Basic Pasta

[Demented]

100 gr. Flour
1 large Egg

Traditional method

Make a well in the center of the flour on your work surface (I use the dining table), break the egg into the well.

With a fork slowly work the flour into the egg, once the dough takes on some mass, use your hands to work the dough.

Push any excess flour aside for use while kneading the dough (if the dough is sticky add flour as needed).

Knead the dough for about 5 minutes, and then set aside to rest 10 or 15 minutes more.

Flour the work surface and the rolling pin. Roll the dough out to the desired thickness then cut with a sharp knife into what ever shape and with you prefer.

Modern method,

Put dough attachment, flour and egg in a food processor, pulse until a dough ball is formed then run continuously for 5 minutes to knead.

Roll out and cut as before.

After years of making pasta this way I broke down and bought a pasta maker. It’s easy to use and fast, clean up is as simple as brushing the machine off.

pasta makers

© A. J. Di Liberti 2007

[jjefrey]

For those of us in the States, How much is 100g of flour in US measurements (ie: Cups)?



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[Demented]

Originally Posted by jjefrey

For those of us in the States, How much is 100g of flour in US measurements, i.e. Cups?

A gram weighs the same everywhere.

100 grams of flour is roughly 1 cup.

The problem with using a measuring cup is that 10 out of 10 cups full of flour will never weigh the same. If the amount of flour used is never the same, it’s impossible to get consistent results.

For this reason I always weight flour when working out or mixing a recipe for bread, cake or dough.

If you must measure flour rather then weight it, use a fine strainer to sift the flour into a measuring cup until the cup is over filled.

Use the spine of a knife that’s long enough to go cross the cup to level the flour.

This is messy and time consuming, but better consistency will result from the effort.

If making pasta dough by hand, too much or to little flour isn’t a problem, it’s easy enough to put a little more on the table, and any extra is pushed aside and used when rolling the dough out.

Adding a little flour to the food processor is also easy, adding a little egg is more of a problem.

If a recipe calls for large eggs, using medium or extra large egg will put the dough off balance and the amount of flour will need to be adjusted.

[jjefrey]

Thanks,I wanted to try this but don't have a scale and really didn't want to buy one.

[ghostrider]

Originally Posted by jjefrey

Thanks,I wanted to try this but don't have a scale and really didn't want to buy one.

No need to buy a scale, just put the flour through a small strainer/sifter, and measure out one cup. As was mentioned, if you don't have enough, add a bit at a time until you get the right consistency. If you have too much, kneading by hand will allow you to keep the extra to the side. To get good consistent results, you should try this by hand a few times to learn what kind of texture you're looking for.

[SUOrangeGuy]

I love my pasta maker. My favorite is to blend a little baby spinach leaves with the egg in a blender before you add the flour.

[Mark C]

Don't underestimate the kneading step either. After awhile you'll be able to tell the dough changes, the texture becomes a little more elastic, a little smoother. When in doubt, knead it a little longer.

When cutting spaghetti, fettucini, etc. I've found that I get better results if I roll out a nice thin sheet then let it dry slightly. If you've got a Kitchen Aid mixer, the pasta attachment makes EXCELLENT spaghetti.