Ingredients
Equipment
Method
- Step 1: Add flour, eggs, olive oil, and salt into the KitchenAid bowl. Attach the dough hook and mix on low speed (speed 1 or 'stir' depending on your model of mixer) until it begins to come together.I find that the salt is a must and that without it I just don't appreciate the bland taste. but leave it out if your family prefers it.
- Step 2: Mix the Dough.Let the mixer knead the dough for 8–10 minutes. Your mixture will look dry - don't worry this is normal.
- Step 3: Continue Kneading the Dough by Hand.Dump your dough out on the counter - it'll look dry and won't all come together yet, don't worry that's normal!Knead for 2 minutes or as long as it takes for it to feel less dry and more sticky. Note - I don't use extra flour here, if it sticks I spray a little olive oil on my counter and hands.
- Step 4: Shape the Dough into a Ball and Let it Rest.When you're done kneading, bring your dough back together and form a ball.Wrap it in plastic wrap, spray the ball of dough lightly with olive oil if needed, to avoid sticking.Let the dough rest for 30 minutes or more in the fridge, so that the gluten in the flour can do it's magic.I've left it as long as 48 hours before, and it's still been fine.
- Step 5: Knead Your Dough Again.When you're ready to cut the pasta, get you're rested dough out of the fridge, unwrap it and knead it for a minute or so just so it becomes loosened again.At this stage the dough should look much more glossy and be less sticky.
- Step 6: Divide the DoughTake a knife or bench scraper and cut your pasta into manageable pieces.I like to divide mine between 6-10 pieces. If you're making lasagna sheets do 6, if you're making spaghetti or fettuccine do more pieces.I always make sure to re-cover the pieces with plastic wrap when I am not using them, to keep them from drying out.
- Step 7: Rolling the PastaTake your dough rolling pasta attachment and secure that in your KitchenAid mixer.Feed each piece through the pasta roller attachment on the widest setting (level 1) three times. If you want a wider piece of pasta, like to use for lasagna, you can fold it over on itself before passing it through and create the width you desire.Once you have the desired width then you can gradually increase settings from 1 - 5 each time you pass your sheet of dough through, until the dough is thin and silky.I find level 5 is the perfect thickness for thin tasty pasta, but not so thin that it dissolves in the pan when you cook it!
- Step 8: Cutting the Pasta into Spaghetti or FettuccineTo make fettuccine or spaghetti switch out your pasta roller attachment for your desired cutter attachment. Run dough through the fettuccine or spaghetti cutters once, then lay the cut noodles on a floured baking sheet or a pasta drying rack.
- Step 9: Cooking the Fresh Pasta.Boil a large pot of salted water. Fresh pasta cooks fast, you just boil for 1–2 minutes for al dente spaghetti or fettuccine, or 4-5 mins for softer textured pasta (which my family prefers!)Drain, toss with olive oil or sauce, and enjoy!
- Step 10: Freezing Your Uncooked PastaIf you don't want to eat your pasta straight away I find that freezing it, rather than drying it, is the best way to preserve that just freshly-made pasta texture. It's super easy, just gently grab your floured fresh pasta and place it in a freezer-safe dish with a lid. Place parchment paper between layers.When you want to cook the frozen pasta I find I just add another minute to the cooking time and it's perfect!
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.