Homemade Fresh Pasta Recipe

A nest of fresh fettuccine pasta on a tabletop.

5 from 2 votes

Homemade Fresh Pasta Recipe with or without a pasta maker, simple and failproof with only 2 ingredients. This is a basic Italian pasta dough that can be cut into any shape from fettuccine, spaghetti, penne, etc but it can also be used for lasagna, ravioli, tortellini and much more. I will show you exactly how to make the dough, how to roll and cut it with both traditional and machine methods.

Prep Time30

Resting Time30

Total Time1

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: Italian

Servings: people

Calories: 320kcal

Author: Daniela Apostol

Ingredients

300 g plain flour (2 ¼ cups)
3 large eggs

Instructions

Sift the flour, make a well in the middle, crack the eggs in, and use a fork to beat the eggs well, gradually incorporating the flour from the edges.
Keep pulling flour in until a rough dough forms.
Use you hands to knead the dough well until you get a smooth and elastic dough that does not stick to your hands.
Cover the dough with a tea towel, and leave it to rest on the counter or work surface for 30 minutes.
If you use a pasta machine, set your pasta machine to the widest setting, mine is number 2, but every pasta machine can be different.
Cut the dough into 4, and roll each dough roughly with a rolling pin.
Pass the rolled dough through the pasta machine
Roll it in half, and pass it through againg, gradually reduce the thickness, one thickness at a time, until you get to 6 or 7.
Use the pasta machine cutter to slice into strips or any other shape you like.
If you roll the dough by hand, divide the dough in 4, and dust the work surface with more flour.
Use a rolling pin to roll each dough thinly, then start rolling the dough into a sausage.
Slice the sausage thinly, then stretch the pasta and leave to dry for at least 15 minutes.
To cook the pasta, bring a pot of salted water to the boil, and boil the pasta until al dente or the desired texture

Video

Notes

The dough should feel smooth and elastic and not sticky nor dry, but slightly springy to touch. If it feels too dry, add a bit of water, it it's too wet, add a bit more flour.
Don't skip the resting time, this relaxes the gluten and it makes the dough easy to roll and prevents it from shrinking back.
Fresh pasta cooks quicker than dried pasta from the shops, so do keep an eye on it. Do not boil it on a high heat, as it can turn mushy.

Nutrition