Homemade Pasta

I started making homemade pasta about one and a half years ago on a hand cranked pasta machine that we bought for $25 on clearance somewhere. Using the recipe that came with the machine and ingredients from our pantry, pretty soon there was flour all over the bench and fresh pasta hanging up all over the house. Homemade pasta is really easy to make and you don't need any special equipment, not even a pasta machine. The recipe is quite simple:

• 
  Eggs
• Flour

   

- 1egg for every 100g of flour 

Method:

Mix together the eggs with two thirds of the flour to form a soft dough. Knead in

the rest of the flour and form dough into a ball. Wrap in a clean tea towel and let

rest. At this point you can either set up your pasta machine or get out your rolling

pin.

Pasta Machine

 Cut your dough into slices and coat them in flour. Run the slices through the rollers

 in your machine. When you have gotten the slices to the thickness you want,

flour them again and run them through your machine's cutters. *Note - if you don't 

cut your pasta and leave it as it is, you have great lasagna sheets.

Rolling Pin

Roll your dough out on a heavily floured surface and keep rolling until the dough is the thickness you want. Flour your dough and roll up into a scroll. Cut into thin strips with a knife or egg flip, depending on what you're cutting on. It is important that your dough is well floured so that it doesn't stick together.

Drying

You can cook your pasta the way it is or dry it for future use. This is helpful if you are making your pasta in bulk. Pasta has been dried by hanging over anything from purpose made pasta dryers to broom sticks to clothes hangers. Just make sure that what you are hanging your pasta on is clean and hygienic, that there is plenty of airflow and that there is a sheet or something underneath to catch any flour or falling pasta. You could also dry your pasta by putting flour on a clean sheet and laying you fresh pasta  on to that, but you will need to move your pasta quite often to make sure it dries evenly. If you dry your pasta for 24 hours, pasta should keep well in an airtight container for up to twelve months.*Note - Pasta can be stored by simply freezing the fresh pasta in bags or containers.

Cooking

To cook your pasta, fresh or dried, you can either put it into a pan filled with cold water and then bring it to the boil, turn it off and then let it sit until the pasta is soft enough for you or you can bring the water to the boil first and then add your pasta and just keep the water boiling until the pasta is done enough. Test a bit to see.

*Note - You can make pasta with water instead of eggs, you just add the water to the flour until it becomes the right consistency.