I finally opened my pasta machine...

[Kim Shook]

I've ended up actually doing the Alton Brown ironing board thing.  It seems to be working fine, as far as that goes.  The crank has fallen out three times onto my foot.  Who designs these fricking things????????????

[Margaret Pilgrim]

(men)

[Kim Shook]

46 minutes ago, Margaret Pilgrim said:

(men)

...who don't fricking make pasta.

 

So, the sheets are all rolled and cut.  I still have to cook them (fresh hell, I'm thinking) and fill them.  I truly cannot imagine doing this again.  Wegman's has their own brand of fresh pasta and we are lucky enough to have a pasta store.  AND I've  made this with egg roll wrappers and it was delicious.  

 

Oh, look!  More inaccessible dough to dig out:

 

Bye-bye, pasta machine!  See you never:

 I know, I'm being petulant.  I was the same way when my IP failed me a few weeks ago.  I'm sure I'll give it another try.  But not for cannelloni, dammit.  

Edited April 6, 2020 by Kim Shook (log)

[Toliver]

1 hour ago, Kim Shook said:

I've ended up actually doing the Alton Brown ironing board thing.  It seems to be working fine, as far as that goes.  The crank has fallen out three times onto my foot.  Who designs these fricking things????????????

 

1 hour ago, Margaret Pilgrim said:

(men)

I think (men) also designed the motor (which is an additional cost, of course) you can attach to the pasta machine so you don't have to deal with a crank. 

[Smithy]

17 minutes ago, Toliver said:

 

I think (men) also designed the motor (which is an additional cost, of course) you can attach to the pasta machine so you don't have to deal with a crank. 

 

I have one of those. Makes a world of difference.

[JoNorvelleWalker]

@Kim Shook, this may help you feel better:

https://www.apartfrommyart.com/apart-from-my-art/finest-duck-lasagna-recipe

 

Bugialli is one of my culinary heroes.  Just do it the way he does.

 

[heidih]

personally when I rest dough for I tip a bowl over it to retain humidity. Women have been doing this for many many years, tired as heck from life drama, Ya got it.

[jedovaty]

4 hours ago, Kim Shook said:

...who don't fricking make pasta.

HEY, yes we do 😛  I'm not going to mansplain it to you (*head bob*), but I hope you give it another try   Try the method in the second video I put earlier in this thread, it works!  

 

FWIW, the cutters are pointless, easier to just hand cut everything provided knife or pizza cutter is sharp.  When I went through my gluten-free phase, I spent an hour getting fubar dried buckwheat dough out of the cutters.. that was not fun.

[liuzhou]

4 hours ago, jedovaty said:

HEY, yes we do 😛

 

 

She wasn't saying that men don't make pasta. She was saying that the clamp was designed by men who don't make pasta.

 

🤨

Edited April 7, 2020 by liuzhou (log)

[nickrey]

10 hours ago, Kim Shook said:

 

 

"I let it rest a bit." I always rest the dough for at least twenty minutes in the refrigerator, which makes it less soft and less likely to jam up the pasta machine.

 

Assuming you used the correct proportions of flour to egg (typically 100g to one egg), the dough should have worked. Another reason for it being too soft may be that it wasn't kneaded long enough to develop the gluten. Serious eats has a good web page on making pasta from scratch (link here).

 

Keep at it, you'll get there.

Quote

 

The clamp is giving me problems:

 

 

The bottom side of the pasta machine should be in line with the side of the chopping board. The vertical part of the clamp will then sit straight against the edge of the chopping board. This means that the chopping board should be sitting with around two inches of board over the side of the bench. Diagram as follows:

 

 

 

 

Edited April 7, 2020 by nickrey (log)

[rotuts]

@Kim Shook 

 

dont give up yet !

 

once you solve your problems  

 

its a breeze to make your own pasta

 

w or w/o egg.

 

cheaper

 

tastier

 

and far more effective 

 

than Analysis or Psyhotherapy

[blue_dolphin]

16 hours ago, Kim Shook said:

Bye-bye, pasta machine!  See you never:

 

Sounds like you have lots of great options for fresh pasta, so no need to get into this again but I give you an A+ for what you accomplished in one day.

Setting up and getting the hang of rolling pasta with one of those manual crank machines for the first time isn't easy.  Just doing that with a small piece of dough is plenty for a day 1 lesson. 

Cut them with a knife, toss into the pot of water and enjoy a little bowl of noodles with butter & cheese for extra credit. 

You went way above and beyond on your first day!

 

[gfweb]

I have the kitchenaid pasta attachment.  Its small so it stores easily. Its great

[lemniscate]

I have my Grandmother's Columbus.    She used it for a family of 12 kids + related from the 30's to the 70's.   I've had to use the cutting board situation for clamping it to certain countertops.  I think countertops have gotten thicker while pasta clamps remained the same over time.    I also have had that type of clumping in the skinny cutter like you have shown.  And, had the cleaning frustration.  It was from not allowing the pasta sheet to rest and get that leathery feel to it before running it through the cutter.  There's a certain surface texture you need to get to so the the sheet can go through without clumping.  It just takes practice, that's the answer.  Get used to the process.  Learn from the frustrations, I did.   The crank falling out is just learning muscle memory to know how much force or lack of force best works for turning it.  Again, practice, not the most popular answer, sounds like Mom and Dad advice, right?   I will say, making homemade pasta is deceptively easy, yet can be extremely demanding for a lot of little reasons combined.

 

Now, full disclosure, I also have the Kitchenaid pasta rollers and those work great!

 

 

[Kim Shook]

 

Thank you all so much for the input and encouragement!  I think that I will wait to try again for a time when Mr. Kim is going to be around.  I think it will make a good couples project. 😁

 

One thing that I am confused about is the best temperature for the dough.  The recipes I found were all over the place – some said to rest for an hour, ensuring that the dough would be room temperature and these specified that if you stored dough in the refrigerator you should make sure it comes to room temp before using.  Others said that the dough shouldn’t be too warm and soft.  And @nickrey said to put it in the fridge for 20 minutes, which seems logical to me.  My dough was so soft that I was afraid I’d put a finger through it.    

 

Also, all the directions I could find for specifically cannelloni said to take the dough sheet to the 2^nd from thinnest setting.  I did this and I’m convinced that when I cook and stuff my cannelloni today, I’m going to come to grief because they are SO thin.  I guess we’ll see. 

 

@Toliver – Jessica and I were discussing that very thing (the motor) and I’m torn.  Will I really use the machine enough to justify the additional expense?  I know it would help move things along and free up my hand (and hopefully not fall out and crush my foot🙄), so I’d probably use the pasta machine more.  A judgement call I don’t think I can make yet.

 

@nickrey – thank you so much for the Serious Eats link.  Looks like lots of good and CLEAR information.  I bookmarked it and will go to it when this whole nightmare has receded a bit😉.  As far as the clamp goes, I think I really was lined up the way your diagram (thanks for that, too!!) shows.  It just got moved over a bit before I got my phone over there to take the picture. 

 

[heidih]

My 2 cents = body temp before roll out. Supple is the word I think.  (kinda less than baby bottle on your wrist)

[JoNorvelleWalker]

@Kim Shook the KitchenAid pasta roller attachment might be a better investment than a motor for your hand roller.

 

KitchenAid KSMPSA Pasta Roller Attachment, Silver

 

[Kim Shook]

2 hours ago, JoNorvelleWalker said:

@Kim Shook the KitchenAid pasta roller attachment might be a better investment than a motor for your hand roller.

 

KitchenAid KSMPSA Pasta Roller Attachment, Silver

 

That's a good price, too!  A lot less unwieldy than the other.  

[JoNorvelleWalker]

The attachment I linked is just the roller.  KitchenAid also has cutters in various widths.  The KitchenAid cutters are nice and work well, but really not necessary.

 

[jedovaty]

I really wish they made the rollers interchangeable on these machines, not only could you clean it, but imagine if they offered a textured roller, then you could do things like roll oats. 

[JoNorvelleWalker]

18 minutes ago, jedovaty said:

I really wish they made the rollers interchangeable on these machines, not only could you clean it, but imagine if they offered a textured roller, then you could do things like roll oats. 

 

I've seen an oat flocker attachment for the KitchenAid; although my oat flocker attachment is for the Ankarsrum.

 

[gfweb]

2 hours ago, Kim Shook said:

That's a good price, too!  A lot less unwieldy than the other.  

really good price. I'd jump on it

[Smithy]

7 minutes ago, gfweb said:

really good price. I'd jump on it

 

That is a really good price. I paid $50 for my motor drive, some 20 years ago. Do note, however, the warning on their page: "Make sure this fits". You enter the KitchenAid mixer model to ensure compatability.

[jedovaty]

59 minutes ago, JoNorvelleWalker said:

 

I've seen an oat flocker attachment for the KitchenAid; although my oat flocker attachment is for the Ankarsrum.

 

I temporarily permanently borrowed my mom's viking pro 7 qt, along with the meat grinder and sausage maker attachment.  I don't think the brands are compatible without some sort of adapter. I'll just run oats through my vitamix or grinder, no big.   Actually.. hmmm... I wonder if the indian wet grinder would work for something dry, just in short bursts? That does squishing and sheering action.  Hmmm!

[JoNorvelleWalker]

1 hour ago, Smithy said:

 

That is a really good price. I paid $50 for my motor drive, some 20 years ago. Do note, however, the warning on their page: "Make sure this fits". You enter the KitchenAid mixer model to ensure compatability.

 

Better safe than sorry; however I am confident the pasta roller is one of the attachments that will work with any KitchenAid.