Make it Yourself...Basic Egg Pasta



This is a recipe for basic egg pasta using your electric mixer and pasta rollers, either manual or attachments for your mixer.  It's the one I make regularly for freezing noodles.
Check out this additional pasta information.
Basic Egg Pasta

2 ¾ Cups Flour, All-purpose -- (about 11 1/2 - 12 ounces)
1 Teaspoon Salt
4 Large Eggs -- (about 8 1/2 oz with shell) or 3/4-7/8 cup whole egg
Flour in a shaker or sifter

Yield: 1- 1 1/4 pound fresh pasta

 Place flour and salt in the mixer. Attach the flat paddle and set to stir and mix briefly. Add eggs and mix until dough forms large clumps. Using your hands, form into a ball. It should form without sticking to your hands too much. Add 1 tsp. water or 1 tbsp flour if needed to get the right consistency until the dough comes together.
• Remove beater and attach dough hook. Set to speed 2 and knead 2 minutes until dough forms a firm ball. Slice the dough into 5 equal pieces and flatten. Wrap in WELL FLOURED plastic wrap. LET REST 20 MINUTES. It will be soft and flexible after resting. Keep dough pieces wrapped in plastic wrap until you are ready for each one. You can also turn a bowl over the dough to keep it moist.
• Attach pasta roller and set at 1. Set to speed 4 and roll dough. Run through 5-6 times, folding as you go. Dough should look and feel like chamois. This is to develop gluten so noodles cook al dente.
• Turn the setting to 2 and run through once, without folding. Repeat on setting 3. You can increase the thinness each time to 4 or 5, the optimal thickness for most pasta noodles. Cut in half with a pizza wheel if it becomes too long.
• After rolling, lay them on a floured surface and gently rub with a little flour to keep them from sticking together after cutting or hang from a rack. Cut into 12" long pieces, Let rest 15 to 20 minutes before cutting. Set the speed to 4 and run through the desired cutter. Lay on a baking sheet and sprinkle with flour, tossing to coat, or hang from rack. Can also cut into lasagna sheets or  pappardelle or  ravioli by hand with pasta bike or ravioli stamps or a knife. Do not let the dough dry at all before making ravioli.
• Form into loose nests on the baking sheet and freeze until firm, put in a plastic bag and store up to 6 weeks. Let the  pappardelle (1”-1 ¼” wide noodles) freeze flat on the baking sheet first. Don't thaw before cooking.
• Boil pasta 4-5 minutes, stirring the first 30 seconds. Add 30-60 seconds if frozen. Check for doneness; cook another minute if necessary. The cooked pasta should be firm but not rubbery. Drain and serve.

About 10 servings


Cost 2015:  75¢ per pound - compare that with store-bought fresh or frozen noodles!  However, when I priced this recipe in 2010, it cost just 59¢ a pound.
  • Per Serving : 129 Calories; 2g Fat (13.9% calories from fat); 5g Protein; 22g Carbohydrate; 1g Dietary Fiber; 71mg Cholesterol; 202mg Sodium. Exchanges: 1 1/2 Grain(Starch); 1/2 Lean Meat; 0 Fat.

3 comments:

  1. This is my recipe too, though I usually make a bigger batch, dry and freeze the extra for use later. Much as I love homemade noodles, I just hate making them. My mother always made noodles, I didn't have "store noodles" till I was grown and moved away. I do still buy macaroni products and spaghetti, but it seems like they must be cutting back on the eggs, or doing something different, somehow, because there's been no change to my cooking method but the pasta does not seem to hold it's shape very well anymore. I love being able to be in control of what's in the food that we eat, so I'm considering getting out the pasta extruder machine that I got at a garage sale some time back and trying to make macaroni. But I suppose the same dishes that call for macaroni and spaghetti could be made with noodles, maybe a different texture, but same taste....

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  2. what would be the downfall of using bread flour?

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    1. None that I know of...I use it myself for noodles occasionally...but not everyone has it on hand like bread-bakers do.
      I can honestly say I can't tell the difference whichever one I use although I know they should have more gluten development with bread flour,
      but I don't think it's enough to actually tell.
      If you chose to add whole wheat to your noodles, I would definitely use bread flour to avoid crumbling,
      which is why I don't think I need to get my whole grain from noodles; I dislike most whole wheat pastas because they are crumbly textured.
      That's just a personal decision.

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