Handmade Pasta
You don’t need fancy equipment to make homemade pasta. This recipe is made completely by hand!
Have you ever had homemade pasta? Like real freshly made pasta noodles? You can’t even compare it to the dry stuff we get from the grocery store. It’s in a league of its own.
If you think you can’t make it at home because it’s intimidating or because you don’t have a pasta machine or maker, I’m going to show you how you’re wrong. You can make pasta easily in your own home with very basic ingredients.
It starts with eggs and flour, with a little bit of salt and water too. You can make the dough in a food processor or with a stand mixer, but I like to mix it by hand. Use a fork and slowly start incorporating the flour and salt into the eggs and water in the center. As the mixture comes together, use your hands to shape it into a ball.
Portion the dough into four pieces and let rest for an hour. This will give the gluten time to relax, making it easier to roll out.
Next, roll each portion out individually. Keep rolling and rolling till you think you can’t roll any more. You want the dough to be very, very thin (even thinner than you see mine here). If you can almost see through it, you’re doing a good job.
Use a knife or rolling slicer to cut the dough into long strands. Or use the dough to make ravioli or another kind of filled pasta.
And there you have it, homemade noodles! Cook the pasta in generously salted boiling water for just a few minutes, and serve it up however you like it. This particular batch was tossed in a cream sauce with mushrooms and peas. A simple weeknight meal, but with a little something extra thanks to the homemade noodles.
Still trying to figure out your dinner plans for tonight? Well, I think I’ve got you covered.
Handmade Pasta
Ingredients
- 3 cups all-purpose flour (372 grams)
- 4 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon coarse salt (4 grams)
- 2-3 tablespoons water
Instructions
- In a large bowl, combine the flour and salt. Dump out onto a clean surface into a mound and create a large well in the middle. Put the eggs and water into the well. Using a fork, slowly start stirring the edges of the flour into the eggs. Continue to stir the flour together with the eggs until a dough begins to form and you can gather it into a ball, using your hands if necessary.
- After the dough is shaped into a ball, cut it into 4 equal pieces. Cover with plastic wrap and let rest for one hour.
- Working with each piece separately, roll out on a floured surface until very thin. You want the dough to be as thin as possible, almost so that you can see through it. Use additional flour and a bench scraper to ensure the dough doesn’t stick to the surface.
- Cut the dough into ¼ inch strips. Using floured hands, gather strips of pasta into a nest and let rest for about 20 minutes to dry out. Cook in salted boiling water for 4-5 minutes. Serve as desired.
Notes
I really want this year to be the year I finally do this! Thanks for the reminder and easy recipe!
It has been a very long time since I’ve made pasta, but I love the process (and the feel of the dough). I even have the Kitchenaid pasta attachment, so I don’t know what I’m waiting for. You’ve inspired me to pull it out! Lovely photos, by the way.
Since I got a pasta maker for my birthday, we only eat homemade pasta. And it’s so much better than the dried stuff! Before I got the machine, I tried rolling it out and cutting it myself, but it was always too thick. I could never get it thin enough. But it was super tasty.
I really like your pictures. 🙂
Yes, handmade pasta is the BEST ~ once you make this, you won’t go back. Ever. Thin, homemade noodles cook up very, very quickly, which is great for a pasta bar. Each person can choose their style of noodle, pick up a pile and stir it in some boiling water and top as they desire.
What a great idea!
Wow well done..wat a great job..
When I was a kid my mom made Chicken and Noodles with homemade noodles, and you’re right, the homemade noodles are amazing.
Hi! I saw the picture on ts, just an advice from an italian appossionate foodie, your tagliatelle should be thinner, let’s say they should be half in thickness! (hope grammar was correct).
have a nice day!
Federica
Thanks Federica! You can read in my post that I advise my readers to roll out the pasta much more thinner than I actually did. I guess I got a little lazy this time.
Ok, this looks like what my mother used to make. She did not own a pasta machine. I keep reading about semolina and 00 flour that I am not familiar with. I would like to try this. Can I make a half recipe or can these be frozen. I am looking for small batch recipes?
JUMMY!!!
Looks sooo “köstlich”
I wanna do this too! Thank you for this recipe, I love your blog!
Best wishes from germany,
jule ♥
SO much easier than I thought!
I can’t wait to make this!
Thank you for posting this! This is the kick in the butt I’ve been needing to motivate me to make my own pasta!
I’ve never made homemade pasta OR homemade donuts. They are both on my list now! Thanks for the great posts!!
I’ve always used the excuse that I need a pasta maker, but I guess I can’t use that excuse anymore. I bet this is amazing!!
Thanks for such clear directions, i will be attempting my first home-made pasta tonight cheers Lis
After you roll it out, roll it up and slice it that way. Its a whole lot easier than using a pizza cutter. You’ll have little round strands of pasta that you can freeze if you like and place into the boiling water.
Can these be frozen??
How long can you keep the dough before it goes bad?