Egg-Based Pasta Dough

Makes: 2 servings Time: 40 minutes

Ingredients

100 gr. / 3/4 cup All-purpose flour or “00” flour

100 gr. / 3/4 cup Durum Wheat flour (known as Semolina flour)

2 Large Fresh eggs

1 Pinch of salt (optional)

Instructions

1. Place the flour in the middle of the board and make a circular well in the center. Like a volcano.

2. Crack the eggs in the middle of the circle.

3. Gently whisk eggs with a fork.

4. Adding the flour from the edges little by little,until the mixture becomes thick.

5. Sweep the remaining flour on top

6. Knead the dough on a floured surface until smooth and elastic, taking 5 minutes approx. Add more flour if necessary to keep it from sticking to your hands or the board.

7. Press a fingerprint to see if the dough is ready; it should bounce back. If not, keep kneading.

TIPS: While kneading, use the palm of your hand to push the dough away from you. Stretching it and pulling it back towards you, gather it back into a ball shape. (Fold, Press, and Roll). Repeat until the dough is silky smooth.

• The more you knead pasta dough, the better texture it will have! So remember kneading will make a difference.

• When you knead, use only semolina for added texture.

8. Shape your pasta dough into a ball and wrap it tightly with plastic wrap.

9. Place in the fridge and let it rest for a minimum of 30 minutes, up to 1 day in advance if wrapped tightly.

Rolling out the dough

The pasta dough can be rolled or cut using a hand-crank pasta maker or Kitchen-aid appliance. Depending on what type and shape of pasta you want to make, here is the primary technique for rolling out the dough.

1. Dust your board and flatten your dough to Rectangle to fit inside the pasta machine.

2. Pass your dough on the thickest setting (#6) Once, then fold the dough in thirds to have a rectangular shape. Pass it through again on #6 thickness. Make sure to dust your dough lightly with flour between each number set.

3. Proceed to #5, #4, and finally to #3 settings without doing the fold again to make it gradually thinner.

4. Lay a sheet of pasta on your work table. Lightly dust with flour.

5. Depending on the shape and type of dish you are making. The options are yours to choose from.

Examples: Spaghetti, Tagliatelle, and Ravioli. Using a Manual Pasta Cutter, Traditional Chitarra or Ravioli Press, the options are endless for the shapes you can create.

Importantly don’t forget to flour your dough after it has been shaped!