Anything homemade from scratch is superior to store bought, that’s a given. If it weren’t, wow, I would have a lot of extra hours in my day! There are certain foods where there is a drastic difference between store bought and homemade, while others are less noticeable. Pasta is one of those night and day foods when it comes to homemade and store bought. This is why I have cut out store bought pasta out of my life.
Homemade pasta is quite possible one of the easiest things to make, and once you get the hang of it, you can really do it quickly. It can be made in less than two minutes with a food processor, then after the resting period, I am able to roll out a pound with a hand crank and cut it in less than ten minutes. That is twelve minutes well spent in my book. I also have a Kitchenaid Pasta Press attachment that allows me to make the round shaped noodles such as rigatoni, macaroni, bucatini, spaghetti, and fusilli.
Below is a very basic pasta recipe, where I show you how to make it in a food processor to expedite the process. Believe it or not, humidity has a pretty significant effect on how much liquid the flour needs, so depending on the day, eggs alone aren’t enough and you may need some water to get the proper consistency. However, I have found that if you are making the dough to put in the pasta press it should be on the drier/crumbly side. This allows it to hold it shape when it’s pushed through the press as opposed to your rigatoni or macaroni falling flat and losing that center hole.
Ingredients
- 2 cups all purpose or semolina flour
- 3 whole eggs
- good pinch of fine sea salt
- 1-2 tablespoons of water (if needed)
** this recipe makes 1 pound of pasta. One and a half batches (1.5 pounds) of fresh pasta substitutes 1 pound of boxed.
Directions
- Add flour and salt to bowl of food processor and give a couple pulses to incorporate. Then, add three whole eggs on top of the flour mixture
2. Pulse flour and egg until just incorporated (don’t let it come together to form a ball!). Feel dough pressed between your fingers. If it feels sticky or wet, add more flour, if it doesn’t hold together, add some water a little at a time. The dough should hold its shape when smoothed between your fingers but not be sticky/wet, or crumbly dry.
4. Let dough rest on the counter for an hour before rolling out. This allows it to relax, and gluten to develop. Don’t skip this step, it’s crucial! After the hour, use the dough as you wish to make delicious pastas. See how I crank my pasta out and flash freeze it so I always have fresh pasta on hand here