Basic Pasta

[Adam Balic]

Basic Pasta

This recipe is from Pasta Around the Mediterraneanin the eCGI

Making fresh pasta is a relatively simple task, easily mastered and quite rewarding. In terms of equipment, while it is possible to roll pasta dough using a rolling pin, I recommend a simple hand-cranked pasta machine. It simplifies the pasta making process and allows the production of not only a more consistent product, but also a wider range of pasta types. Many machines have attachments for making different sized pasta ribbons and for making ravioli.

• 3 c of Durum flour (fine semolina flour) or
  
• 3 c of Italian “00” flour (or “all-purpose” flour if this is not available”
  
• 1 c of warm water (if using semolina flour) or
  
• 3 large eggs (if using “00” flour)
  
• Semolina flour for dusting
  

1. Add three cups of one flour type to a large bowl. Add water if using semolina flour or eggs if using “00” flour.

2. Mix flour into liquids using a fork. When the liquid has been fully absorbed by the flour, form the dough into a ball. Start kneading the dough ball with the heel of you palm. Do this for five minutes.

3. As different flours absorb different amounts of liquid, and eggs differ in size, the dough may be either too dry or wet at this stage. The dough ball should be elastic and soft. If it is sticky, add a little more flour; if it is very stiff add a little water.

4. Knead for a further 5 minutes. If you intend to roll out the pasta by hand, most people recommend that you knead the dough for a further 5 minutes. So 10-15 minutes of kneading in total to form those gluten networks.

5. At this point wrap the dough in plastic wrap and place in a cool place for an hour. If using semolina flour it is especially important to wrap the dough in plastic wrap to exclude air. The yellow carotene compounds in the dough react with oxygen to form melanin, in effect “tanning”. These melanin products are brown in colour and can result in discoloration of the dough.

6. After the resting period, take out the dough and divide into four. Re-wrap three of the dough portions in plastic. Flatten the remaining portion and dust with flour. Set the machine to its widest setting and wind the dough through. Repeat this six times, folding the dough sheet in half and turning it 90 degrees each time. This will give you a squarish, flattened brick of dough.

7. Decrease the roller separation by a notch and crank the dough through. Repeat this process until the pasta sheet is of the desired thickness. Should the dough begin to stick, dust with a little flour. Cover pasta sheet with a clean kitchen towel and repeat the process with the other dough portions.

This method, using a pasta machine, will produce sheets 15cm wide and up to a metre of so long. I cut them down to 40 cm lengths for ease of use.

Keywords: Pasta, eGCI

( RG899 )