Comments on: Preparing perfect pasta

By: pastamaniac

pastamaniac — Fri, 27 Aug 2010 02:33:38 +0000

What an excellent tutorial. Great pics, too, btw. We make pasta in bulk and dry it to preserve it for later. Frozen is good, and fresh is better. But with drying you can preserve for longer for less!

I salute PJ for the wonderful photography as well as MJ for answering my questions about blogging. What a nurturing and supportive work place! Irene @ KAF

By: Jim

Jim — Sun, 13 Dec 2009 21:17:38 +0000

I’ve also tried adding a bit of cake flour, I dont know if that was mentioned above. I always add a bit of olive oil as well. When cooking large amounts of pasta (for 5 or more) I try to cut up my batches so I can get the right proportion of flour to egg. The only way I found to be 100% accurate is to weigh the flour but not every one has kitchen scales. More so I usually go a bit on the underside of flour and then add more as I work the dough.

Thanks for mentioning letting the dough rest! So many recipes do not call for this very important step.

I would also suggest investing in a proper pasta hanger / dryer if you make pasta a lot. Order online as most cooking stores dont have them.

Also, make sure the water is super boiling… and use a lot of water as well. In my opinion there is never too much water when cooking pasta. I heard once that when the water starts to boil again thats a good begginers guideline for the pasta being done.

My funniest pasta making story was when making homemade pasta for 50 people. I was running the kitchenaid so fast that I started feeding the pasta into the machine before the end had gone through the rollers. So essentially I made a circular endless loop of dough.

Most important, practice, practice, practice. When you get really good you can whiz out pasta in no time.
Thanks for all the hints Jim. It always help to hear from someone who has been there! ~ MaryJane

By: Sue

Sue — Mon, 06 Apr 2009 03:49:53 +0000

I figured when I bought my Imperia hand-cranked pasta roller 20 years ago that I’d either make pasta frequently or the machine would migrate to the back of the cupboard within three months, never to be seen again. I’m pleased to report that I’m still making pasta, with the same Imperia roller. BUT–I’ve always made and kneaded the dough in my KitchenAid mixer, and I’ve always used 100% semolina flour. I use the paddle attachment for the mixer to combine the flour/eggs/salt, then switch to the dough hook. THe pasta dough forms a ball that gets chased around the bowl like a tennis ball by the hook, occasionally getting caught and pressed against the side of the bowl. In 5-7 minutes, it’s kneaded and ready to rest. The final kneading is done by passing the dough through the rollers at widest setting several times.

By: zorra

zorra — Wed, 01 Apr 2009 07:14:55 +0000

@Sharon
You can freeze your pasta without any problem before cooking. If you want to freeze Tagliatelle make nests and put on flat pan that will fit in your freezer. There should be just one layer so they can quickly flash freeze. Place the pasta on the pan in the freezer overnight. They will freeze individually and will not stick together when you place them in a bag for storage.

Regarding cooking time it’s like MaryJane said – it’s just slightly longer.

By: Lee

Lee — Wed, 01 Apr 2009 02:27:25 +0000

For those wanting to use a whole grain flour for pasta I have discovered that Kamut makes the best tasting pasta of all, even better than whole durum wheat. I use a grain mill to mill the Kamut berries to get it fresh.

Also want to say that sage butter recipe works great on spaetzle (is that how you spell it?) which is even easier to make than rolled pasta.

When I freeze pasta I let it dry slightly and then just weigh it out into enough for our family of four and put it into heavy duty freezer bags. When you are ready to use it you don’t have to thaw it, just dump it into the boiling salted water as is like MaryJane said.

By: Sharon

Sharon — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 20:23:37 +0000

We’ve been gradually starting to make things from scratch; we’re now doing bread and tortillas. Pasta was the next thing I wanted to try, so I’m planning on buying the KA pasta machine. I have a Bosch mixer and will try to make a larger batch so I can freeze some. Several people mentioned they freeze their pasta. Do you cook it first and then freeze or before/after it rests? Thanks.
Hi Sharon,
I don’t freeze my pasta, personally, but you would want to freeze it prior to cooking. When you do go to cook it, there is no need to thaw it, just put it into the boiling water as is and cook for a slightly longer time. Anyone else have hints or tips??
~ MaryJane

By: Great-grandma B

Great-grandma B — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 19:21:49 +0000

I have used the pasta machine (Atlas with an added motor) for making Polish Angel Wings (Chrusciki, sorry about the missing diacritical on the “s”). I cut the long ribbon (#5 setting) of dough about 2 inches wide and at about a 45 degree angle to the long side. Cutting at an angle gives the pastry nice pointed ends as opposed to blunt, square ends. Sure beats hand rolling the dough and having a variety of thicknesses. The Mexican salpopitas (Sp?) are similar but of a different shape.

Great-grandma B

By: esgabel

esgabel — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 18:49:41 +0000

Every year my husband and I have Ravioli Day–we make between 300 and 350 ravioli. My grandparents came from Tuscany/Umbria so the filling I use is ground beef, ground pork, chopped spinach, parmesan cheese a bit of garlic, salt an egg or two and plenty of nutmeg. After many years of doing the pasta by hand I make the pasta in my food processor–1/2 AP flour, 1/2 semolina, salt, oil eggs and water — which makes a sturdy dough that can be rolled thin enough to encase the filling without being thick and heavy. I also use the Kitchen Aid Mixer pasta roller attachment. We cut the long sheets into circles of pasta, fill them with a teaspoon of filling and close with water around the edges crimping the half moons with the tines of a fork. We let them dry on both sides for a few hours on tables with newspaper covered by cotten table cloths…then we layer the ravioli with waxed paper sheets in covered containers and freeze. And just take out a few at a time and put in bolling salted water to cook for approximately 10 minutes drain and cover with homemade Bolognese Sauce.

I feel like I am so lucky to have so many baking friends sharing their stories and recipes. We are so lucky to have you all! ~ MaryJane

By: patty

patty — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 18:40:14 +0000

I find it is easier to start mixing on a board with a fork while cupping your other hand to hold the flour walls in place as you start mixing the flour into the eggs. That way you can move your hand around the outside edge and redistribute the flour to help avoid a dam break as you mix.

By: Deb

Deb — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 18:37:18 +0000

Beth,
pasta in the food processor is real easy. Just pulse it until you form a ball. At that point it is likely to set you machine off kilter so finish kneading by hand, and be sure to let the dough rest for at least 30 minutes before you roll it. I use a pasta machine to toll and cut, but I have my grandmothers 3 foot long rolling pin and have a “sound memory” of her rolling out big sheets of dough when I was little and it was my job to spread the past out on sheets to dry!! Oh how fast she could hand cut her dough!! Her dough was wonderfully dry and pliant and she would roll it up around the rolling pin then slide the pin out and slice whatever size she wanted for the next day or two.
I too use KA whole wheat white as my base because I want more fiber.

Thanks Deb for adding your knowledge, and your special pasta story. ~ MaryJane