I finally figured out fresh egg pasta. It only took about five attempts. I thought I understood three attempts ago, and that it was supposed to taste gummy. No wonder so many pasta machines collect dust in the corner.
- Use the right flour Obviously, all-purpose will work, but lower-gluten flour is best for pasta. Last night I used some Marino Organic Wheat Flour Tipo “00” flour, which is pretty amazing and too expensive. But for “everyday” fresh pasta, if there is such a thing, you can use any pastry or cake flour. You can always mix in a bit of other flour (semolina, whole wheat).
- Not too wet, not too dry Start with 10oz flour and 3 eggs. Whisk the eggs and mix them into the flour. Once formed into a ball, keep adding flour a bit at a time until the ball isn’t sticky anymore. Then knead it for a minute or two, wrap in plastic, and let it rest in the fridge for at least 30 minutes.
- Get to “5” or “6” without tears Using a hunk of 1/6 of the dough ball at a time, keeping the rest of the dough wrapped while you work, feed the dough through the #1 setting on the machine. The sheet should be totally smooth when it comes through the machine. If there are ruts or tears in the dough, it needs more flour on the surface. Add a little, fold the piece in half, and run it through the machine again. When it comes out nice and smooth, move up to #2, and so on, until you reach 5 or 6. #5 will give you linguini thickness. #6 is more delicate, and I would use it to make ravioli or very delicate pasta.
- Cook it properly. Fresh pasta cooks fast, but don’t take it out too early. It starts out firm and chewy, and when it’s done it becomes light and silky. It will never be “al dente”, as far as I can tell. It usually takes 3-4 minutes for linguini at the “5” thickness setting, but you really have to keep tasting it. Some fresh pastas will cook in as little as 1 minute.
- Salt the water, not the dough (this one from Daisy) “salt tenses up the dough and makes it stronger, definitely not what you want when getting to those thin settings.” I dump a bunch of salt in my pasta water, at least a couple tablespoons for 6 quarts of water, to cook 1 pound of pasta.
- Keep the sauce light A heavy bolognese is uncalled for. How about just pasta with butter, pepper, and really good quality parmesean? When you make that and it tastes delicious, you know you’ve made fresh pasta properly.