making pasta?

[believer]

anyone done this? do you need special equipment? is it difficult? is it worth it? thanks!

[WanderingJuniper]

Pirate and I do this. It is lots of fun for us. You don't need anything fancy but if you like consistent pasta then a pasta machine is handy.

It is a bit of a messy activity for us so I don't do it too often anymore but when I have more time I'd love to be consistent about making all of our pasta fresh.

[Aerynne]

I make German noodles (spaetzle), but they are different from what you would typically think of as pasta. I have a spaetzle maker, but it also works with a strainer.

[Rabbit]

I've done it, and I'm getting convinced that a pasta press is a must.

[LadybugSam]

i've done it. I usually make homemade raviolis for our christmas potluck.

that being said, i only do it that one time a year. Its a lot of work, and a big mess, and a pasta machine (i have one) doesn't save much time, energy, or clean up, it just makes it more consistent (thickness wise)

Its not complicated, it just takes more time and energy than i'm willing to put towards dinner.

[itzj]

I do! All the time. You really don't need anything beyond a rolling pin and a knife or pizza cutter. If you don't have a lot of time do easy stuff that doesn't require a lot of cutting or shaping. Make farfalle or papardelle. Or make cannelloni.

[DoulaClara]

It's both simple, and at the same time energy consuming. It can be done with just a bowl and a fork and a rolling pin, but I totally dream of the day when I can get a KA with a pasta shaper attachment.

A simple recipe to try is:
- 2 cups semolina flour (Bob's Red Mill makes a good semolina)
- 2 eggs
- a pinch of sea salt

Mix it together until it can be mixed by hand. And here's the "energy consuming" part- it needs to really be kneaded, for a long time. Like, a good solid 10 minutes by the clock. I usually cheat and stick it all in the food processor, and let it rip for a good long while first! Then it needs to rest. I just dust some semolina on the counter and cover it with a glass bowl. Otherwise rolling it will make it bounce back and get annoying. After it has rested for a good 15 minutes, try rolling it. If it bounces back, let it rest another ten minutes (maybe give it a little olive oil rub so it doesn't dry out). Roll it into a long rectangle so that it's so thin, you can practically read through it (it means doing it in halves, for me, usually) and then I usually slide a knife through it around 1/2 inch wide, but at this point it's totally up to you regarding shapes and sizes. I dry it on chairs for a little while, and then cook it until al dente (test after a few minutes).

I actually have photos on photobucket of this whole process (that I took for a cooking message board I belonged to, but I would have to go dig them out!)

[2sunshines]

I actually have photos on photobucket of this whole process

Oooh, I'd love love love to see these if you can find them.

[DoulaClara]

Okay! I found them- on page 25!!! Let me just see if I remember how to do thumbnails. Or, maybe they're small enough... I don't remember the size req's of the cooking message board.

Alright, these are pretty small. I started the photos at the point where I wanted my pasta to rest:



Then when it has rested enough, it rolls out without bouncing back:



I fold it and roll it some more (although I've cut out the pasta before without doing this, and it doesn't seem to make a gigantic difference):



It ends up being quite thin:



I'm not terribly fussy about keeping things straight. I like the look of a pile of hastily chopped pasta, actually!



Cut pasta, drying on a chair. Caution- it gets extremely brittle, and takes the shape of the chair- plan on sliding it off carefully, and putting it either directly into boiling, salted water, or into a ziplock freezer bag to be refrigerated and used ASAP.

[believer]

thank you! does it only work with semolina flour?
I just remembered the spaghetti farm video - have you seen that?
here it is:
http://www.seriouseats.com/2008/11/i...-fake-bbc.html

[DoulaClara]

Nope! Good old regular AP flour works as well, too. Semolina has a more authentic flavor, but AP tastes just fine!

Also, some people play around with the amount of egg and eggs+yolks in the pasta. I know in a cookbook of Lidia Bastianich, she describes different types of pastas by their egg amount (one egg, two eggs, two eggs plus yolks, etc.)

[Rabbit]

I make mine with a ww blend.

[Can'tTurnLeft]

I make pasta, fairly regularly, thought I'm Italian, so it is a bit of a requirement I do think a pasta maker is super important if you are going to do this regularly. If it is going to be a once or twice a time year type of thing then a rolling pin will work, but it is a pain.

I use whole what semolina grain when I can and grind it myself. It is hard to find, and I often use a combo of fresh ground whole wheat/AP flour to make my pasta. I make en masse a few times a year and dry the pasta.

However when I make ravioli I make a huge batch and freeze a ton of fresh. So yummy

[Rabbit]

It does seem like with a small batch, you might as well use a rolling pin, but when I'm making enough ravioli to be the main dish for five people twice, I -really- want a pasta press.

[Ajani]

It's been years since I've made pasta. The last time I did fresh sheets for lasagna. I want to make some ravioli soon, too. Wish I had the ingredients here to make some today, now that I'm thinking of it.