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I know I’ve mentioned before how much I love fresh pasta. When the pasta craving hits, it’s never for the boxed stuff. It’s that homemade pasta I want to devour, you know, the kind with actual flavor and texture? Fresh pasta actually tastes like something, so you won’t want to drown out with tons of red sauce. And, it has a real texture that you will want to bite into and savor, it’s not the same old rubbery, limp noodle.
Even without the taste and texture factored in, there’s just something about the simplicity of fresh pasta that I adore. The ingredients are so basic- flour, eggs, salt, oil, and water. Five ingredients, that’s it. (None of which are a 16-syllable chemical you can’t pronounce. Because if you can’t pronounce it, chances are it’s not so good for your body.) In fact, there’s a great probability you already have all of these ingredients waiting at home, just wishing that they could become this delicious dinner.
If you use a stand mixer with the proper attachments, it doesn’t take very long to make pasta and it’s really not that difficult. In fact, I actually find the whole process kind of soothing. Once you get the hang of it, you can relax your mind after a long day and just watch those long sheets of pasta dough pass through the roller. Use this time wisely friends, and meditate on the day that was, and the dinner that will be. Here are the pieces that come in the KitchenAid Pasta attachment set:
From left to right: Pasta roller (this is the heaviest attachment and has a numbered dial), spaghetti pasta cutter, linguine pasta cutter, and brush for cleaning.
You can always make pasta by hand, but skip the gym that day because your arms are going to get a workout from all of the required kneading and rolling. If you use the stand mixer, you will get the results in half the time (hopefully with less frustration) and you’ll still be able to lift things the next day. I realize the steps below look long, but that’s because I wanted you to learn from my mistakes and succeed at this process the first time around. As with all recipes, read through the steps first before beginning this process. So let’s get to it shall we?
Homemade Linguine Pasta
Print recipe
| Serves | 4 |
| Prep time | 2 hours |
| Cook time | 10 minutes |
| Total time | 2 hours, 10 minutes |
| Meal type | Main Dish |
What is better than homemade pasta? Especially linguine. Nothing.
Ingredients
- 1.5 cups all purpose flour (or 00 farina flour, a very fine flour. Or a combination of the both is fine. You will also more flour for shaping and cutting the dough.)
- 1.5 cups semolina flour (find this in your baking aisle. We always use the Bob's Red Mill brand.)
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 4 large eggs
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 tablespoons water
Directions
| 1. |
Combine flours and salt in the bowl of a stand mixer. Create a well in the flour and add the eggs. Attach the dough hook, and turn mixer on to speed 2. Let the flour and eggs mix together. Once a shaggy dough forms (there will be some loose flour in the bowl), turn it all out onto a floured work surface. |  |
| 2. |
Create an indentation in the center of the dough, add the olive oil and water. Hand knead to combine the loose flour into a large dough ball. You may need to add more water or flour if the dough seems too dry or too sticky. (Our dough is more wet than dry when this step is complete.) Cover the dough ball with a damp kitchen towel and let rest for 30 minutes. |  |
| 3. |
Cut dough into 4 equal portions. Take one of the portions and place on a floured work surface. Cover remaining portions of dough with the damp towl until ready to use. (You don't want the dough balls to dry out, or they will be unworkable.) Flour your rolling pin and dough well. Then, use the rolling pin to roll out the dough to 1/4" thickness. |  |
| 4. |
Attach the pasta roller attachment to the stand mixer. Make sure to lock the mixer into place. Rotate the knob on the attachment to setting #1, and turn mixer on to slowest speed. Use your left hand to gently guide your dough through the roller. (If you rolled it out thin enough in step 3 you shouldn't need to apply any force to get the dough through the roller. If you have to force the dough through, chances are you will end up with tears or holes in the dough. You'll want to re-roll it if this happens). Use your right hand to catch the dough as it falls through the roller. Then fold the dough into thirds, gently giving the dough a press to flatten. |  |
| 5. | Repeat step 4, another four times on setting #1. Dough should be smooth, with no holes or tears. If it's not, keep repeating this process until you are satisfied with the texture of the dough. Throughout this step, if dough is too sticky, add flour to both the dough and the top of the roller. Sticky dough will not pass through the roller with ease. | |
| 6. | On the last pass through, do not fold dough into thirds. Instead, keep it flat and change the dial to setting #2. Pass through dough the roller at this setting one time. Throughout this step, if dough is too sticky, add flour to both the dough and the top of the roller. Sticky dough will not pass through the roller with ease. | |
| 7. |
Repeat step six, but increase the dial setting after each pass through, up to setting #5. You may find that the sheet of dough is getting too long, at which point, gently cut it in half. Now, you'll have to remember to pass each half of the dough through the remaining settings (up to #5). After you reach setting #5, lay dough flat on a very well-floured surface. |  |
| 8. |
Repeat steps 3 - 7 with all remaining dough balls. Then remove the pasta roller attachment and replace it with the pasta cutting attachment of your choice. (I love the linguine, so this is always my choice.) Make sure it is tightly secure. Select a dough sheet, and flour it well. You don't want to the pasta strands to stick to each other after it is cut. Turn mixer onto low speed and pass dough through the cutter, guiding with your left hand and collecting pasta strands with your right hand. Repeat with all remaining sheets of dough. |  |
| 9. |
Hang pasta on a pasta rack until ready to cook (Or if you are like us, just buy some cheap hangers from the dollar store to use for pasta making.) Slightly separate the pasta strands to keep them from sticking. |  |
| 10. | To cook pasta, bring a large pot of water to a boil. Season with salt. Drop half of the pasta in, and stir often so that pasta strands don't stick together. Cook 3 - 4 minutes (pasta really will stick to the ceiling when it's ready) and use a slotted spoon to drain immediately. Repeat this process with the other half of the pasta. Serve as your new favorite pasta dish! |
Note
- You can use any combination of flours, but I recommend using the semolina flour for half of the total needed flour. It helps the pasta stretch and keeps it from falling apart during cooking.
- When in doubt, use flour. Use lots of flour, and use it often. If the dough is too sticky, it will be difficult to pass through the roller and the noodles will clump together when hanging.
- We haven't had too much luck with drying out the pasta and freezing it for future use. I either make it all and eat the leftovers the next day or I only make pasta from 1/2 of the intial dough ball. I store the other half in a zip-lock bag with a wet papertowel inside. You will want to use the dough up within a few days, though.
The best part about homemade pasta is that the meal options are truly endless! You can top the pasta with your favorite red sauce, butter sauce, or pesto. You can add chicken, shrimp, or pork. Not to mention all sorts of vegetables- broccoli and pasta in garlic sauce or how about the summery pasta Primavera. MMM… I’m getting hungry just thinking about it! What are your favorite pasta dinners, and have you tried them with homemade pasta yet?
Click here for more information on types of flour.
Shared with Newleyweds Recipe Linky, Full Plate Thursday, Weekend Roundup
13 Responses to Homemade Linguine Pasta
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Wow, I am so impressed, and love the very thorough instructions. Sad thing is I don’t even know if I’ve ever had fresh pasta! I have got to do this, I even have the pasta attachements!!
Thanks so much for sharing on Newlyweds Recipe Linky. I also pinned this recipe, feel free to follow me at http://pinterest.com/newlyweds/
You definately need to give homemade pasta a try… it’s worth the time, effort, and small mess. It’s a pasta night game-changer, for sure. If you give it a try, I’d love to hear about the results! Thanks for pinning this!
isn’t homemade pasta just the best? it’s far easier to make than most people realize, too. i’ve started playing around with adding other flavors into it – more salt + pepper, some fresh pureed carrots, minced garlic, etc. it’s wonderful that way because really all it needs is a bit of olive oil + some fresh parmesan. NOM!
I completely agree! I would like to make a multi-colored pasta next. Half beet puree, half spinach puree so that the linguine is red and green striped!
Thank you for joining TUTORIALS TIPS AND TIDBITS with your wonderful linguine dyi! YUMMUY! I have the kitchen aid attachment, but have not had much success. Now I will try again!
I’ve actually been thinking about making pasta! I saw an herbed version on King Arthur Flour, and think it’s time to break out my roller again! Good tutorial:@)
Thank you! Herbed pasta sounds interesting, and I have plenty of them growing in my backyard. I’ll have to search this recipe out. Thanks for stopping by!
Wow this looks amazing! I will have to try this sometime….there is nothing better than homemade pasta!
Karin
I hope you will! We love homemade pasta!
One of my summer projects is to make homemade pasta for the first time ever. I have been a little afraid of such a daunting project, but I feel a lot better about trying it after reading your post. Your pasta is amazingly beautiful. I hope mine comes out as good as yours looks. Thanks for the info.
It’s so simple, and not daunting. You’ll be a pro in no time! If you have any questions when you’re making it, let me know.
I love the presentation of your dishes and you did a great job with your webpage too. I’m so impressed.
Thank you for stopping by!