ISO help making homemade pasta

[watermelonman]

I'd like to give homemade pasta a shot tonight. Has anyone got recipes or suggestions for my first shot at this? Also, I have a bread maker that has a dough setting; would it be appropriate to try that in place of kneading by hand?

If all else fails I could simply go with the actual pizza dough.

[lindatooo]

Are you contemplating flat or shaped pasta? Tubes of flat? I don't think Pizza dough is the answer.

[Katie E]

I strongly recommend against using your bread machine to knead the pasta dough. Pasta dough is much firmer than bread dough and I think you would be running a risk of damaging your bread machine.

And as linda has asked, what kind of pasta do you wish to make?

[watermelonman]

Originally Posted by lindatooo

Are you contemplating flat or shaped pasta? Tubes of flat? I don't think Pizza dough is the answer.

Sorry, what I meant to say is that if I was too intimidated, or that this would require more skill or time than I had, I could make a pizza from homemade dough to cover this meal.

As for the pasta, whatever is easiest for a first attempt would be ideal. I'm guessing that would be something flat, like fettucine.

[bullseye]

Originally Posted by watermelonman

Sorry, what I meant to say is that if I was too intimidated, or that this would require more skill or time than I had, I could make a pizza from homemade dough to cover this meal.

As for the pasta, whatever is easiest for a first attempt would be ideal. I'm guessing that would be something flat, like fettucine.

I am not (yet) a pasta maker, but I remember when my sister first began. She would make the "sheets" of pasta to a desired thickness, then tear it into "rags." or irregular shapes that she cooked and combined with the sauce du jour. It was a great hit with the kids, I thought it was very tasty, and it didn't take any advanced skill with the pasta machine.

[college_cook]

Thomas Keller's pasta recipe

The above link courtesy of epicurious.com-

I have Keller's French Laundry book and this recipe for pasta dough is in it. As long as you take your time and don't take shortcuts when incoporating the flour into the eggs, this pasta is the most tender and silky pasta you may ever experience. One of the reviewers on epicurious sums up the recipe well "Don't be intimidated by the size of the recipe- about 75% of it amounts to kneading the dough until your arms hurt.

If you use this recipe I'd reccommend making a triple or even a quadruple batch, because you do spend a long time kneading, and also because this dough freezes very well- that way you don't have to go through the entire process too often. Also, when it comes time to roll your pasta into sheets for whatever shape you decide on, a pasta roller helps ALOT! I don't have one at home, but we make fresh pasta at work sometimes using this recipe and it defintely cuts down on the time you spend with your rolling pin.

[Katie E]

I definitely endorse using a pasta machine/roller to roll the dough. Using a rolling pin is quite a workout, but if you don't have a pasta machine, just take your time and enjoy the process.

Homemade pasta is delicious and all your hard work will be rewarded.

[watermelonman]

A recipe I am seeing is talking about letting it dry overnight. Is it too late to start on this adventure? I have about 5 hours until dinner time.

[college_cook]

I wouldn't let fresh pasta dry overnight. You might want to do that if you were storing it dry for a long time, but letting it dry overnight will make it very hard, just like the stuff you buy in stores.

[Rom]

My mum used to make the pasta and instantly cook it, so u don't need an overnighter unless they specify why