Making Pasta

What kind of pasta maker is it sugar? I am assuming one of the electric extractor jobbies...

As for drying, if you are doing fresh pasta dough, I would just use it fresh. Fresh pasta dough can be frozen, as can raviolis, etc.

I have 2 methods for making ravioli: one is to roll out the pasta put the fillings in, and fold it over. Then I seal it and use a round cutter to make half-moons. The second is to roll two sheets of pasta, place the fillings and then cover with the second sheet of pasta, seal and use a wedged cutter to cut them into the traditional squares with the edges. Freeze them on trays, not touching, and then bag 'em in Ziplocs for future use. One really simple filling is just goat cheese, served with a nice light tomato sauce or pesto.

I have the pasta-maker that rolls the dough into flat sheets and then lets you cut it into ribbons or spaghetti.



It's been a while since I made fresh pasta, but I used to string the strips over a thin dowling rod and let it dry - don't try it on a clothes airer, it doesn't work! Once it was dry I'd stick it in a airtight container. I suppose I could have frozen the flat sheets also.

You can get an attachment to the pasta-maker Ravioli maker that lets you roll a couple of sheets together and then cuts it for you.

Fresh pasta rocks!!

I have Mr. Stillwater's steel pasta device, love it. I use a batch of white plastic clothes hangers (the thick ones) that I keep for the purpost. I did buy a drying rack, but have not taken it out of the box since I bought it.

I once had a thread on another site about a vegetarian thanksgiving dinner, which I was doing for certain guests. I built it around some traditional thanksgiving fare, cooking some november-ish ingredients in an italian manner, but the featured dish was homemade pasta....done by the guests...who I might add were a little taken aback at first, but then got into it. The whole panoply involved with the pasta making was very festive (everybody got aprons..), an effort fortified by some nice wine....
This all supplanted some of the ritual of turkey roasting and carving with something new to get involved in.

Do you now? And I thought it was in the cupboard next to the dishwasher all this time!


I hung a bunch of fresh pasta over a wire clothes dryer. When they dried, they had pinched around the wire and couldn't be taken off without breaking each strand at the top! Slow work.

There's a traditional method of preparing the pasta substituting egg yolks for one or two of the whole eggs. Apparently you get a lovely yellow colour in the pasta. Never tried it myself, or the coloured pastas with spinach, tomato paste or (uggh) squid ink.

it's true, some of mine have broken at the top, but, I don't care...

I like the plain fresh pasta just fine. Home made lasagna...now there...

When drying fresh pasta, must you keep the pieces completely seperate? What I mean is, if you dry it and some of it is stuck together, will they separate in the boiling water?

fealola, fresh noodles can be dried in small nests, filled pasta should be dried individually, or what is better, place them on a tray and freeze them, then pop them in a bag and cook from frozen.

A secret pasta recipe passed down from many Doo Hoo generations:

Bring water to a boil.

Take box of Prince pasta.

Dump pasta in water.

Cook/stir until pasta is el dente.

Drain pasta into drainer.

Dump into bowl, mix with sauce of choice.

Prince Pasta? Isn't that now "The Pasta Formally Know As"?

Fealola, I separate the little dears compulsively, but I think my italian teacher (from Bologna "the fat", and Padova) just sort of hung them nonchalantly on the hangers, and they did separate in water.

Mr. Stillwater, how is our macchina doing?

Price Pasta!

Well, I have had some of those gourmet dried pastas and some of them are really wonderful. Yikes!

on one of the other cooking forums i go to, they've been using the pasta maker to make what sound like absolutely amazing crackers.

they also (and this is something i really want to try) put fresh herbs in between two layers of lasagna size sheets - run them through the machine again - and then cut them - the photos they've posted are amazing - it's like stained glass pasta - gorgeous!

I hate to admit to how many years I have saved some simple cracker recipes. in my bread notebook. I know it is easy... hmmm, a cracker making party. I never thought of doing them with pasta dough, but that could be nifty.

The sealed herb pasta pressing sounds delightful. I presume you use the last, thinnest choice (no. 7) on my gadget for the pieces you put together. Or maybe #6 would do.

Making crackers! I'm sufficiently baking-impaired that it never occurred to me. (Bread, yes, crackers, no.) Any recipes to share?

I will drag out my notebook, back in a bit...

OK, here's one...haven't gotten very far into ye olde notebooke yet...

Muffin Crackers. Can't tell by the typeface where I got this, no mention at bottom of page.

MAKES 16 LARGE CRACKERS -

This dough should be neither too wet nor too dry. If if seems to be crumbly or falls apart when rolled out, sprinkle some more milk over the dough and work it in with your fingers. If it's too wet, use extra flour when you roll it out. The dough can also be made in a food processor.

2 1/4 c all purpose or whole wheat flour (or half all-purpose and half rye or corn flour)'2 tablespoons sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1/4 c vegetable oil
1/4 c milk
1 egg, beaten
2 tsp crushed caraway, fennel, or cumin seeds..or cracked black pepper [or use your imagination/osso]

1. Preheat the oven to 350. In a medium bowl, blend the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt.
2. Make a well in the dry ingredients and add the vegetable oil, milk, egg, and caraway seeds. Stir the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients.
3. Remove to a lightly floured board and knead a few times until smooth.
Cut into 16 pieces. Roll each piece into a ball and press into a disk. Roll one disk of dough out as thin as possible, buy hand or in a pasta machine into a round or large oblong. Use extra flour to prevent sticking.
4. Place 2 to 4 crackers (however many will fit) on a lightly oiled cookie sheet and prick with a fork at 2" intervals. Bake until lightly browned around the edges, about 15 minutes. Remove to a rack and allow to cool and finish drying out. Store in airtight tin.

Note: to roll crackers out with a pasta machine, set the rollers at the widest setting and run a piece of dough through. Change to the nest thinner setting a and run the dough through again. Keep running the dough through at successibely thinner settings until it is as thin as possible without falling apart.
[let me guess #6, osso].

Hmm, here's one for sesame seed sherry crackers, and another for parmesan chive crackers.

Hmmm, bomba... I have never made a bomba...

ossoB - the final setting for the CooksTalk crackers is the 7. I recall a Parmesan version coming up in the discussion.