How to make fresh egg pasta

Frankpasta, reference35 Comments

fresh egg pasta

Fresh egg pasta, variously known in Italian as pasta fresca or pasta fatta in casa or pasta all’uovo, is one of the pillars of Italian cookery. Given the poor quality of most store bought fresh pasta—not to mention the price—every would be Italian cook should really learn to make it at home as part of their ‘basic training’. Yes, it’s a multistep process, but once you get the hang of it, it’s really not hard at all. You’ll be rolling out fresh egg pasta to your heart’s content in less than an hour.

I usually make life easy for myself by using my trusty standing mixer to form and knead the pasta dough. Then I use the pasta attachments to roll out and cut the dough into various pasta shapes. That said, there are other methods, as explained below.

Ingredients

An easy to remember rule of thumb is, for each person to use:

  • 1 egg
  • 100g (1 cup) flour

These are just rules of thumb, however. Your actual results will depend on the exact size of the egg, the quality of the flour, even the humidity in the air. So be prepared to adjust as you go along.

To make the rolling and cutting easier later on, you can add a drop of oil to the dough, although purists frown on this.

Directions

Making the dough using a standing mixer

Pour the flour into the mixing bowl with a pinch of salt and the egg(s) and oil if using. Attach the dough paddle (see photo above).

Turn on the mixer mix at slow speed (setting 1 or 2) until the the eggs are well incorporated. The dough may look rather crumbly at this point, but not to worry.

How to make fresh egg pasta


Switch to the dough hook and continue to mix. At first continue at a slow speed, then turn it up a notch to a moderate speed (setting 3 or 4) until the dough sticks to the hook and forms a smooth surfaced, uniform ball, like so:

fresh egg pasta

Ideally, the dough should be pliable but not at all tacky. You may need to make adjustments. If you find the ball is very sticky and wet, add a bit more flour until the dough becomes firmer. If on the other hand dough is too dry to form a ball, add a bit of water.

Using a food processor

You can use more or less the same method for making pasta dough in a normal food processor. Add you ingredients to the processor bowl and pulse until they form a ball, making adjustments if need be as described above.

Hand kneading

You can also form the dough the old-fashioned way, entirely by hand. Pour the flour in a mound on a spianatoia or other dry surface. Make a well in the middle of the flour.

Add your eggs, salt and oil into this well. With a fork, begin to whisk the ingredients in the well, incorporating the flour at the sides of the well little by little.

When the mixture get too dense to mix with your fork, begin to use your hands. Incorporate more and more of the flour until you have a pliable ball of dough.

Place the dough on a pasta board (spianatoia) or other dry surface and knead it by hand for a few minutes until the dough has reached the right consistency, smooth and pliable and yet still firm. (If you find that the dough is too wet, sprinkle it with flour and knead the additional flour into the dough.)

fresh egg pasta
Resting the dough

Allow the dough to rest for 30 minutes wrapped in plastic wrap or a plastic bag. This rest will ‘relax’ the dough and make it much easier to work with. (If you short on time, it is not an absolutely necessary step.)

Rolling out the dough

You can roll out the dough using the pasta roller attachment of your standing mixer, or a hand cranked pasta machine. Begin with the roller set at the widest setting.

Divide the dough into as many pieces as the number of eggs you used. Take one piece and flatten it out with your hand or a rolling pin. Then pass it through the roller, which will turn the dough ball into a rather thick sheet.

Fold this sheet in two and let it go through the roller yet again. If need be, lightly flour it so it doesn’t stick to the roller. Repeat as needed until the pasta has reached a smooth consistency.

When the pasta is smooth, turn the roller to the next, slightly narrower setting. Keep passing the pasta sheet through successively narrower settings, one by one, until you reach the thickness you need for the type of pasta you’re making. Flour as needed to prevent sticking.

Repeat the process with the other pieces of dough, which you will have kept wrapped in plastic so they don’t dry out.

Drying the pasta

For most kinds of pasta, lay out the pasta sheet to dry on a towel or (my preferred method) on a drying rack. The rack will allow air to flow on both sides of the pasta, so it will dry more quickly and evenly. If using a towel, it’s a good idea to turn the sheets over every once and while so they dry evenly.

The pasta is dry enough when it feels ‘leathery’ to the touch but not brittle. You need to use some judgment here. If the pasta isn’t dry enough, the pasta will tend to stick together when you cut the sheet. Pasta that’s too dry, on the other hand, is unworkable. (If you notice that splits are beginning to open on the sides of the pasta sheets, then it is getting too dry. But if you act quickly enough, you can still use the dough.) With some practice (and a few inevitable misfires) recognizing the right degree of dryness will become second-nature.

[NB: For stuffed pastas like ravioli, you do not want to allow the pasta to dry, but rather you need to work the rolled out pasta as quickly as possible. The pasta should remain moist, so that the top and bottom of each pasta ‘pillow’ sticks together.]

Cutting the pasta

Once dried to the right point, pass the pasta sheets through the cutting attachment of your mixer or pasta ‘machine’.

My KitchenAid standing mixer pasta set, as well as most pasta ‘machines’, come with two cutting attachments, one for thin pasta like spaghetti or taglierini and one for ribbon pasta like tagliatelle or fettuccine. (The one for thin pasta will be the roller with cutting blades at narrow intervals looking something like a comb.)

You’ll need to cut other pasta shapes by hand. For lasagne, for example, you can just cut the pasta sheet into lengths of say 15cm (6 inches).

As the pasta sheet passes through the roller, catch the strands of pasta with your open hand and gently hold them up so they do not fold onto each other. Lay the stands out on a floured surface (or back on the rack).

Depending how thick the pasta sheets are, it is possible that some of the strands will stick together. If this happens, then you can just gently pull the strands apart. It’s a bit tedious but not too difficult.

Notes

Specific pasta types

The above are ‘generic’ instructions for making fresh egg pasta, good for just about any shape of egg pasta you’ll want to make.

Refer to the recipes on this blog for specific instructions on how thin to roll out your pasta sheets, and on how wide or narrow to cutt particular types of fresh pasta.

Choosing the right flour

The best kind of flour for making most kinds of fresh egg pasta is “OO”. It is made with a soft wheat (farina di grano tenero) that has been very finely ground and all impurities removed. (In Italy, flours are categorized from “OO” to “O” to 1 and 2, going from the finest to the coarsest.) Farina OO gives the pasta a lovely texture, somewhat firm but not nearly as firm as store-bought pasta.

Farina “OO” is available in many Italian specialty stores, as well as (in the US) online. If you can’t find this kind of flour, regular ‘all purpose’ flour will do. Some cooks use a blend of all purpose and cake/pastry flour to try to approximate the texture of 00. Some cooks use pure pastry flour, which I have never tried but suspect would be too soft. But I have not experimented with alternatives, so I would not want to comment further.

There are other sorts of fresh pasta that require other sorts of flour. Orecchiette, for example, are made with a blend of semolina and all purpose flour. One of my favorite winter pastas, pizzoccheri, are made with a mixture of buckwheat and white flours. Individual recipes on this website will specify the kinds of flour to use. But, unless specified otherwise, you can assume that 00 is the flour you should prefer.

How to Make Fresh Egg Pasta

Ingredients

For each person

  • 1 egg
  • 100g 1 cup flour preferably 00
  • 1-1 drops olive oil optional
  • salt

Instructions

Kneading the dough using a standing mixer

  • Pour the flour into the mixing bowl with a pinch of salt and the egg(s) and oil if using. Attach the dough paddle.
  • Turn on the mixer mix at slow speed (setting 1 or 2) until the the eggs are well incorporated. The dough may look rather crumbly at this point.
  • Switch to the dough hook and continue to mix. At first continue at a slow speed, then turn it up a notch to a moderate speed (setting 3 or 4) until the dough sticks to the hook and forms a smooth surfaced, uniform ball.
  • Ideally, the dough should be pliable but not at all tacky. If you find the ball is very sticky and wet, add a bit more flour until the dough becomes firmer. If on the other hand dough is too dry to form a ball, add a bit of water.

Using a food processor

  • Add you ingredients to the processor bowl and pulse until they form a ball, making adjustments if need be as described above.

Hand kneading

  • Pour the flour in a mound on a spianatoia or other dry surface. Make a well in the middle of the flour. Add your eggs, salt and oil into this well.
  • With a fork, begin to whisk the ingredients in the well, incorporating the flour at the sides of the well little by little.
  • When the mixture get too dense to mix with your fork, begin to use your hands. Incorporate more and more of the flour until you have a pliable ball of dough.
  • Place the dough on a pasta board (spianatoia) or other dry surface and knead it by hand for a few minutes until the dough has reached the right consistency, smooth and pliable and yet still firm.
    (If you find that the dough is too wet, sprinkle it with flour and knead the additional flour into the dough.)

Resting the dough

  • Allow the dough to rest for 30 minutes wrapped in plastic wrap or a plastic bag. This rest will 'relax' the dough and make it much easier to work with.
    (If you short on time, it is not an absolutely necessary step.)

Rolling out the dough

  • You can roll out the dough using the pasta roller attachment of your standing mixer, or a hand cranked pasta machine. Begin with the roller set at the widest setting.
  • Divide the dough into as many pieces as the number of eggs you used. Take one piece and flatten it out with your hand or a rolling pin. Then pass it through the roller, which will turn the dough ball into a rather thick sheet.
  • Fold this sheet in two and let it go through the roller yet again. If need be, lightly flour it so it doesn't stick to the roller. Repeat as needed until the pasta has reached a smooth consistency.
  • When the pasta is smooth, turn the roller to the next, slightly narrower setting. Keep passing the pasta sheet through successively narrower settings, one by one, until you reach the thickness you need for the type of pasta you're making. Flour as needed to prevent sticking.
  • Repeat the process with the other pieces of dough, which you will have kept wrapped in plastic so they don't dry out.

Drying the pasta sheets

  • For most kinds of pasta, lay out the pasta sheet to dry on a towel or (my preferred method) on a drying rack. The rack will allow air to flow on both sides of the pasta, so it will dry more quickly and evenly.
    If using a towel, it's a good idea to turn the sheets over every once and while so they dry evenly.
  • The pasta is dry enough when it feels 'leathery' to the touch but not brittle.
  • NB: For stuffed pastas like ravioli, you do not want to allow the pasta to dry. Rather you need to work as quickly as possible once the pasta is rolled out into sheets. The pasta should remain moist, so that the top and bottom of each pasta 'pillow' sticks together.

Cutting the pasta sheets

  • Once dried to the right point, pass the pasta sheets through the cutting attachment of your mixer or pasta 'machine'.
  • As the pasta sheet passes through the roller, catch the strands of pasta with your open hand and gently hold them up so they do not fold onto each other.
  • Lay the strands out on a floured surface (or back on the rack).
    Depending how thick or wet the pasta sheets are, it is possible that some of the strands will stick together. If this happens, then you can just gently pull the strands apart.

35 Comments on “How to make fresh egg pasta”

  1. I can’t tell you how much happiness your delicious recipes have brought to me and my family. Your recipe-writing skills are outstanding, always seeming to answer my question before it is asked. I know of only two other recipe- writers that I can say that about.

    Soon I will be tackling your fresh pasta recipe, and I’m wondering, what brand and type of flour do you use? I live in America. I understand Italian flours are not processed like those in America, and that your country produces and much better, cleaner flour than my country. Could you give me a brand name and type and a company/vendor where I might purchase it? I would really appreciate it.

    Thank you for your time and help, and, again, for all the delicious recipes you put your heart and soul into on your blog. You are a gift to us all.

    1. Thanks so much, Dizz, for the kinds words! If you look down to the very end of the post you’ll see some detailed guidance on choosing the flour. (I should have used for heading in this post and may fix it now…) But to make a long story short, the best kind of flour is imported Italian OO flour which you can find in some supermarkets or online. It’s sometimes marketed as “pizza flour” since besides pasta you also make pizza dough with it. Otherwise, good old “all purpose” flour will do. Hope this helps! And good luck with your pasta making!

  2. Pingback: Passatelli in brodo - Memorie di Angelina

  3. Pingback: Lasagnette alla cacciatora col pollo (Pasta Cacciatore) - Memorie di Angelina

  4. Frank been following you for some time and enjoy your recipes immensely.
    I recently purchased a Philips pasta extruder, which I am quite happy with its products.
    It is set up to make 300gm or 600 gram batches.
    This is obviously wet pasta.
    I am assuming your recipes call for dried pasta weights or am I wrong?
    I’m trying to correlate my wet to your recipes.
    Any help here?

    1. Yes, unless otherwise indicated, the recipes call for dry, store-bought pasta. Any of the recipes should work just fine with freshly made pasta, but you’ll need to use more fresh pasta than the amount called for in the recipe. I’d up the amount by about 50% and see if that works.

  5. Ciao Frank, i simple want to say thank you. I find your web site the MOST authentic one, for when it comes to true Italian recipes (of course outside Italy). Now that we are all stuck within our home, cooking, and trying new dishes, has becoming even more fun. I used your pasta fresca direction, as well as, pane casereccio one. The bolognose is exactly how i was already doing it myself (except the bacon, which i tried), and many others (pasta fagioli, etc). Thank you for your work and dedication, i truly hope people will realize ore and more than good food is NOT to hard to makie yourself. Ciao PS where is your family come from? i am originally from the outside of napoli, and we had some Fariello in the area … ciao

    1. Thanks so very much for your kind words, Giona! They mean a lot to me. And I couldn’t agree more with your sentiments about good food not being hard to make yourself. That’s a message I try to convey in this blog. I do hope it’s having some small effect… My paternal mother, the eponymous Angelina, was also from Campania, a small town near Benevento. My paternal grandfather, who was a Fariello, was actually from a town near Bari, but I know there are many Fariello family members close to Naples, especially around Salerno.

      1. I was raised in the north east of Napoli suburb, Bacoli to be precise. My family doctor was a Fariello. Now i leave in FLorida, Your blog is fantastic, and i could provide few comments and/or suggestion to multiple recipes you are proposing … but i do not want to annoy you, or your other fans. Feel free to contact me privately. Ciao, thank you for your effort and dedication

  6. Hi Frank,

    I made too much pasta dough. Do you know if I can freeze it? Have made your lasagna alla bolognese and just loved it. Made the pasta today because I’m making the lasagna di carnevale. Your recipes are so good and I love your stories about Sunday family dinners. Thank you for sharing!

    Stephanie

    1. I’m not sure about freezing the dough itself, but when I have some leftover, I make some sort of pasta with it, usually fettuccine, then let it dry. That can you freeze without worries. Thanks so much for your kind words, Stephanie. It means a lot… 🙂 And enjoy your lasagna!

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  8. Hi Frank,
    Just wanted to leave a comment letting you know that this is one of the best articles on making fresh pasta that I have read! So simple and comprehensive…you’ve inspired me to finally give it a try.
    Thank you!

    1. And thank you, Zeynab! What a lovely comment—we’re always delighted when we can inspire you to try new things!

  9. Shirlynn, As mentioned, just a drop—a teaspoon at most. You just want to give the pasta a bit of elasticity. Many people see adding oil at all as “cheating”so you can leave it out if you prefer, but it does make the pasta a bit easier to handle.

  10. It was rather interesting for me to read this post. Thanx for it. I like such topics and anything that is connected to this matter. I definitely want to read a bit more soon.

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  12. I brought mine back over when I moved from Italy, so I don't really know where to find one here. Did a quick Google search for “pasta board” and came up with link: http://www.fantes.com/pastry-boards.html. They call it a pastry board but it seems like the same thing.

    If you know someone who works with wood, I understand that they're actually quite easy to make.

    By the way, I saw in your blog that you roll out your own pasta with a mattarello. I have one too, but only do that when I'm feeling really ambitious–but you're right, the pasta you get is definitely superior. One day I'll blog about making pasta entirely by hand–that's the way Angelina used to do it!

  13. Since you are talking about a spianatoia, do you know where I can buy one in the US? I use an old wooden table but it's not very practical. Maybe I could go to home depot and buy some wooden board? Where did you get yours?

    1. I just got an extra ‘bread board or ‘cutting board’. (the kind that fits into your counters)

  14. I have just discovered your blog, and I have just been given a pasta maker. So perfect timing. And the post was so useful. My first batch was successful – hand cut pappardelle to got with a rich ragu. Gracie.
    Greig

  15. I've tried several times making pasta, but I can't say I've been successful. Your post makes me want to try again! The Julia Child's chicken dish looks great! I recently got her book, and I plan to try this dish, soon!

  16. great post, thanks, I love my new Kitchen pasta attachments! If you don't mind, I may put a link on my latest blog, Fresh From the Sea and Saucy Like Me, since the scallops are served over fresh pasta.

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