I finally opened my pasta machine...

[chromedome]

2 minutes ago, Smithy said:

 

I was wondering about the extra-yolk element and what it did. Right now I'd prefer not to use eggs more than necessary, lest I be unable to find them for other purposes later. By "easier to work with" do you mean it provides extra flexibility?

My personal take is that whole eggs give more stretch and flex, more yolks give a richer flavor/texture and more malleability. Personal preference plays a very large role in all of this, of course.

[jedovaty]

@Kim Shook I've made a lot of pasta as a "home cook" just for myself, and I prefer the mix of 00 or a lower-protein all purpose with higher % of durum (e.g. bob's red mill). 

 

Here are three videos that I've shared with a few friends and co-workers recently who are new to pasta making, and all found them super helpful.  I wish I could find the original, full Jamie Oliver video video - it was pivotal in inspiring me to learn how to cook

Quick pasta by Jamie Oliver, the keep it simple method: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=upi5SkWXeBM

Full technique if you are into learning details (the flour she recommends is expensive and just stick with easy to get stuff): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m_fu5RaXMVk

and finally hand shaping without the machine, this is a lot of fun, even if a bit long :https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ew-3-8itpjc

 

Enjoy and have fun

 

Edited April 2, 2020 by jedovaty
cut out tmi :p (log)

[rotuts]

just to chime in :

 

Ive made pasta .

 

that puts it in perspective 

 

I did use a cuisinart w the old fashioned metal dough hook

 

11 cup PrepPlus      flour // salt // egg  // water

 

run until single ball

 

rest

 

crank italian pasta machine     

 

its down stairs

 

done     used it for ravioli  and cannelloni 

 

remember     :    I did it , so you can too.

 

P.S.:   almost got the motor for the pasta machine

 

then a pasta place , just fre3sh pasta , cut to order  opened near by

 

same ownership as the place I used to go to in the BOS North End.

[heidih]

14 hours ago, heidih said:

Now in the morning I have to show you grandpa's custom dough board . Rests against counter snuggly and allows kneading. Clean up not even an issue. 50 years old   

 

Waiting for clouds to leave and sun to appear for photos but almost noon so here ya go. It is just over 32" wide and under 24" deep.Grandpa was an underappreciated talent. 

 

 

 

[Smithy]

3 minutes ago, heidih said:

 

Waiting for clouds to leave and sun to appear for photos but almost noon so here ya go. It is just over 32" wide and under 24" deep.Grandpa was an underappreciated talent. 

 

 

 

 

That's a nice design and workmanship! It looks like you could knead in any direction without slippage. I have a Lucite "pastry board" with a lip that slides over the near counter edge, but it still skids around. Not as pretty as that board, either.

 

[Okanagancook]

The second video showing how kneading pasta is different than bread is very good...worth a view.

[Barrytm]

Great looking pasta board.  I make pasta usually once a month - normally fettucine and  linguine, then freeze them wrapped in plastic wrap. One trick I saw posted online was to use the pasta machine to crank out the pasta in a sheet, then hang the sheets to dry  (  I used to let them dry hanging from the oven racks with the oven off - except that the last time I did it,  I came back a little while later and one of the dogs had eaten them off the rack, now I place the rack on boxes on the counter ).   After they are drying  20 to 40 minutes, the sheet starts to feel leathery, at that time you can cut into fettucine, or linguine, of whatever shape you are using, and that way when you wrap them up in plastic, the noodles don't stick together) .

[blue_dolphin]

Thanks to this thread, I pulled out my KitchenAid pasta roller and made fettuccine with the Whole Egg, Bread Flour and Stone Ground Wheat Dough from Marc Vetri's Mastering Pasta. 

Used some here in Marcella Hazan's Fettuccine col Sugo di Tonno con Aglio e Panna, a recipe from Marcella's Italian Kitchen that I was reminded of by @Margaret Pilgrim's recent post in the dinner topic.

Recipe available online here: Food52.  It's a super easy, one pot/one bowl pasta and an excellent option if you want to try fresh pasta as a weeknight meal. Mix up the dough, then pull together the simple sauce and maybe a salad while the dough rests. Boil the water while you run the pasta through the rollers, drop it right into to cook, toss and serve.

Last time I made this (see here), I found the sauce a bit rich, so this time, I tossed some broccoli and red bell pepper into the salted water along with the pasta.  Delicious with or without the added vegetables.

[teonzo]

If you make fettuccine / tagliatelle / similar, then after shaping them you can weigh a single portion (about 100 g here, but it's personal as everything), roll them lightly in a nest / ball (no pressing, just to make a cluster), lay it on a pan with parchment paper, proceed again. Lay each nest / ball a bit far from the others, so they do not stick together. Then put the pan in the freezer, when they are frozen put them in a bag and store in the freezer. When you want to eat pasta you just need to pick how many servings you need, put them in boiling water and proceed as usual.
Similar goes with rigatoni and the small formats, you can freeze them just after shaping. So you have fresh pasta whenever you want, without the need to mix, roll and shape each time. Better than drying it.

 

 

 

Teo

 

[Smithy]

11 minutes ago, teonzo said:

If you make fettuccine / tagliatelle / similar, then after shaping them you can weigh a single portion (about 100 g here, but it's personal as everything), roll them lightly in a nest / ball (no pressing, just to make a cluster), lay it on a pan with parchment paper, proceed again. Lay each nest / ball a bit far from the others, so they do not stick together. Then put the pan in the freezer, when they are frozen put them in a bag and store in the freezer. When you want to eat pasta you just need to pick how many servings you need, put them in boiling water and proceed as usual.
Similar goes with rigatoni and the small formats, you can freeze them just after shaping. So you have fresh pasta whenever you want, without the need to mix, roll and shape each time. Better than drying it.

 

 

 

Teo

 

 

Are there any special tricks or considerations for making, then freezing, stuffed pasta? I'd like to make ravioli and have it at a later date.

[teonzo]

32 minutes ago, Smithy said:

Are there any special tricks or considerations for making, then freezing, stuffed pasta? I'd like to make ravioli and have it at a later date.

 

I can give these suggestions:

- use a pasta recipe with high fat (all yolks, or at least 50% yolks 50% whole eggs);

- use a filling with low water content (avoid thickened sauces and similars);

- roll them uniformly and try to avoid pressing some zones while forming the ravioli (meaning to be careful not to press the pasta with your fingers, if you do then that zone becomes thinner);

- seal them carefully after enclosing the filling;

- put them in a single layer over a pan and freeze them immediately, freezing must be the quicker possible, if you make multiple layers then it will take too much time.

Nothing really complicated, there aren't big risks if you have a bit of experience.

 

 

 

Teo

 

[JoNorvelleWalker]

1 hour ago, Smithy said:

 

Are there any special tricks or considerations for making, then freezing, stuffed pasta? I'd like to make ravioli and have it at a later date.

 

Don't forget the blast freezer.

 

[Okanagancook]

I usually cook my stuffed pasta then freeze to avoid the pasta cracking in the freezer...especially true when making larger stuffed items.  They are then really quick to reheat and serve.

[blue_dolphin]

In American Sfoglino, Evan Funke recommends blanching filled pasta for future use.  He says that if you refrigerate them directly after making, moisture from the filling can sweat through the pasta, resulting in a tacky dough but that blanching cooks the surface protein of the pasta and seals the moisture inside.   I imagine that's why Teo recommends putting them directly into the freezer and I'd suspect that a blast chiller would be even better. 

Funke says to just boil them until they float, transfer to a towel-lined surface and turn them every 5 min or so, ideally with a fan blowing on them, until they are completely dry (20 - 40 min) before refrigerating for up to 10 days or freezing for up to 3 months. 

I have not tested multiple methods but I've done this a couple of times and it's worked nicely.

[Okanagancook]

I like the idea of drying them a bit before freezing.  I remember putting some in the refrigerator before cooking and it was a sticky ugly disaster.

[Smithy]

16 minutes ago, Okanagancook said:

I like the idea of drying them a bit before freezing.  I remember putting some in the refrigerator before cooking and it was a sticky ugly disaster.

 

I think that's what I tried, with the same result, but it's been too long to remember clearly.

[jedovaty]

2 hours ago, JoNorvelleWalker said:

 

Don't forget the blast freezer.

 

Oooooo just added to my wish list, right behind a chamber vac sealer and a touchless kitchen faucet

[JoNorvelleWalker]

38 minutes ago, Okanagancook said:

I like the idea of drying them a bit before freezing.  I remember putting some in the refrigerator before cooking and it was a sticky ugly disaster.

 

I'm remembering my beautiful candele.  Marc Vetri's extruded pasta recipe says to dry pasta in the refrigerator eight hours to five days. Not having a blast chiller at the time I dried the candele at room temperature.  They all cracked and fell to pieces.

 

Edit:  I wouldn't dry egg pasta, I'd just freeze it.

 

 

Edited April 5, 2020 by JoNorvelleWalker (log)

[rotuts]

now not looking for trouble

 

esp now

 

but it dies find me ....

 

its written in may books , and perhaps on the internet 

 

that " better commercial " pasta , aside from better ingredients to start with

 

is better , not just w those brass dies that give the pasta a bit of a micro-fuzzy surface

 

but because those better pasta "" Houses "" control the drying process 

 

so it takes a lot longer than the cheaper pastas

 

I have not done personal studies to confirm this

 

i did note some time ago

 

there was a "" Top " Italian pasta that come in a brown bag.

 

it was exuded w those brass dies.   I can say that more sauce stuck to

 

the pasta , but it was very tasty 

 

just not so much more me back then 

 

price etc.    two glasses of table red  were an equalizer I think 

[teonzo]

Industrial pasta makers dry their pasta at high temperatures, around 80°C, this to speed up the process and save money. The result is a glass-like texture, which is less pleasant. This is why it takes less time to cook than artisan pasta.
Artisan makers dry their pasta at lower temperature, around 40-50°C, so it takes up to 2 days. But the pasta keeps its original texture and is much more pleasant to eat. It takes more time to cook, when you overcook it the damage is bigger than when you overcook industrial pasta.
If you compare an industrial producer (like Barilla) with an artisan producer (like the ones from Gragnano) then the difference is pretty big.

If you make fresh pasta at home (I'm talking flour + water, no eggs) then it's better to freeze it than drying it. At a restaurant we tried to freeze half a batch of orecchiette and dry the other half batch. The frozen one was a clear winner for everyone. Beware cooking times are much shorter.

 

 

 

Teo

 

[heidih]

2 hours ago, teonzo said:

IIf you make fresh pasta at home (I'm talking flour + water, no eggs) then it's better to freeze it than drying it. At a restaurant we tried to freeze half a batch of orecchiette and dry the other half batch. The frozen one was a clear winner for everyone. Beware cooking times are much shorter.

 

 

Yes my go to "fresh pasta" as a young cook was frozen from a small corner Italian deli versus  air dried (+egg) that great grandma made. 

Now I am on the hunt for the Stag embossed noodle tin with tiny perforations to allow a bit of air. Aluminum. 

[jedovaty]

Inspired by this thread, I rolled and shaped tortellini from egg pasta dough.  Filling was a mixture of buffalo mozzarella, manchego, romano, egg and fresh oregano.  Homemade simple red sauce from canned tomatoes over sauteed onions, garlic, and marjoram.  I'm sure italian grandmas were rolling over in their graves frantically waving their arms about.. but my dudes and dudettes, this was tasty!!  Not to mention way easier than expected   It was a little tedious making the little turd-elinis [🤪].

 

If anyone's on the fence, just give it a try!  Thanks @Kim Shook!

[Kim Shook]

Ok.  Hoping to actually make the pasta today.  I've made the tomato sauce and the filling.  All that's left is the bechamel and the pasta.  I don't know if it is all the stress of life lately or what, but I am just a fuzzy headed mess.  Nothing sticks in my head and I can't seem to process information very well.  I've made the dough and it is resting.  I ended up following a BA recipe and using my KA.  My dough out of the KA:

 

I let it rest a bit and started to "season" the machine, according to the "directions" by running a small bit of dough through the rollers and the cutters.  The clamp is giving me problems:

It won't work on my actual countertop and this keeps happening on the cutting board.  I'm considering trying Alton Brown's ironing board hack.  It rolled through the rollers just fine, but I'm afraid I've ruined my cutter.  When I ran it through the skinny one, it just clumped up like this and never fell off:

and now, this is what I'm using a brush and a crochet needle trying to clean out:

 

I am getting frustrated.  Egg roll wrappers are starting to look a LOT more sensible.  😟

[blue_dolphin]

42 minutes ago, Kim Shook said:

I am getting frustrated.  Egg roll wrappers are starting to look a LOT more sensible.  😟

 

Don't sweat this too much!  You've put a lot on your plate.  Sounds like you are not only making fresh pasta but also making something with a filling AND a sauce.  Is it lasagne?  ravioli?  I think either of them are projects all on their own.  

You can still put everything back into the fridge and pick up later.  

 

You've gotten a lot of good advice her from people with a lot more fresh pasta experience than I have but my very beginner recommendation is to make a basic cut noodle with a very simple sauce for your first run.  

You can make a full 1 lb batch of dough, but just roll and cut what you need for a meal and put the rest back into the fridge.  No need to work out details on drying, freezing, etc. for the first time.  Just roll, cut, drop them into the water and enjoy a nice meal.  

If you are up for more and ready to go right into fillings, etc. then don't let me discourage you - I'm impressed and pulling for you!

 

Edited April 6, 2020 by blue_dolphin (log)

[chromedome]

It's hard to know for sure without having fingers in your dough, but I'd guess that either a) it's too soft; or b) hadn't rested for long enough before you rolled it.

 

As for the clamp, I've used various tricks to "McGyver" mine over the years but the simplest thing was usually to switch to my table.