Pasta – Can anybody help make homemade pasta foolproof

pasta

I can't even count the number of times that I have followed recipes for pasta using a food processor, only to discover that no matter the care I took with the measurements, my dough was just a bit too dry (add water). Now it's too wet, (add flour). Aargghh, I could have traveled to Italy by now! I'd like to use my food processor, but this is starting to make me nuts.

Can anyone help?

Best Answer

I have found that one egg per one hundred grams of flour works very well. However, the process is important. Here is what I do:

  1. Combine the ingredients as you would, either by hand in a bowl, or in a food processor
  2. Knead the dough thoroughly until it comes together - NOTE: At this point, it is usually a bit on the dry side
  3. Wrap tightly in clingfilm, and put in the fridge for ~30 minutes
  4. Remove from the fridge, and knead again, then fold and run through a pasta machine, folding and running through repeatedly, until the dough starts to become silky
  5. Process the dough on consecutively narrower settings on the pasta machine

I always dust the dough with flour before running it through the machine, and then again as needed, depending on whether it starts sticking to itself, the machine, or the work surface.

As for the "foolproof" part of your question: foolproof is, in my opinion, a product of confidence. Build confidence by practicing, often and repeatedly. After a while, you will likely find that you stop measuring, adding ingredients by feel and instinct, rather than measure.

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