Eggs – Egg pasta vs. water+semolina pasta texture

Pasta dough has to be sufficiently moist to be rolled properly.

Rolling the pasta (in a pasta machine) aligns the gluten strands so they stretch out and become parallel to each other. If the dough is too dry, it is more difficult to align them. This is why it's a good idea to coat unused dough in a thin coating of oil and cling wrap if you're not immediately working with it (a damp tea towel over the bowl will work as well).

Fresh pasta cooks in just a few minutes, so taste it early. It should be al-dente just like properly cooked dried pasta. Let your fresh pasta dry (I hang mine over the back of a chair) for half an hour or longer before you cook it, so that there's some crunch for the al-dente feel.

Most recipes advise "type 00" flour, which is milled extra fine. You should be able to tell when you've kneaded enough - it just needs to feel perfectly smooth in your hands. You don't need to knead for ages like bread dough, but you do need to have mixed the liquid and the flour completely thoroughly.