The Science of pasta
Making pasta is a fun way to spend an hour in the kitchen, only needs 4 ingredients, and is easy to make by hand, in a stand mixer, or in a food processor (1). Fresh pasta and dried pasta are very different. Dry pasta does not contain eggs (1), which produces pasta that has different textures, tastes, colors compared to freshly made pasta (1). There are a few different combinations of the ingredients listed below, so you might need to try a few to find the taste and texture that you like best!
INGREDIENTS / RECIPE
(1) Flour (see table below), (2) Eggs (Egg yolks are important here because they add color and flavor, and produce silkier noodles, (3) Water (moisture), (4) Fine-grained iodized salt and slightly coarse kosher salt (don’t use coarse sea salt, which will prevent the dough from becoming silky-smooth). Mixing and kneading the dough (until smooth) should take about 10 minutes, then let it rest for at least 30 minutes. Divide the dough into smaller pieces. If you have a pasta maker, follow instructions or if manually, roll out the dough to ¼ inch thickness and cut into desired strips. Then add to boiling water for one to three minutes (typical).
Flour Types
OO - Pasta tends to have a silky texture
Semolina - Slightly rougher texture, better for meatier sauces
All-purpose - Generally okay, but least preferred
References
1.”The Science of Fresh Pasta” retrieved from seriouseasts.com on Jul 27, 2021.
2. “The Best Homemade Pasta You’ll Eat” retrieved from tasty.com on Jul 27, 2021.
