should be able to see the outline of your hand through the sheet. When dough is coming out of the roller, pull on it gently to stretch it out. Sheets should be smooth and elastic.
• Cut sheets in half so they are each about 12 inches long. Lay sheets on a tablecloth, dust with a little flour and turn them over. When edges begin to dry (in 20-30 minutes), the pasta is ready to cut. Don't let it dry too much, or sheets will buckle and caught in the roller.
• Run pasta sheets through cutter and arrange noodles in loose nests on a tablecloth. Sprinkle with a little flour to keep strands from sticking together.
• Cook in boiling salted water until al dente (2-3 minutes). If you're not planning to eat the pasta that day, leave it to dry completely, turning nests over after an hour or so. Dried pasta will keep in the pantry for a few months.