Today I’m going to teach you how to make homemade pasta. And, perhaps surprisingly, it’s so much easier than you think! I learned the pasta-making technique from years of making pasta with my family, and I perfected the ingredients ratios while living in Italy. Take a peek at my step-by-step photos to make the process a little easier!
Homemade Pasta Maker and Family Traditions
Every year at Christmas, all of the women in my family (+ my brother) get together a few days before Christmas Eve. We spend the day preparing the Christmas Eve feast, which includes pizzelle, rapini, ravioli, biscotti, yeast cookies, pasta sauce, and, of course, homemade pasta.
My grandma has had an old pasta maker for years. Let me tell you, this thing has seen it’s fair share of Christmases in the Bianchini household. It’s gotten so old that we have to C-clamp it to our table because age has made it so hard to turn.
We could replace it. We could buy an automated pasta machine that runs on electricity. But yet, there’s something about this pasta maker.. There’s something about the way that it feels to hand crank it… something about the way we need three cousins just to run it efficiently…. Something about the way the handle sticks when you turn it too fast… All of these things make our pasta maker OURS. This pasta maker made me love cooking. It makes me proud to say that “pasta making day” with my family is my favorite day of the year. It made me want to live in Italy.
This homemade pasta maker is part of our family; it has stitched itself into the fabric of our traditions. Christmas wouldn’t be Christmas without hand making our pasta with this pasta maker.
With this homemade pasta maker, it is easy for each generation to pass on to the next how to make homemade pasta. We have it down to a science.
(I will also admit that I have the 3 Piece Pasta Roller and Cutter for my KitchenAid for when I’m making a quick weeknight meal. I love my hand powered pasta roller, but sometimes, you need something quick. All about dat transparency, people.)
Perfecting my Recipe for Homemade Pasta
We had a recipe that we worked with for a while in my family, but we always had trouble getting it just right. Sometimes it would be too sticky, and sometimes it would be far too floury. One year, we even had to throw out all of our pasta and start over, because after two days of drying it, we realized that the dough had been too wet, and the pasta was starting to mold.
Luckily for you, I’ve done the hard work! Once I moved to Italy, I spent the time learning and perfecting the perfect pasta recipe. The trick, I’ve learned, is to use a digital food scale.
The recipes that I learned measure in grams. Once I started measuring in grams, I realized that my pasta dough became a lot more consistent. I would recommend using this digital food scale that I bought from Amazon. It is less than $10, and was a definite game changer in my kitchen! (PS this is not an affiliate link, I just really like this digital scale).
What Ingredients are in this Homemade Pasta?
- Flour
- Salt
- Olive Oil
- Egg(s)
That’s it.
Oh, and make sure to have a homemade pasta maker on hand, whether it is a hand crank or an electric one.
How to Make Homemade Pasta
Measure out your flour, and then place it in a mound on a clean surface.
Use your hand to form a well in the middle of the flour. You should be able to see the table at the bottom of your flour.
Crack your egg into the hole in the well. Add a dash of salt and a drizzle of olive oil.
Use a fork to scramble the egg inside the flour well. As you mix, use your fork to slowly incorporate flour from the edges of the well. Slowly keep adding more flour with your fork as you stir. The egg should turn into a paste.
When the mixture is too thick to mix with a fork anymore, start kneading with your hands.
Make sure to press with the heel of your hand, working the flour into the dough.
Depending on the size of the egg you use, you may need to not incorporate all of the flour or add more. This will depend on the consistency of your dough. The dough should not be sticky or crumbly. It should be a happy medium in between. Work the dough until the desired consistency is reached. Do not overwork the dough or it will get tough
Form your dough into the shape of a little loaf of bread. Cut into small sections.
Pass these sections through the pasta roller on your pasta machine. Because each pasta maker is different I cannot give the numbers of the settings, but choose a large setting, then a medium setting, and finally a small setting. You may need to run your pasta through the largest setting a few times to ensure that it has minimal holes or breakage.
Allow rolled pasta to rest on parchment paper or butchers’ paper while you roll the other dough.
Once all pasta is rolled flat, change the settings on your pasta maker to the pasta cutter.
Roll the pasta through one more time to cut into fettuccine shapes.
Lay the fettuccine on the parchment/butchers’ paper again and allow to dry.
Cook as normal pasta. Homemade pasta will normally cook faster than store-bought pasta.
How long will Homemade Pasta Last? Can it be Frozen?
Homemade pasta can be stored in the refrigerator for 2-3 days or can last in the freezer for 2-3 months. If you are storing your pasta, make sure to dry it completely before doing so.
This can take 12-24 hours of it laying out. Sprinkle with a bit of flour to speed up the process, or place a fan in the area. Once the pasta is dry it can be packaged into ziplock bags and stored.
How much Pasta Should I Make Per Person?
The measurements below are designed to create one individual serving of pasta. Depending on the number of people you are cooking for, you can multiply this recipe. In this case, form all of the flour into one large well, and crack all of the eggs into the same well.
I typically only do up to 6 servings in one batch. This means that if I am making pasta for 12 people, I will make two batches of 600g of flour and 6 eggs each.
Why Is Homemade Pasta Tough?
Good question… it shouldn’t be! Homemade pasta will only be tough if you over-knead it. Knead the pasta dough enough so as to incorporate all of the flour, but don’t knead any more after that. The longer you knead the dough, the tougher the pasta will get.
Okay folks, that’s it! If you follow my instructions for how to make this homemade pasta, let me know by leaving a review! And if you have more questions after reading this article, don’t be scared to ask them in the comments below 🙂
Do you want more homemade Italian recipes?
- Easy Tiramisu Recipe
- Subscribe to my email list below and then email me and ask for a copy of my homemade Italian Christmas cookies cookbook, and I will send it to you!
How to Make Homemade Pasta
This is the recipe for homemade pasta that I learned while living in Italy!
Ingredients
- 100 g unbleached, all-purpose flour (about ½ cup)
- 1 egg
- dash salt
- drizzle olive oil
Instructions
-
Place the flour in a mound on the table.
-
Use your hand to form a well in the middle of the flour. You should be able to see the table at the bottom of your flour
-
Crack your egg into the hole in the well. Add a dash of salt and a drizzle of olive oil.
-
Use a fork to scramble the egg inside the flour well. As you mix, use your fork to slowly incorporate flour from the edges of the well. Slowly keep adding more flour with your fork as you stir. The egg should turn into a paste.
-
When the mixture is too thick to mix with a fork anymore, start kneading with your hands. Make sure to press with the heel of your hand, working the flour into the dough. (You may need to not incorporate all of the flour or add more depending on the consistency of your dough. The dough should not be sticky or crumbly. It should be a happy medium in between)
-
Work the dough until the desired consistency is reached. Do not overwork the dough or it will get tough
-
Form your dough into the shape of a little loaf of bread. Cut into small sections.
-
Pass these sections through the pasta roller on your pasta machine. Because each pasta maker is different I cannot give the numbers of the settings, but choose a large setting, then a medium setting, and finally a small setting. You may need to run your pasta through the largest setting a few times to ensure that it has minimal holes or breakage.
-
Allow rolled pasta to rest on parchment paper or butchers paper while you roll the other dough
-
Once all pasta is rolled flat, change the settings on your pasta maker to the pasta cutter.
-
Roll the pasta through one more time to cut into fettuccine shapes.
-
Lay the fettuccine on the parchment/butcher’s paper again and allow to dry.
-
Cook as normal pasta. Homemade pasta will normally cook faster than store-bought pasta.
Recipe Notes
This recipe is for 1 person. To make for more than one person, multiply by the number of people you are cooking for.
Homemade pasta can be stored in the refrigerator for 2-3 days or can last in the freezer for 2-3 months. If you are storing your pasta, make sure to dry it completely before doing so. This can take 12-24 hours of it laying out. Sprinkle with a bit of flour to speed up the process, or place a fan in the area. Once the pasta is dry it can be packaged into ziplock bags and stored.
Recipe copyright The Foreign Fork. For educational or personal use only.
I have a case of the Covid craziness. I have been baking and cooking everything that I see. Last night was fettuccine noodles with a tomato sauce. I had forgotten about the Cici de Peppa – that will be this week! Thank you for this pasta recipe! Measuring by weight rather than cups is a definite game changer.
Hurray Nancy!! So glad that you used the recipe and that measuring by weight is helpful! Can’t wait for you to cook the cacio e pepe 🙂