Making pasta

[sleepyowl]

I made pasta for the for the first time last night I made ravioli it was a bit fiddly so possibly wont be using it as my pasta of choice but have not ruled it out if I use a bigger cutter. My pasta machine makes lasagne, tagliatelle & fettuccine & I am more than willing to give them a go as I enjoyed using the machine & the pasta was way more tastier than the packet stuff. My question is how many of you who have a pasta machine use it as often as you thought you would or has it gone to the same part of the cupboard as the sandwich toaster/waffle iron?

[Maykal]

I started making my own pasta about 5 years ago. I bought a machine at first, but found that it kept getting clogged up (probably cos I hadn't got the consistency right) and the rollers weren't perfectly aligned so it was difficult to make it as thin as I wanted. In the end I got fed up of the machine and binned it, although I did keep the attachment for cutting into two sizes of ribbon pasta. Nowadays I just use a long thin rolling pin and then cut the pasta into the shape I want with a pasta wheel.

Once you get used to it, especially getting the consistency of the dough right before you start rolling it, you can make pasta very quickly and easily. If you do get the consistency right, then rolling it out is really easy and you barely need to flour the surface at all.

Next time try making ravioli with ricotta and a quail egg yolk. That's quite fun to make and kind of cool to serve to guests.

Mike

[diggernotdreamer]

What a coincidence, we made pasta two nights ago with our pasta machine and made = ravioli. We have been living in a mobile home for three years in a kitchen which wasn't big enough to swing a hamster. We moved back in and unpacked all our stuff and found the pasta machine. It has a ravioli maker, but it is very fiddly and not successful to make ravioli without it splitting, so I just use a pastry cutter and make larger ones, which is better for me as I am a piggy. I have missed my machine, I love making the pasta, the ravioli freezes really well, even the wizard helped out because machinery is involved. I love to cook and the ritual of pasta making is something I really enjoy doing, so it all depends how dedicated you are to the process. I got my pasta maker on freecycle because the bloke thought he would like doing it but it wasn't his bag, used once, got rid of, my good luck.

[marshlander]

Wow, that was a serendipitous freecycle find!

I guess I've had my pasta machine 25 years. It certainly doesn't owe me anything. Sometimes it doesn't get used for weeks, then it's used every few days again. It makes lasagna, tagliatelli & linguini but doesn't have a ravioli maker, I too use a pasty cutter for these.

Never had a sandwich toaster as our kitchenaid has square wire baskets that drop into the bread slots.

[Green Aura]

I love my pasta machine. I also love the fact that I have to plan to make pasta (I soak the flour overnight or use sourdough) which means we eat far less, as it's no longer a fallback dish. And I agree - it's so much tastier than any bought variety, fresh or dried.

[becks77]

I have tried the pasta maker on many occaissions but fail to get the right consistency any fool proof recipes please?

[contadina]

I use the machine for getting the desired thinness, but don't bother with any of the cutters, as a knife works just as well.

The only time I don't use the machine for rolling is when making egg-free pasta, which spookily is resting as I type. Egg-free pasta dough is perfect for fatter pasta shapes (orecchiette, troffiette, cavatelli, macaronì and rustic spaghetti).

I have tried the pasta maker on many occaissions but fail to get the right consistency any fool proof recipes please?

For a foolproof egg pasta recipe, you can't beat the Silver Spoon. For two English, rather than Italian servings use 200g of flour, 2 eggs and salt. Make a well with the flour, crack the eggs and incorporate and knead for about 10-minutes. If the dough is too soft, add a little flour, if it's too thick add a bit of water. It should have a silky finish when it's ready. Make a big ball and let it rest for at least quarter of an hour before running through the pasta maker.

The problem maybe the flour you use, so experiment (I use a mixture of 00 and semolina flour) and always use the freshest eggs you can.

[demi]

I want to make my own pasta and noodles but haven't attempted it yet and don't have a machine. My mother in law does, however, and she made me loads of pasta which is all used up now. She just rolled it out into 1 big sheet and left it to dry then broke it into big pieces and i was using it for lasagna.

I will try your recipe Contadina, and i want to make egg noodles as they don't sell them here.

[becks77]

Thats great Cntadina thank you

[Maykal]

I have tried the pasta maker on many occaissions but fail to get the right consistency any fool proof recipes please?

Hi Becks77,

Recipes are always difficult because you never know how absorbent the flour is or how large or small the eggs are, so you have to learn to do it by feel. Here's my method:

1. Put the flour into a large bowl (about 100g per egg - I find that 100g+1 egg is enough for two people if you're having a heavy sauce with it, but 150g+1 egg+1 yolk works for 2 people with a light sauce like a pesto or something). I generally don't bother measuring the flour, I just use 4 heaped tablespoon for 100g - it doesn't matter if there is too much flour as you'll only incorporate as much as the eggs require.
2. Make a well and break the eggs into it. You can make it richer by using more yolks: for example, 200g of flour and 1 whole egg plus 2-3 yolks instead of 2 whole eggs.
3. Beat the egg with a fork whilst still in the well and then slowly drag the flour in from the sides of the well, little by little, until the egg/flour mixture starts to stiffen, at which point you can dump the fork and start using your hands to knead it. There should still be plenty of flour in the bowl at this point so keep kneading (it'll still be sticky) and dropping it into the flour, coat it, knead, repeat.
4. Once the dough is starting to get firm you can start kneading it on a floured work top or large chopping board. When you think it's done, form it into a ball, and stick your finger deep into it and put it out again. If it comes out without the slightest feeling of stickiness, then it's done. If not, drop it back in the ball with the flour, coat it, knead it, and so on.
5. Once you're satisfied it's the right consistency, knead it for a couple more minutes, dust it with flour, and drop it into a freezer bag and give it a spin to get the air out (you can wrap it up in cling film but I find that stuff a pain in the butt). Leave it somewhere for at least 15 minutes, or stick it in the fridge if it's to use much later on. After resting, it generally gets a little stickier, which is why it's important to have the right consistency before you start.
6. Now you can either run it through the machine if you have one, or roll it out by hand. If the consistency is right, it should roll out very easily, neither sticking to the work surface or rollers of the machine, nor requiring too much effort to roll thin.

Hope this is useful!
Mike

[demi]

I have tried the pasta maker on many occaissions but fail to get the right consistency any fool proof recipes please?

Hi Becks77,

Recipes are always difficult because you never know how absorbent the flour is or how large or small the eggs are, so you have to learn to do it by feel. Here's my method:

1. Put the flour into a large bowl (about 100g per egg - I find that 100g+1 egg is enough for two people if you're having a heavy sauce with it, but 150g+1 egg+1 yolk works for 2 people with a light sauce like a pesto or something). I generally don't bother measuring the flour, I just use 4 heaped tablespoon for 100g - it doesn't matter if there is too much flour as you'll only incorporate as much as the eggs require.
2. Make a well and break the eggs into it. You can make it richer by using more yolks: for example, 200g of flour and 1 whole egg plus 2-3 yolks instead of 2 whole eggs.
3. Beat the egg with a fork whilst still in the well and then slowly drag the flour in from the sides of the well, little by little, until the egg/flour mixture starts to stiffen, at which point you can dump the fork and start using your hands to knead it. There should still be plenty of flour in the bowl at this point so keep kneading (it'll still be sticky) and dropping it into the flour, coat it, knead, repeat.
4. Once the dough is starting to get firm you can start kneading it on a floured work top or large chopping board. When you think it's done, form it into a ball, and stick your finger deep into it and put it out again. If it comes out without the slightest feeling of stickiness, then it's done. If not, drop it back in the ball with the flour, coat it, knead it, and so on.
5. Once you're satisfied it's the right consistency, knead it for a couple more minutes, dust it with flour, and drop it into a freezer bag and give it a spin to get the air out (you can wrap it up in cling film but I find that stuff a pain in the butt). Leave it somewhere for at least 15 minutes, or stick it in the fridge if it's to use much later on. After resting, it generally gets a little stickier, which is why it's important to have the right consistency before you start.
6. Now you can either run it through the machine if you have one, or roll it out by hand. If the consistency is right, it should roll out very easily, neither sticking to the work surface or rollers of the machine, nor requiring too much effort to roll thin.

Hope this is useful!
Mike

What kind of flour do you use? Here we get type 400 which is plain flour for cakes ect, and type 500 for bread. I'v not see other kinds of flour, apart from corn flour. I can't make good bread here, i think the flour is different from the UK, it always comes out stodgy. I'v been making naan bread for everything as it's the only recipe iv got which turns out really well and it works with both types of flour here.

[Maykal]

We get 'faina alba superioara 000' most commonly here, which is what I use most the time for pasta and it turns out fine for me. I use that whenever a recipe calls for plain flour. I don't think they do self-raising flour here so I just make it myself if the recipe needs it. I've also seen 'faina integrala' which I guess it like wholemeal flour. There are also speciality flours for making bread (faina pentru paine) and for making a kind of bready cake called cozonac, but I've never used them.

I haven't made a lot of bread at home but I'll start doing so this year because the house has a huge wood-fired bread oven in the garden. Easily big enough for a dozen loaves. I'll have to get one of the old dears from the village to come round and show me how it works. Apparently in the past when someone got their bread oven going, the neighbours would all come round with their dough to cook it together. Would be a tradition worth rekindling.

[demi]

Oh i really want a bread oven in my garden, was seriously considering building one, thats a project for the future though. Im jealous! :)

They don't do self raising flour here either but you can just add baking powder to the plain flour to make it self raising.
Should i use plain flour then for the pasta?
Do you know how to make egg noodles?

[becks77]

Wow thank you that is a great explanation I will put that into action this weekend

[Maykal]

@becks77 Let us know how you get on!

@demi You should definitely have a go at making one although obviously you'll have to find someone who knows how to do it - which bricks to use, how to vent it correctly, and so on. Mine is a dome-shaped oven with a diameter of about 130-140cm I guess. It's actually housed in what they call here a 'summer kitchen', which is a separate building about half of which is dedicated to the bread oven and also a place where water could be heated (like a brick-built stove which a giant pan sits on), and the other half is a seating area with a table and chairs for about 6 people. It's a really nice place for the summer as it has large picket gate like doors that open out onto the courtyard. Can't wait for the spring to try it out properly (in the autumn we tried pizzas in it but not bread yet).