Making your own pasta

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Yes I watch "Worst Cooks

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I watch all three sunday night shows

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Yes I watch "Worst Cooks


I watch all three sunday night shows

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I figure I am just a few steps removed from the Worst so I can probably learn something.

Making it entirely by hand isn't hard, it just requires seriously strong forearms. I make the dough in a food processor; takes all of 2 minutes. Let dough rest 30 mins and then roll it out. I use the pasta roller attachment for my stand mixer. It is motorized and thus easier to use than the hand cranked version.

Not hard at all.

Do you at least have a roller?

To get your pasta the same thickness put some rubber bands on each end of your roller so the pasta rolls out evenly.

I watch Worst Cooks also. I think some of it is staged, but it still cracks me up. I like watching the chefs showing them how to make the dishes.

I love homemade/freshly made pasta. I have zero interest in doing it myself, however.

It's really one of the very few somewhat silly shows I enjoy. I agree that David was a hoot. I was sorry to see him go. The other girl was just too silly and dumb for me. She needed to go.

The chefs did something last night that I wanted to remember and now I can't think of what it was!

I frick it up every time I try. I'm a pretty damn good cook too.

It either tears coming through the roller or is way too wet. Can't find the happy medium.

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It either tears coming through the roller or is way too wet. Can't find the happy medium.

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Pasta is a dough, just like bread. It requires kneading (either by hand or by mixer, or my preference, food processor). If it tears coming through the rollers, the gluten isn't sufficiently developed. Has nothing to do with how wet or dry it is, but how well kneaded. So knead it some more, let it rest 15 mins, then re-roll. If it tears on the first pass, no worries. Just fold it back onto itself and run it through again. I usually run it through the widest setting three or four times, folding over itself between passes, before I start narrowing the rollers to roll it thinner.

RE: too wet, add more flour. Knead it a bit more. Let it rest 30 mins and try re-rolling. If you get it all rolled out thin and it gums up the cutter blades when cutting noodles, flour both sides well and let it rest/dry for 10 mins before cutting into strips.