Drying/storing homemade pasta

[Alix]

This is rather an odd question, but does anyone make their own pasta, dry it and store it for a period of time? I've been playing with my pasta maker again, and I'm wondering about drying my own pasta. I have seen frozen homemade pasta, but not dried. Am I running some kind of bacterial risk if I try to dry it myself and store it?

 

[taxlady]

I don't think you are running a bacterial risk, unless it takes several days to dry. But, I wasn't happy with the results when I dried some fettucine. It cooked and tasted fine. Have a look at this link, http://www.discusscooking.com/forums/f17/pasta-drying-problem-69159.html#post950791 where I posted the problem and pix thereof.

 

[Chef Munky]

I've made my own lasagna noodles,angel hair pasta's without any problems.

It was nice that I was able to size the lasagna pieces to fit into smaller personalized containers when they were needed.

After they were cut.I put them into my dehydrator for a few hours.
When done they went into tall flavor sealed containers or ziploc bags.

The only thing that I could see to be a bacterial risk is if the pasta wasn't fully dried before storage.Just my own opinion for what's it's worth.

Just think of the money you will save doing it yourself, knowing what's exactly in it.

Munky.

 

[Oldvine]

I have rolls of frozen pasta dough in my freezer right now. I take it out, let it thaw and run it through my pasta machine. It's easier to store it the dough frozen rather in fluffed up, crushable dry noodles.

 

[Alix]

Oh my. Oldvine, that sounds like just the ticket! How big is the dough ball and how long to thaw completely? I think you have solved my problem for me.

 

[Andy M.]

Alix, then you still have to roll out the dough to make noodles once thawed. More convenient than starting from scratch every time but not as convenient as tossing some frozen pasta in a pot of boiling water for a quick dinner.

 

[Alix]

And I have no qualms about doing that whenever I need to. However...both cannelloni and lasagna are better with homemade noodles. I don't mind doing a bit of work for a better final product.

 

[taxlady]

I don't find mixing up the dough to enough effort to bother freezing lumps of it. The work is in machine kneading and cutting and laying it out when it's cut, so it dries enough not to stick together in the pot.

 

[Alix]

Do you make lasagna or cannelloni taxlady? I don't boil those first. Just put in extra liquid when I bake them.

 

[taxlady]

Do you make lasagna or cannelloni taxlady? I don't boil those first. Just put in extra liquid when I bake them.

Cannelloni, I have never made. Lasagna, we don't boil that either. I mostly make fettuccine. With whole grain pasta, it's hard to cut it thin stuff like spaghetti.

I just use flour and water for my pasta dough. I put flour in a huge bowl and add water little by little, while stirring with a flat wood spoon. I just add however much water it needs to make a dough. I knead it by hand, maybe 4 or 5 "shoves" until it's a nice texture and then do the rest of the kneading with the pasta machine.

 

[Addie]

I have one of those tall storage jars for pasta. It is always full of homemade dried noodles. I have a very large clothing drying rack that folds up flat. Perfect for hanging and drying pasta. If I roll the dough out to a certain length and then hang it evenly over the rack, the noodles break at the fold and fit perfectly into the jar. I have it down to a science.

If I am going to be storing them, then I only use olive oil, flour and water. No eggs. But if I am going to using them for that meal that day, then I will add an egg.

 

[taxlady]

I have one of those tall storage jars for pasta. It is always full of homemade dried noodles. I have a very large clothing drying rack that folds up flat. Perfect for hanging and drying pasta. If I roll the dough out to a certain length and then hang it evenly over the rack, the noodles break at the fold and fit perfectly into the jar. I have it down to a science.

If I am going to be storing them, then I only use olive oil, flour and water. No eggs. But if I am going to using them for that meal that day, then I will add an egg.

What's your trick to keep them from getting curly/wavy as they dry? I use a folding rack too. Have a look at the pix in this post, and see what I mean: http://www.discusscooking.com/forums/f17/pasta-drying-problem-69159.html#post950791

 

[Addie]

I don't have my strands as long as yours. Mine are less than one foot. They fit into those tall mason jar like containers and my strands of pasta fit into that. They do have a slight curve to them though. That is only natural for homemade. And when I am feeling lazy, I don't even hang them. I just make nests with each bunch that comes off the cutter.

 

[taxlady]

I don't have my strands as long as yours. Mine are less than one foot. They fit into those tall mason jar like containers and my strands of pasta fit into that. They do have a slight curve to them though. That is only natural for homemade. And when I am feeling lazy, I don't even hang them. I just make nests with each bunch that comes off the cutter.

Are there any tricks to making the nests so the strands don't stick to each other? Do you sprinkle them with flour?

 

[Addie]

Are there any tricks to making the nests so the strands don't stick to each other? Do you sprinkle them with flour?

I do. Then when they are dry, the flour just falls off. Place the nests on "impeccably clean" dishtowels, as Julia would say. The cloth silently helps to wick away the moisture and they dry faster.

 

[taxlady]

Thanks Addie, I'll give the nests a try.

 

[Addie]

Thanks Addie, I'll give the nests a try.

Glad to be of help. Anytime.

 

[CharlieD]

If I make some pasta and if I have some leftovers I simply put them in the fridge and try to use with in a week or less. I've never made so much that I would need to store it. Sorry no help here. But it just tastes better fresh. Dry one, to me tastes just like store bought. So I do not like to dry it.

 

[Cronker]

Pretty much what everyone has said above.
I sometimes freeze a ball of dough, about the size of a tennis ball is right for me, feeding two/four people.
I have a Mercato drying rack that sits on the counter for hanging noodles. Dry for about half hour after going through the machine, then into the fridge in a container till ready to cook.
I also have supermarket dried pasta in the cupboard for when I don't have time to make my own, but it's so simple that I hardly ever use bought dried pasta.

 

[Addie]

I bought my attachment for pasta making for my KA when it was $24.99. I have been using it for years. The same goes for my meat grinder.

As the pasta is coming off the cutter, grab it all and let it fall as the piece of pasta comes to an end. Grab the other end and wrap it around your hand. Voila, you have your nest. I don't make my solid sheet of dough too long. Once you get it started, if it is too long, then you still need two hands to feed it into the cutters and cannot divert your attention to when it is coming off the cutters. I also have something at the beginning such as a large box like saltines standing on end, sitting there so I can rest the dough on that as it is going into and through the feeder. I cover the box with one of my pastry towels and generously flour it. The sheet of dough is now higher than the feeding part and can fall into the feeder without any assistance. A lot of times in you leave the dough hanging to feed itself through the cutters, it will break off in the middle. And you are left holding some very short strands of pasta.

One of the benefits of having a manual pasta cutter vs. one for your KA, is that you can go at your own pace when cutting it. I am fortunate in that I have the counter space to do all this. But I still have to work with the speed of the KA even though it is on as low as it can go.

And I have to agree with Charlie. Fresh dough is so much better than letting it dry to be used later. But sometimes we all get carried away in our enthusiasm.