some recipe add a bit of water?? what a different?? with or without??
Thks

Adding water to pasta dough is often done to ensure it has enough moisture to bind when eggs are the main binding ingredient. Some like a combination of water and egg, even WINE and egg instead of water. A dough with some water will develop a bit more gluten and have a bit more texture than made without.

thanks Tony

I find it using the whole egg makes dough a bit wet!! Is it ok to use just yolk??

Egg yolks can be substituted for whole eggs when making pasta. It just makes the dough richer, due to the fat in the yolks (no fat in the whites). You just need to use enough yolks to bring the dough to the proper consistency. You might find it helpful to watch the lesson on Making Laminated Pasta. Hope this helps. Happy cooking!

thank you

is the pasta machine the only way to thin out the pasta? Can it be done by hand?

Thanks,

By hand requires a special thin and long rolling pin. Even then, the technique is not as simple as just rolling (would require a video, in fact). However, if you are patient, you can thin it out with a regular rolling pin, but would need to roll small amounts, about half a fistful of pasta at a time.

Thats awesome I will research on that. Thanks a lot Tony.

The after-note states the shaped dough can be frozen for up to a month. To cook, would it need to be thawed in the refrigerator or can it be placed into boiling water straight from the freezer?

Hi Melissa. Good question. Cook from frozen. If you thaw, the pasta first, it will likely stick together.

I have had some really exquisite hand made - ravioli at a number of restaurants. They always seem delicate and delicious. I recently tried to make ravioli using the basic pasta dough. I'm not sure what I did wrong but the results were very gummy. Maybe I did not roll the dough out thin enough? I used he second to last setting on my pasta maker. Or perhaps I used the wrong flour? I just used all purpose. There has to be something I'm missing.

I use the same basic pasta dough, I also often use all-purpose flour. I also often roll the pasta out to the last setting (on mine that is a 9).

I say try again...practice is what will make you good. If it seemed to thick, roll it thinner next time.

Good luck!

as I knead the dough, after a few minutes it looks like the dough is tearing? Should I stop at that point?

Sounds like the dough is a bit dry. One way to remedy this is to wrap the dough with a damp warm cloth and rest for about 30 minutes. It should hydrate. At this point don't knead anymore, simply run through your pasta machine.

The right pasta dough is tricky and requires a bit of experience. Your instinct to stop was correct. At the same time let the dough tell you what it needs: moisture or flour. And rest is always welcomed.

Ever since I've started making fresh pasta, I haven't gone back to store bought pasta. I love it and in fact have given lots of pasta out to friends & family (I tell them, "you've got to try it"). Just wondering, 1. If I give fresh pasta to friends, can it be stored in the fridge for a couple of days if it has enough flour on it? 2. When using fresh pasta for lasagna noodles, do I need to cook the noodles first, or can the fresh pasta sheets be layered in the lasagna and then cook the lasanga?

Thanks so much!

Sorry, I knew I had one more question.... Besides freezing the fresh pasta, are there any other ways fresh pasta can be stored? (ie. drying it?)

I think that's it. Thanks

Fresh pasta won't store well for more than 3 days..will start to ferment. It can be frozen, but can also develop off flavors from the freezer and clump. Drying fresh pasta defeats the purpose of making it fresh...it does not produce cook to the same texture. It's okay to dry it, but I think not worth more than commercially dried pasta unless making it with special flours and/or flavors. Fresh pasta is one of those things you make when you want a special plate of pasta.

I always cook my sheets when making lasagna. It results in a less gummy pasta and really, really makes a difference.

Tony, that brings up the question--how long do you cook your pasta sheets? I did not precook my noodles when I made lasagna and it was fine. I'm assuming you boil them in salted water for just a few minutes?

You are correct. Cook the noodles in boiling salted water until done. Depending on the thickness of the noodles the cooking time can vary - see step 7 of this recipe for an example. Cheers!

What are your thoughts on semolina flour? You don't call for it, but isn't that the classic pasta flour? Does it need to be a certain grind? How does that affect the ratio of liquid? Is olive oil a good addition as part of the liquid?

Semolina is the classic pasta flour for machine extruded pasta, not necessarily for hand-made pasta.

Semolina is much harder and coarser than flour, so will produce a more textured pasta - good for cut pasta, not so good for sheet pasta to make cannelloni, ravioli, tortellini, etc.

Adding olive oil makes the dough more brittle cutting into the gluten - again, good for cut pasta, not so good for sheet pasta which will crack more easily.

I made this recipe the other night and the dough came out quite wet. I had to add quite a bit of flour to get to the right consistency. I used large eggs - but it's possible they were on the bigger side of large. Isn't the classic ratio for this recipe one cup of flour to one egg?

Good to trust your instincts. You were correct to add flour to get the proper consistency. It doesn't matter how many eggs you use...you could use all yolks if you wanted for a richer dough. Also, everyone will measure flour differently...some pack it, some don't...some days it is humid, some days it is not (which will affect the amount of flour you will need). The point is to add just enough flour to obtain the proper consistency. Cheers!

I've been making my dough by hand for a long time, but the lesson showing how to make pasta in the food processor was a breakthru! This is such a time saver and the dough is perfect every time.

I have found that my ravioli is best when rolled to thickness #6. Don't let the sheets dry! Fill and cut as soon as it's rolled and cook immediately. I've tried it thinner (all the way to #9) but it tended to break apart. Flat noodles on #7. I use the Atlas machine (doesn't everyone?)