Egg Pasta Dough

Serves MAKES AS MANY SERVINGS AS NUMBER OF EGGS USED Starters and mains

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Method

First, weigh out your ingredients. Allow 100g ‘00’ (or plain) flour per person for a main course-sized portion. You need 1 x 55g egg without its shell for every 100g flour. For example, if you are making pasta for 4 people, you will need 400g of flour and 220g of egg – which most of the time will mean 4 hen eggs. But weighing your ingredients means you can also use other eggs, like turkey.

If your eggs are on the small side, add a bit of water or another egg yolk to bring the quantity up to the right weight. If your weight is slightly over, use the eggshell to scoop out excess egg white.

Next, mix them together. Tip the flour onto your board in a heap. Use your fingers to make a well in the centre, making sure it’s not too wide or the rim too low, otherwise your egg mix will overflow.

Pour the eggs into the well. Take a fork (or use your fingers) and scramble the eggs together. They are mixed sufficiently when you lift the fork and have a homogeneous, non-clumpy lliquid that falls smoothly from the fork.

Draw your fork round the inside of the flour wall, so a small quantity of flour falls into the egg mixture. Whisk it in, smooshing any lumps, so you gradually create a batter. Repeat until you have a mixture that won’t run all over the board. At this point you can cave in the flour walls and mix in the rest of the flour with a bench scraper by scraping the flour inwards and over the batter. Of course, you can also beat the egg and flour together in a bowl, even with a food mixer.

Mop up any flour with your dough and give it a quick knead. If it is sticky, add 1tbsp of flour and knead it in. It is better to adjust your dough now than later.

If it is not sticky and you have some flour on the board, scrape off the excess, so you have a clean board. You can sieve any excess flour and reuse it. The dough should feel soft and pillowy but not sticky. Knead the dough for 10 minutes minimum. Think of your hands as waves: the heels of your hands push the dough away from you, while your fingers pull it back. Once your dough has become a log, turn it 90 degrees, fold it in half and continue with the kneading. You want to be brisk, as air is the enemy of decent pasta – it will dry it out, so don’t dawdle. If the pasta feels too dry, damp your hands with water to put moisture back into the dough. Kneading develops the gluten and elasticity of the dough. Your dough should feel silky and smooth. When you press your thumb into the dough, it should bounce back. Some Italian cooks judge their dough to be done when they can see small holes in the dough if sliced through the middle. You can also use a dough hook on your food mixer.

At this point, place the dough in a lidded bowl and cover it to stop it from drying out. Cling film is good, too, but you may not want to use it. You can also use a tea towel, but it’s important it hasn’t been washed with perfumed detergent as this will add an odour to your pasta. Leave the dough at room temperature for 30 minutes.

This relaxes the gluten and makes it easier to roll out. You can also chill the dough overnight. The colour will darken but it will taste the same. Be sure to bring the pasta back to room temperature before you try rolling it.

When it comes to rolling the dough, watching the Pasta Grannnies ‘how to roll pasta’ video on YouTube will help. Before you start rolling, remember to keep your pasta floured throughout.

Cup your hands over your rolling pin so your wrists nearly touch the pasta board. Flatten your dough with your pin, turning it a few degrees at a time in the same direction, as this helps to keep it circular. When it is the size of a plate, start with your hands at hip width and roll the top third of your dough (furthest away from you) by following the curve of the circle and drawing your hands inwards as you push the pin away from you. Your hands will meet in the middle. Stop the pin before it reaches the very edge. Roll the dough 4 times. Turn the pasta from 12 o’clock to 1 o’clock and repeat, going round the clock.

You will end up with a bump of pasta in the middle. To get rid of it, flip the outer edge of pasta over the pin. Hold the pasta with one hand and place the other hand on the dough to stop it moving. Give the pin a gentle tug with the pasta hand to create a snug fit around the pin. Roll the dough over the pin towards you.

Move your hands wider, stick your elbows out and, pressing down, roll the pasta out 2 or 3 times. This will flatten the thicker central zone of your pasta. Finish with the pasta rolled up and turn it 90 degrees, opening it out across the board. Repeat this process until the sfoglia (thin layer) is too large to move comfortably by hand. At this stage, you will need to roll it up around the pin and turn it, as described above. Allow your pin to roll on its own across the dough to remove any air after you have turned it.

You can let your sfoglia drape over the edge of the board – allow around a third, no more, otherwise the whole thing will slip off. This helps to anchor and stretch it, but also it means you don’t have to stretch too far over the board, messing up your back. Remember not to lean against the pasta.

Do not attempt to roll the entire sheet or change rolling direction; just keep rolling the outer third directly in front of you. As the dough gets bigger, your arms and elbows start quite far apart. Eventually, you will end up with pasta you can see through. It should feel like heavy linen.

To check your pasta is evenly rolled, roll up a third, hold onto the edges (it will fall off the pin otherwise) and hold it up to the light. Darker patches mean thicker dough and you haven’t rolled it uniformly, so you will want to go back over these areas.

Leave your pasta sheet to dry on the board for 5 minutes. For tagliolini, tagliatelle and pappardelle, you can now flour it, roll it up very gently (like a carpet) into a log and it’s ready for cutting.