INGREDIENTS
DIRECTIONS
On a clean counter, pour the flour into a pile and create a crater in the center (a flour “volcano”).
Break three eggs into the center of the crater.
With a fork, start whisking the eggs and slowly mix in the flour from the edges of the crater.
Continue mixing the eggs and flour until a sticky ball of dough starts to form and mixing with a fork becomes difficult.
Begin kneading the rest of the flour into the ball of dough until combined.
If the dough is too sticky, add some flour. If it’s too loose, add another egg and mix it in. (Some people will add water instead of an extra egg.) I usually end up using 4-6 eggs using this method.
The dough is finished when it’s a ball that holds together and is not very sticky.
Wrap in plastic wrap and let the dough rest for at least 30 minutes.
Once rested, separate into 8 balls.
The dough can be rolled out by hand, however a pasta roller is preferable. Getting the pasta thin by hand requires a lot of effort and is incredibly difficult.
For a pasta roller, set it to its widest setting and begin feeding the balls of dough through.
After the first pass, fold the dough into thirds along the longest edge to make it more square, and feed it through the pasta roller so the folded edges are perpindicular to the roller. Repeat two or three times.
Once the pasta has been rolled a few times through the widest setting, decrease the thickness by 1 and begin rolling the pasta through the roller one sheet at a time. The pasta will get much longer very quickly, so cut it as necessary.
Continue decreasing the thickness until the desired thickness is reached. This will vary depending on the type of pasta being made as well as the model of pasta roller being used. Often the lowest setting is not widely used. When I make lasagna, I usually roll the pasta out to a 2.
Once the pasta is at the desired thickness, it can be cut or formed into the desired shape. If using a recipe that calls for boiled pasta, note that boiling time for fresh pasta is much shorter than for dried pasta.