Fresh Pasta

As many of my subsequent recipes will contain pasta, today I will post my standard pasta making technique and recipe.

Standard Pasta
8 oz double-zero flour (you can substitute all purpose)
3 extra large eggs
Pinch of salt

Note: This recipe is for the altitude in Boulder Colorado at 5430 feet above sea level. for sea level pasta use 7 oz flour and 2 eggs.

Make a pile of the flour on your board. Make a well in the flour. Add the eggs and salt into the well, and beat the eggs, slowly incorporating the flour from the edge of the well.

When the dough becomes too thick to work with a fork, start kneading with your hands and helping with a bench scraper.

After the dough is one smooth ball, knead with your hands for about 5 minutes or until the dough is reasonably firm. Let the dough rest in a bowl covered with plastic wrap for at least a half hour before rolling.

This whole process can be done in a kitchen mixer with a dough hook.

To roll the pasta, either use a giant rolling pin called a matarello or a pasta machine. If using a machine fold the dough with flour at least 10 times before taking it down to it's final thickness. As every machine has different numbers, roll the dough to a thinness so you can see the wood grain of the table through the sheet of pasta.

Dry and cut according to the instructions in the recipe.