Anyone make their own pasta?

[Bettacreek]

I'm curious about this. Any tips, hints, advice or recipes would be welcome!

 

[Ldychef2k]

I did a long time ago, both with a rolling pin and with a pasta machine. I suggest the latter! It's a pretty basic process, but be sure and use semolina flour if it is called for in the recipe- otherwise it really does fall apart. Fresh pasta takes a lot less time to cook than dry.

I used to dry my fettucine over the handle of a clean broom. I finally figured out that said broom did not have to be in the kitchen. It could be outside or in the garage, where sweeping up piles of flour was not a problem.

 

[ToLiveToLaugh]

I've made it a couple times, but I just don't think it's worth it personally. Even with a pasta roller, it's a TON of work. I personally don't think the taste is all that different. And it's easy to find good pasta without a bunch of additives. Even doing fun stuff like adding spinach didn't make it worth it to me. If you're dedicated to the endeavor, though, I've had good results with the recipes from the Joy of Cooking, if you have a copy.

 

[Henrietta23]

I did until going gluten free. I have a handcrank machine. I love it! My favorite was my spinach lasagna noodles. I have a Northern Italian cookbook that I use for the pasta recipes. I've never had bad pasta from it.

 

[SKR8PN]

The Wife makes all of the spinach lasagna noodles here. She will cook a large casserole of it, cut it up into meal sized portions and freeze it for later. She has a hand crank machine and loves using it but we still stockpile a lot of the dried pasta, just because it keeps forever.


Remind me to tell you the story of how The Wife got me to eat spinach.

 

[Dace]

I have mad many a batch of homemade pasta. Once you have done it a few times it really does get easy.

I have used both a pasta machine and a food processor. I have a rolling attachment, so the rolling is easy. If you are interested maybe look for a used pasta roller.

 

[freemotion]

I make pasta as often as I can, but we buy it, too. Well, not a lot, we probably eat pasta once a month, maybe.

If you're goal is to eat the best, cleanest, and most nutritious food available, then making your own is worth it. You can do it with a rolling pin to give it a try, then buy a machine if you think you will make it more often. I have a hand-cranked machine, too, that I have had for....um....decades, and it works great for the small amount we eat.

If you have a stand mixer, you can get an attachment, too.

It is very simple....flour and egg. I use whey and ferment the dough when I make it. Makes it more readily digestible and even more nutritious.

I like to use kamut. You have to handle it carefully, as it is fragile when dry. I just store it, loosely packed, in a glass jar and only make the slightly wider noodles and lasagna noodles since kamut makes such fragile noodles. They are absolutely delicious, tender and mild.

ETA: oh, and I grind the kamut myself and use a food processer to mix the tough, heavy dough.

 

[okiegirl1]

I tried...... it wasn't pretty!

 

[ORChick]

I mix up the dough in the stand mixer, and use my pasta roller to knead the dough, and roll/cut it. I don't make it often, as it is time consuming (though not difficult), but we both love it when I do. Especially in the last couple of years since the advent of chickens! As DH doesn't eat cheese I usually make ravioli, as the commercial stuff usually has cheese in it. But spaghetti/linguine with garlic and herbs in the dough is also a favorite.

 

[Bettacreek]

I saw something on tv where a chef had a thinger with wire on it that he rolled his pasta, then laid the "sheet" on the wires, then rolled over top to cut it perfectly. I could see this being made very easily with dowel rods and thin gage wire. How else can pasta be cut? Just a knife? I know I couldn't do that! The only noodles that I've ever made were pot-pie noodles, and that's a whole 'nother thing. We were camping this weekend and stopped at a general store where they had "gourmet" pastas. I almost bought a pack of roasted bell pepper pasta linguini (which simply sounds all around orgasmic IMO), until I saw the price... $6.99 for only 6oz. Then I thought, well, shoot I can probably MAKE that! And, thus, this thread was born, lol.