In this page you'll be able to learn how to make homemade egg pasta.
The amount of every ingredient may vary in the different recipes. Read the recipe instructions very well before beginning to make pasta dough.

Making egg pasta by hand

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1		Put the flour on a pastry board or on a work surface. Add a pinch of salt and stir to blend. Make a large well in the centre and add all the eggs.
2		Beat the eggs with a fork in order to amalgamate them very well.
3		Begin mixing the flour with the eggs gathering the white flour from the edge of the well with the fork. Remember to beat continuously.
4		Keep on mixing the flour with the eggs until half the flour is mixed with the eggs. At this point it's difficult to beat all the ingredients with the fork.
5		Now you can keep on working with your fingertips blending more and more flour into the dough. At the end you have an homogeneous dough.
6		If the dough is too soft and sticky, work in a little more flour. On the contrary if it is too tough, add some warm water. Knead the dough for almost ten minutes on the work surface. The dough must be smooth and elastic.
7		Sprinkle the work surface and the dough with some flour, cover the dough with a napkin and let it rest for almost 25-30 minutes or until ready to roll and shape. You can also put the dough in a bowl, cover with a cling film and chill overnight.

Rolling egg pasta by hand

• - When the dough is ready, cut into thirds or quarters. Work with 1 piece at a time but remember to keep the remaining pieces covered.
• - Roll out on lightly floured surface the pasta dough, beginning from the center, to the thickness you've read on the recipe instructions. You have to use a long pasta rolling pin for this. Remember to sprinkle the dough surface with some flour.

Rolling egg pasta by machine

Pasta machine is a good help in kitchen especially if you want to make pasta very often. Generally there are the instructions in the package but here we'd give you some cooking secrets derived from our experience.
Pasta machine helps you not only in rolling but also in cutting egg pasta.
At first you have to set the machine rollers to the widest setting. Sprinkle with flour both rollers and the dough to avoid sticking. Flatten the dough slightly and fold it in thirds or in quarters. Continue rolling and folding several times (8-10 times). Be careful to flour rollers and the dough if necessary.
To flatten and roll the dough, narrow the rollers by one notch. Feed the dough strip through. Now you mustn't fold the strip. Narrow the rollers by one notch and feed the strip through again. Keep on with rolling and narrowing the rollers by one notch until the dough strip is thin enough to be cut. Be careful to avoid sticking.
Spread the strip on a lightly floured work surface and sprinkle with flour. Let dry for 15-20 minutes in order to avoid sticking in the next steps.
If you want more details look at the video on our blog we posted on Thursday, March 25th, 2010. We made this video to show a step in making Bolognese lasagna: how to roll and cut green pasta

How to cut tagliatelle by hand

• - Roll up dough (be careful! you have to sprinkle flour on the surface of the dough before rolling up) and cut crossways:
  • fettuccine: 0,3 cm (1/8in)
  • tagliatelle: 0,5 cm (1/4in)
  • pappardelle: 1 cm (1/2in)
• - Unroll the noodles, spread on a clean towel and sprinkle with a little flour or semolina. It is important to avoid sticking while the pasta is drying. You can use a large surface or chair backs.
• - Let dry for 2-3 hours before cooking.

How to cut tagliatelle by machine.

• It's very easy. In this case every strip has to be 1 meter long.
• - Sprinkle flour over a large tray and set it under the machine.
• - Set the cutting roller according to the type of pasta (fettuccine, tagliatelle, pappardelle).
• - Feed the dough strip through and let the tagliatelle fall on to the tray.
• - Dust the noodles with flour or semolina and let dry for 2-3 hours before cooking.

How to cut lasagne (lasagna) and/or cannelloni (manicotti)

Cutting lasagne is very easy too. In this case you have to cut a long dough strip (1 m) into 25 x 30 cm (10 x 12in) rectangles.
For cannelloni the rectangles must be 7,5 x 12,5 (3 x 5in). Let dry for 2-3 hours before cooking.

How to make filled pasta

If you want to make filled pasta, cut the shapes immediately. The shapes of ravioli, agnolotti, tortelli, and tortellini, are very different ( fresh pasta recipes).

• - Prepare the filling; about 450 g (1lb) stuffing will fill 25-30 shapes but this depends on specific recipe.
• - Roll the pasta extra thin, at least 0,2 cm (1/8in); cut into large rectangular strip.
• - Lay a dough strip on a lightly floured surface and cut crossways in half.
• - On to one half, drop 1/2 teaspoon of the filling in vertical rows about 4 cm (1 1/2 in) apart.
• - Dip a pastry brush or your fingers sparingly in water and moisten the pasta dough round the filling.
• - Lay the other half of the dough strip on top.
• - Press the dough sheets together between the mounds of filling.
• - Using a pasta wheel, cut vertical and then horizontal lines between the filled squared.
• - Transfer to a floured tea towel and rest for 1 hour.
• - You can store up to 1 day, if refrigerated.
• - Be careful to avoid sticking.