Author Topic: Making your own pasta  (Read 18291 times)

Offline lowspark

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Making your own pasta
« on: November 28, 2018, 02:51:47 pm »
Over Thanksgiving weekend we got on the topic of making your own pasta and decided to do it one night. We did two different methods:

- By hand, cracking the egg into a flour well and mixing/kneading
- Using the KitchenAid mixer

We then refrigerated both doughs for a while, then rolled out and cut into fettuccine noodles.

It was a fun activity and the noodles were really good. But the rolling out part, that was not as much fun. It was just so hard to get the dough as thin as it needed to be.

I'm considering buying a pasta roller because I'd like to do this again. However the KA attachment is $$$ expensive and I really don't know if I'll use it THAT many times.

Will you share your ideas and tales of experience making pasta?
Houston 
Texas 
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Offline Lynn2000

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Re: Making your own pasta
« Reply #1 on: November 28, 2018, 05:00:19 pm »
Based on my extensive experience of watching cooking shows  ;D if you are a cook/baker type of person, you may find yourself using the pasta roller for other things, like various doughs that need to be a certain thickness, or fondant if you're into cake decorating. So keep that in mind.

guest277

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Re: Making your own pasta
« Reply #2 on: November 28, 2018, 05:17:24 pm »
I don't know about prices, but I've seen a lot of the television shows where the cook uses a hand cranked pasta roller. I imagine it would be very difficult to roll the dough thin enough without a device of some sort made for that purpose.

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Re: Making your own pasta
« Reply #3 on: November 28, 2018, 06:38:22 pm »
I went to a party once where we made our own pasta for dinner with a hand-crank roller. It was a lot of fun, but we had a whole group of people participating and taking turns. I think the appeal would wear off pretty quickly if it was just our family making a meal.

I have made homemade gnocchi and ravioli. They don't need to be as thin as noodles, so it was much easier. I've also done pasta "rags", where you tear it into irregular strips. It's easier to roll thin if you let it rest at room temp and if you use very small sections at a time.

I want to try hand-stretching ramen noodles!

Offline Crispycritter

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Re: Making your own pasta
« Reply #4 on: November 28, 2018, 08:42:49 pm »
I have made pasta many times!  My pasta roller is from the thrift store - after Christmas there just may be a few donated in your area!!  Go check - it is worth it.

First of all - my disclaimer, I am completely self taught and my pasta is not perfect, but it is a lot better than the dried imo.

After you make the dough (just beat an egg slightly, add it a little olive oil and a bit of salt to the flour until you get a dough), it is important to then rest the dough so that the gluten can form.  I give it about a half hour.  Then I cut it into pieces, roll them in flour and begin to crank it through the machine, getting thinner and thinner as I go. 

Homemade lasagna noodles are the best thing I make, but the spaghetti and also good. 

Offline STiG

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Re: Making your own pasta
« Reply #5 on: November 29, 2018, 07:35:33 am »
I have a Ron Popeil pasta machine.  Remember him and the informercials?  ;D  It actually works quite well, as long as you have the consistency of the dough correct.  It extrudes the pasta, already formed, depending on which die you use on the front of the machine.

A friend has the old fashioned stainless steel hand-roller and says it works quite well.  I make crockpot lasagna and the dried noodles don't fit very well in the crock.  So if I started making my own noodles, I could cut them to fit more easily.  It would probably turn out really well!

I've been considering purchasing the Kitchenaid attachment.  My MIL always gives me money for Christmas so I may tuck that away and watch for a sale then pick one up.

Offline lowspark

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Re: Making your own pasta
« Reply #6 on: November 29, 2018, 10:04:25 am »
I have made pasta many times!  My pasta roller is from the thrift store - after Christmas there just may be a few donated in your area!!  Go check - it is worth it.

First of all - my disclaimer, I am completely self taught and my pasta is not perfect, but it is a lot better than the dried imo.

After you make the dough (just beat an egg slightly, add it a little olive oil and a bit of salt to the flour until you get a dough), it is important to then rest the dough so that the gluten can form.  I give it about a half hour.  Then I cut it into pieces, roll them in flour and begin to crank it through the machine, getting thinner and thinner as I go. 

Homemade lasagna noodles are the best thing I make, but the spaghetti and also good.

Do you let it rest at room temperature?
Great idea about looking at thrift stores! I'm going to start looking right away.
Houston 
Texas 
USA 

Offline lowspark

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Re: Making your own pasta
« Reply #7 on: November 29, 2018, 10:13:06 am »
Based on my extensive experience of watching cooking shows  ;D if you are a cook/baker type of person, you may find yourself using the pasta roller for other things, like various doughs that need to be a certain thickness, or fondant if you're into cake decorating. So keep that in mind.

Good tip! I actually don't make homemade dough anymore really, for the very reason that I hate rolling it out. I wonder if I could use it for pie dough.

I have a wonderful recipe for cheese bars which my mother used to make when I was growing up. They are essentially a cheese mixture surrounded by an upper and lower crust. The recipe is very simple, but you have to roll the dough (similar to a pie crust dough) to very thin, so I never make them anymore. 
Houston 
Texas 
USA 

Offline Lynn2000

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Re: Making your own pasta
« Reply #8 on: November 29, 2018, 11:46:05 am »
Based on my extensive experience of watching cooking shows  ;D if you are a cook/baker type of person, you may find yourself using the pasta roller for other things, like various doughs that need to be a certain thickness, or fondant if you're into cake decorating. So keep that in mind.

Good tip! I actually don't make homemade dough anymore really, for the very reason that I hate rolling it out. I wonder if I could use it for pie dough.

I have a wonderful recipe for cheese bars which my mother used to make when I was growing up. They are essentially a cheese mixture surrounded by an upper and lower crust. The recipe is very simple, but you have to roll the dough (similar to a pie crust dough) to very thin, so I never make them anymore.

I've seen people use it for phyllo dough, which has to be extremely thin, and also for cookie dough for cut-out cookies, when they knew they wanted it a certain thickness.

So it seems like it would be fine, if it was okay that the dough came out in strips the width of the roller. If you needed one seamless piece the size of a pie plate, I don't think the usual pasta roller would work, as the ones I see on TV are maybe 6 inches wide?

Offline lowspark

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Re: Making your own pasta
« Reply #9 on: November 29, 2018, 12:21:47 pm »
I think I could work around the width issue. I'm not looking for perfect, just easy.  ;D So a seam wouldn't bother me. Making it almost invisible might not be impossible, and anyway, easier than rolling it all out!
Houston 
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Offline Crispycritter

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Re: Making your own pasta
« Reply #10 on: November 29, 2018, 07:12:57 pm »
I have made pasta many times!  My pasta roller is from the thrift store - after Christmas there just may be a few donated in your area!!  Go check - it is worth it.

First of all - my disclaimer, I am completely self taught and my pasta is not perfect, but it is a lot better than the dried imo.

After you make the dough (just beat an egg slightly, add it a little olive oil and a bit of salt to the flour until you get a dough), it is important to then rest the dough so that the gluten can form.  I give it about a half hour.  Then I cut it into pieces, roll them in flour and begin to crank it through the machine, getting thinner and thinner as I go. 

Homemade lasagna noodles are the best thing I make, but the spaghetti and also good.

Do you let it rest at room temperature?
Great idea about looking at thrift stores! I'm going to start looking right away.

Yes, at room temperature since it is only a half an hour.  If you are going to rest it longer, then I would refrigerate it.  My pasta roller is the steel type that hand cranks and is nothing fancy - and yet it is still a lot of fun to use! 

Offline Crispycritter

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Re: Making your own pasta
« Reply #11 on: November 29, 2018, 07:16:18 pm »
Based on my extensive experience of watching cooking shows  ;D if you are a cook/baker type of person, you may find yourself using the pasta roller for other things, like various doughs that need to be a certain thickness, or fondant if you're into cake decorating. So keep that in mind.

Good tip! I actually don't make homemade dough anymore really, for the very reason that I hate rolling it out. I wonder if I could use it for pie dough.

I have a wonderful recipe for cheese bars which my mother used to make when I was growing up. They are essentially a cheese mixture surrounded by an upper and lower crust. The recipe is very simple, but you have to roll the dough (similar to a pie crust dough) to very thin, so I never make them anymore.

Cheesebars?!!  Any chance that you would share the recipe?

Offline lowspark

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Re: Making your own pasta
« Reply #12 on: December 03, 2018, 09:26:09 am »
I have made pasta many times!  My pasta roller is from the thrift store - after Christmas there just may be a few donated in your area!!  Go check - it is worth it.

First of all - my disclaimer, I am completely self taught and my pasta is not perfect, but it is a lot better than the dried imo.

After you make the dough (just beat an egg slightly, add it a little olive oil and a bit of salt to the flour until you get a dough), it is important to then rest the dough so that the gluten can form.  I give it about a half hour.  Then I cut it into pieces, roll them in flour and begin to crank it through the machine, getting thinner and thinner as I go. 

Homemade lasagna noodles are the best thing I make, but the spaghetti and also good.

Do you let it rest at room temperature?
Great idea about looking at thrift stores! I'm going to start looking right away.

Yes, at room temperature since it is only a half an hour.  If you are going to rest it longer, then I would refrigerate it.  My pasta roller is the steel type that hand cranks and is nothing fancy - and yet it is still a lot of fun to use!

Next time I'll definitely go with room temp!
Houston 
Texas 
USA 

Offline lowspark

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Re: Making your own pasta
« Reply #13 on: December 03, 2018, 10:13:54 am »
Based on my extensive experience of watching cooking shows  ;D if you are a cook/baker type of person, you may find yourself using the pasta roller for other things, like various doughs that need to be a certain thickness, or fondant if you're into cake decorating. So keep that in mind.

Good tip! I actually don't make homemade dough anymore really, for the very reason that I hate rolling it out. I wonder if I could use it for pie dough.

I have a wonderful recipe for cheese bars which my mother used to make when I was growing up. They are essentially a cheese mixture surrounded by an upper and lower crust. The recipe is very simple, but you have to roll the dough (similar to a pie crust dough) to very thin, so I never make them anymore.

Cheesebars?!!  Any chance that you would share the recipe?

Sure will. I will post from home as soon as I get a chance.
These are savory, not sweet. Sort of like a cheese pie, as the cheese mixture is surrounded by an upper and lower crust.
Houston 
Texas 
USA