Mix up a batch of homemade fresh Italian pasta dough with eggs and 00 flour. After attending culinary school in Italy, I'll share all the insider tips to making the best egg-based pasta.
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While attending culinary school in Italy, I learned how to make pasta dough by hand. Since pasta is a staple in Italian cooking, I want to share all of the tips and tricks I learned in school so you can master making fresh pasta at home.
This egg pasta dough is traditionally made in Northern Italy. If you've eaten stuffed pasta or lasagna sheets, those are classic Italian pasta shapes made with this type of dough.
Northern pasta dough differs from what's made in Southern Italy. Southern Italian dough is made without eggs and uses a base of semolina (durum wheat) flour.
Let's jump in so I can teach you the important ingredients and techniques needed to make the best homemade Italian pasta!
Jump to:
What You'll Learn In This Recipe
- Classic Northern Italian pasta shapes that are made with this egg based dough.
- Helpful tips and tricks for ensuring your pasta turns out perfectly every single time.
- The importance of using certain types of flour.
Ingredients You Need
There are minimal ingredients used in fresh Italian pasta, so be sure you are choosing high-quality options so you end up with amazing flavor.
00 soft wheat flour: 00 flour has a smaller grain size compared to other types of flour. This will result in a light and tender pasta. Don't use all-purpose flour.
Eggs: This pasta will require both whole eggs and egg yolks. You can buy egg yolks in a carton then separate the yolks yourself. Save the egg whites for breakfast or a different recipe.
I highly suggest using a digital food scale to weigh out the eggs. When measuring the whole eggs, whisk the whites and the yolks together then measure on a digital scale.
Check out this easy technique for how to separate an egg yolk from the white without breaking it.
Salt: Give your pasta some flavor with a small amount of fine sea salt. Do not use large granules, otherwise, it will not distribute evenly throughout the pasta.
Semolina flour: Semolina flour is used to keep the pasta from sticking to one another. Semolina flour is ground in very large granules, allowing it to coat the pasta without being absorbed into it.
How To Make This Recipe
Pay attention to the look and feel of the pasta dough as you're making it. Here's how the dough will come together:
1. Add 00' flour, whole eggs, egg yolks, and fine sea salt to a mixing bowl.
2. Using clean hands, mix the ingredients together just until a shaggy dough forms.
3. Pour the shaggy dough onto a clean work surface and gently knead/pat the excess flour together to form one solid dough.
4. Shape the pasta dough into a square. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and allow to rest until you touch the dough and it has slightly softened.
5. After about 30 - 35 minutes, you'll notice that the dough has softened and the flour has absorbed the liquid from the egg and egg yolks.
6. Cut the dough into 3 equally sized pieces. I love using a bench scraper for this step.
7. Use your hands or a rolling pin to slightly flatten the pasta dough so it can fit into the widest setting of the pasta machine. I also like to dust each side of the pasta with semolina to ensure it doesn’t stick.
8. Pass the pasta dough through the widest setting on the pasta machine.
9. Fold each side of the pasta to the middle.
10. Then, pass the pasta dough through the widest setting again.
11. Reduce the pasta machine width setting by one, then continue to pass the pasta through the machine. Continue flattening the pasta, reducing the setting by one, until it reaches a medium setting, about 0.5 - 1 mm thick (for me setting 7).
12. Finally, cut or shape the pasta in your preferred shape. I've got more information below about my favorite pasta shapes.
Dust the pasta with semolina flour, to prevent sticking. I like to have a sheet tray filled with semolina flour where the pasta can lay.
Pasta Shapes From Northern Italy
Every region of Italy is known for its unique pasta shapes. Since this egg pasta dough is classic for Northern Italy, most of the common pasta shapes made with this dough are from Northern regions.
Here are some classic shapes you'll want to try with this pasta dough:
- Agnolotti: A small, rectangular shaped pasta that has a filling.
- Capelli D'Angelo: Also known as angel hair pasta, this shape is thin and delicate.
- Cappelletti: This hat-shaped pasta is stuffed with a filling.
- Caramelle: This filled pasta looks like a candy wrapper with twisted ends.
- Corzetti: A round, stamped pasta.
- Farfalle: A bow-tie shaped pasta.
- Garganelli: Tubular pasta with ridges down the center.
- Maltagliati: Irregularly shaped pasta that's typically made from leftover pasta dough scraps.
- Mezza Luna: Half-moon shaped pasta with a filling.
- Pansotti: Triangular-shaped pasta that's typically filled with some sort of stuffing.
- Pappardelle: Wide, flat pasta ribbons.
- Raviolo: You can make this shape circular or square, but always include a filling inside. You can even try filling it with an egg yolk!
- Tagliatelle: Broad, flat ribbons that work well with hearty sauces like Bolognese.
- Tagliolini: A long, thin ribbon pasta that is slightly thicker than angel hair.
- Tortelli: Another stuffed pasta.
- Tortellini: Stuffed pasta that's shaped into a square and folded around the filling.
Expert Tips
- It's best to weigh out the ingredients using a digital kitchen scale. The pasta dough recipe will turn out better because the measurements will be more accurate.
- It's really important to fully scrape out the containers (especially the container with the egg) so all of the ingredients are used when mixing the pasta dough. The eggs help to hydrate the dough, so pay attention when measuring and mixing the ingredients.
- Don't roll the pasta until it's too thin or it will cook too quickly and become very mushy. You'll have to play around with your pasta machine and cooking times to find the best thickness.
Recipe FAQs
It takes a while to fully knead the flour and eggs together - just have some patience. I like to use the heel of my hand to push the flour into the dough and knead it into one cohesive piece.
If you find that the dough is very sticky and you're having a hard time rolling it out, use semolina flour to lightly dust the outside of the pasta. This will help with sticking.
Yes, this pasta dough can be made 1 day in advance and kept in the refrigerator until you're ready to roll out the dough. Allow the dough to come to room temperature so it's easier to handle.
Yes! You'll want to allow the pasta shapes you've made to dry out at room temperature until they've fully hardened. Place fully dried pasta in an airtight storage container for up to 3 months.
No worries, you can just freeze the dough for later. Tightly wrap pasta dough, then place in the freezer for up to 1 month. Allow the dough to thaw in the refrigerator before rolling out.
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Fresh Italian Egg Pasta Dough
Equipment
Ingredients
- ½ cup plus 2 tablespoons 00' soft wheat flour
- 1 ounce whole eggs (about ½ large egg)
- 0.7 ounce egg yolks (about 1 - 2 egg yolks)
- ¼ teaspoon fine sea salt
- semolina flour for dusting
- coarse sea salt for cooking
Instructions
- Add 00' flour, whole eggs, egg yolks, and fine sea salt to a mixing bowl. Using clean hands, mix the ingredients together just until a shaggy dough forms.
- Pour the shaggy dough onto a clean work surface and gently knead/pat the excess flour together to form one solid dough.
- Shape the pasta dough into a square. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and allow to rest until you touch the dough and it has slightly softened, about 30 - 35 minutes.
- Cut the dough into 3 equally sized pieces. Use your hands or a rolling pin to slightly flatten the pasta dough so it can fit into the widest setting of the pasta machine. Dust each side of the pasta with semolina to ensure it doesn’t stick.
- Pass the pasta dough through the widest setting on the pasta machine. Fold each side of the pasta to the middle, then pass the pasta dough through the widest setting again.
- Reduce the pasta machine width setting by one, then continue to pass the pasta through the machine. Continue flattening the pasta, reducing the setting by one, until it reaches a medium setting, about 0.5 - 1 mm thick (for me setting 7). You can add additional semolina flour throughout this process if the dough starts to get sticky.
- Cut or shape the pasta in your preferred shape. Dust the pasta with semolina flour, to prevent sticking.
- Boil a pot of water and generously season with coarse sea salt. Cook pasta for 30 seconds - 2 minutes, until slightly softened. Finish cooking with sauce of choice.
Lesley
Can you do this in. Pasta machine
Jessica Mode
Hi Lesley! Yes, I use my pasta machine to help shape the pasta dough/cut it. 🙂