Bernie

I mean does anyone make their own types of pasta (spaghetti, fettuccine, linguini, tortellini etc) at home?

What is your recipe?

4IGS2000

I put together my own pasta meals.
I dont make the actual pasta noodles. Ronco is a famous pasta maker machine that is very easy from the what info commercial says. I just dont have the time to make the noodles from scratch. Good off the shelf noodles are Barrilla. They cook very well.
Also, i really like Monterey Pasta Companies sauces. They are little expensive but the taste is great!

Otter

I do. The recipe is simple. Enriched white flour and eggs and a pinch of kosher salt. The hard part is making it right.

I make them on a Formica counter. Make a volcano of flour and put some egg in the middle. Mix the flour and egg with your hands. The consistency you are looking for is a doughy, but not real wet consistency. Knead for 10 minutes or so. The dough should have a satin like finish. The satin finish changes a while into the kneading. After the loose flour is mixed in and the consistency is right, I knead it in my hands in front of the TV.

After the kneading is done, start rolling with a rolling pin. I like the solid pins (just a single wood cylinder). Make sure you put flour down so it doesn't stick. I roll the dough until it is 1/8" or so. I then cut it into about 4" wide strips and continue rolling each strip until you can just see text through it, if you put a magazine behind it. You don't need to be able to read clearly, just see the text shapes roughly. After it is all rolled out, I use a pizza cutter to cut it into strips ~1/8" wide. Let the noodles sit for 20-30 minutes hanging before cooking.

To cook, put in boiling water with kosher salt and olive oil for two minutes.

I find the difference between fresh and dried pasta to be huge. With fresh pasta, I don't use nearly as much sauce (if any), because the pasta itself tastes good.

I think the shapes are just the shapes. Fettuccine is any easy shape to make.

Bernie

That's great, Otter.
The recipe I use is almost exactly the same except I use Durham flour. What is enriched white flour?

Otter

I think that's just the normal white flour that you see at the grocery store. So what is the difference that you get when you use Durham? Also, where do you get it?

Bernie

It's the Italian flour that is specifically for making pasta. I've done comparisons with normal flour before and it is better. I find that it produces a more "stretchy" pasta with a bit more bounce in it.

I get it in our specialist gourmet food shops. We call them Delis (delicatessen) here. Only a few shops stock it but of course, I live in a pretty small city.

You can probably buy anything in California in comparison to here!

I knead the flour for about fifteen mnutes and then I let it sit for about 30 to 45 minutes (wrapped in cling wrap). I don't know why I do this other than this was the way I was taught. I have a pasta machine so I don't need to use a rolling pin but I do do that occasionally as I find that it's great for making a heavier, coarser tagliatelle.

You also make the best ravioli pasta this way too.

Do you ever make the fancier flavoured pastas like beetroot or spinach?

Otter

I'll have to take a look for Durham flour. Sounds interesting. I tried whole wheat flour once. It's ended up a bit like normal noodles with shredded cardboard added for texture. Not recommended.

I heard that rolling pins give a better texture, and I'm going to stick with that because I'm cheap.

I've tried raviolis with the same, and I agree, it's the best.

I never flavor it more than some Basil or similar. Do you just add some of whatever flavor you are looking for when kneading until you like it?

Bernie

I thought I would look up for some more bright ideas before starting to make some pasta but it looks like we are the only two who are really keen pasta makers here!

I've never made flavoured pasta before because I don't really know how to make it! I think that with freshly made pasta, the plainer the better because it taste soo goos simply made.

I've made pasta with both the rolling pin and the machine. I use the rolling pin when I am making it just for one (me!) or if I'm making ravioli. I can't establish any discernible difference in taste. Its all good!

I'm off to make some pasta now!

Flayer

sounds yummy. I love fresh pasta over pre-made packaged pasta.... there's a difference that is hard to describe, but is definitely there. I agree with the comment about fresh pasta needing less sauce though.

Anyways, I don't make my own pasta... yet. But, I'm probably going to start one of these days. As for the rolling pin vs. pasta machine use, I think it just depends on how consistent you can make the pasta thickness. I know sometimes I might get lazy and wind up with pasta that's not quite as uniform as a pasta machine could make.

Bernie

dear oh dear. It wasn't a disaster but boy, it was close. At the point I put the pasta in to cook, the door bell rang. I had to rush to open it and then rush back and it that time, it went past the al dente stage. The pasta as overcooked by about thirty seconds which might not sound much but it is for angel hair pasta. After going to all the effort as well.....

For anyone who is making pasta for the first time, just remember that it cooks so fast, it's unbelievable. The angel hair cooks in about 30 seconds, spaghetti in a minute, fettuccini in about 90 seconds. You got the quick otherwise it's a waste of all that effort.

You should try it, Flayer. Once you've done it a couple of times, you never bother buying the fresh pasta again. It's fun too but it sure needs some elbow power!