Fresh Pasta Dough

5 from 1 vote

This homemade pasta dough is the foundation of so many simple, beautiful meals. Made with just flour, eggs and bit of olive oil it's a true testament to the power of pure, simple ingredients.

Prep Time30

Resting Time30

Course: Main Course, pasta

Cuisine: Italian

Servings: pounds of pasta

Calories: 259kcal

Author: Leigh Anderson

Ingredients

Standard Egg Dough: tagliatelle, spaghetti, fettuccine, pappardelle

360 grams "00" flour
1 teaspoons kosher salt
300 grams egg yolks about 18-20 yolks
2 teaspoons olive oil

Stuffed Pasta Dough: ravioli, agnolotti, mezzelune

360 grams "00" flour
100 grams whole eggs about 2 large eggs
90 grams egg yolks about 5-6 yolks
2 teaspoons olive oil
1 teaspoon kosher salt

Instructions

Mixing and Kneading: In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook attachment, combine the flour, eggs, salt and olive oil. If the mixture is too dry to form a ball add water, 1-teaspoon at a time until the dough comes together. Knead the dough for 10-15 minutes. When it's ready it will be smooth and firm, like modeling clay. Note: unlike bread dough, pasta dough is almost impossible to over-knead, if you're unsure if it's ready give it a few more minutes.
Resting: Turn the dough out onto a clean kitchen counter, it doesn't always come together neatly in one uniform ball and thats okay, it will come together as it rests. Knead the dough a few times with your hands and form it into a disk shape. The dough will be dense and tough at first but will soften as it rests. Wrap the disk in plastic wrap and let rest at room temperature for 30 minutes or in the refrigerator for up to 24 hours. Once it's rested and at room temperature it's ready to roll.

Notes

Ingredient Notes and Substitutions:

"00" Flour - (double "O" or zero-zero) flour is a finely milled, powdery Italian flour. It's considered the gold standard for making pasta and pizza dough.
Eggs - use the best quality eggs you can find. Local to you and pasture raised, ideally.

Common Pasta Dough Mishaps and Fixes:

Dough is too dry or crumbly to knead: If the mixture is too dry to form a ball add water, 1-teaspoon at a time until the dough comes together.
Dough is too wet/sticky: add more flour, 1- tablespoons at a time until dough is no longer sticky.
Dough is tough and difficult to work with: Your dough needs to rest longer. Wrap it up in plastic wrap and let rest for another 15-20 minutes at room temperature.
Pasta crumbles when cooked: if your pasta is breaking apart in the water as it cooks it a sign the dough was under-kneaded.

Fresh Pasta Dough Shelf Life:

Pasta dough can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 24 hours. Any longer than 24 hours and it it will start to oxidize and turn an unpleasant brownish green color – technically still fine to eat but not very pretty.

Nutrition