Pasta Dough: Pasta with Eggs Recipe

Homemade pasta has a wonderfully light, almost silky texture--quite different from the so-called fresh pasta that you buy at stores. If you use egg in the mixture, which is recommended if you are making pasta at home, the dough is easy to make, and the initial process is not that different from making bread. 

Ingredients:

2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour

3 eggs

1 teaspoon salt

Method:

1. Mound the flour on a clean surface and make a large, deep well in the center with your hands. Keep the sides of the well so that when the eggs are added they will stay in the well. 
2. Crack the eggs into the well and add the salt. With a table knife, mix the eggs and salt together, then gradually incorporate the flour from the sides of the well. 
3. As soon as the mixture is no longer liquid, dip your fingers in the flour and work the ingredients into a rough and stick dough. If the dough is too dry, add a few drops of cold water; if it is too moist, sprinkle a little flour over it. 
4. Press the dough into a rough ball and knead it as you would bread. Push it away from you with the heel of your hand, then fold the dough back on itself so that it faces toward you and push it out again. 
5. Continue folding the dough back a little further each time and pushing it out until you have folded it back all the way toward you, and all the dough has been kneaded. Give the dough a quarter turn counter-clockwise, then continue kneading, folding and turning for 10 minutes. The dough should be very smooth and elastic.
6. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and let it rest for 15-20 minutes at room temperature. It will then be ready to roll. 

Making Pasta Shapes

1. Unwrap the dough and cut it in half. Work on half immediately.
2. Sprinkle flour on the work surface, add the dough and flatten it. Roll out the dough, turning it as you work until it is 1/8 inch thick. 

Cook's Tip

Don't skimp on the kneading time, or the finished pasta will not be light and silky.

Source: France, Christine. 2007. The Complete Guide to Make Sauces. Hermes House: London.