Pasta Dough Cooking Recipe
Here is the basic recipe for fresh pasta dough made with eggs. All the different pasta shapes can be cut from rolled-out sheets of this dough. Flavorings and/or colorings of your choice can be added to this basic dough.
Serves 4
- Preparation time: 20 minutes
- Resting time: 30 minutes
Ingredients
- 2 cups (7 oz./200 g) bread flour
- 2 medium eggs (1 2/3 oz.-2 oz./53 g-63 g each)
Preparation Method
- Weigh and sift the flour onto a smooth surface, preferably wooden, or into a bowl.
- Make a well in the center of the flour and break the whole eggs into it (with any additional colorings or flavorings).
- Whisk the eggs lightly and gradually incorporate them into the flour using your fingers or a fork.
- Be careful that they do not spill out onto the surface. When all the flour is incorporated, knead the mixture by hand as firmly as possible until it forms a smooth ball. Let rest for 30 minutes, covered in plastic wrap.
To roll the dough by hand.
- Place the dough on a smooth, floured surface, preferably made of wood.
- Roll the dough from the center outward using a wooden rolling pin.
- Turn the dough by 90 degrees, and turn it over, frequently. Flour the work surface if there is a risk of the dough sticking (but not too much as the dough can crack).
- Continue until you have a very thin, evenly rolled sheet that you can almost see through. You can then cut it into the shapes required.
To roll the dough with a pasta machine.
- Divide the dough into several pieces and pass them through the pasta machine, decreasing the thickness with each roll.
- For the first and second rolls, pass the dough through twice on the same setting. Cut the dough to the required shape.
Tagliatelle Cooking Recipe
The word tagliatella comes from the verb tagliare meaning “to cut” in Italian. The precise width for Bolognese tagliatelle is V3 in. (8 mm).
Serves 4
- Preparation time: 20 minutes
- Drying time: 15 minutes
- Cooking time: 2 minutes
Ingredients
- 10 oz. (300 g) pasta dough (basic recipe, see left)
Cooking Method
To cut the dough by hand.
- Place the sheets of pasta on the counter and roll them up lengthwise.
- Cut these rolls with a knife at 1/3 in. (8 mm) intervals to make tagliatelle.
- Unroll each one and sprinkle it with flour. Hang the tagliatelle on a drying rack or place on a floured dish towel to dry.
To cut the dough with a pasta machine.
- When the sheets have dried a little (10 to 15 minutes) and become slightly brittle, cut them into tagliatelle or tagliolini using the appropriate attachment on the pasta machine.
- Sprinkle the pasta strands with flour and hang on a drying rack or place on a floured dish towel to dry.
Cook the tagliatelle for 1 to 2 minutes in a large quantity of boiling water, then drain.
Chef’s note
- The ideal accompaniment for tagliatelle is ragu (Bolognese sauce), in keeping with Bolognese tradition (see p. 52). You can also prepare pappardelle by cutting the dough by hand to a width of about 1 in. (2.5-3 cm).
Did you know?
- A strand of tagliatelle, made of gold and with its correct measurements codified, is displayed in a case at Bologna’s Chamber of Commerce.
