Tips for Perfect Pasta
•Good pasta dough is firm and leathery to touch, but also pliable. It should never stick to your fingers or crumble and fall apart. Many factors, such as humidity, brand of flour used, and size of eggs, may affect dough consistency. To test for correct dough consistency, pinch a small amount of dough together after mixing with the flat beater. If the dough stays together without sticking to your fingers, it should work well. It may be necessary to add a small amount of flour or water to reach correct dough consistency.
•Pastas can be either dried or frozen for future use. To dry, lay strands of pasta in a single layer on a towel or drying rack, and completely air dry. Store dried pasta in an airtight container. To freeze, let pasta air- dry for one hour before freezing in an airtight container. It is not necessary to separate strands of pasta before freezing, just dust with flour and form into “nests.”
Suggested Roller Settings
Roller Setting | Uses |
1 or 2 | Kneading and thinning dough |
3 | Thick |
4 | Egg noodles |
4 or 5 | Lasagna noodles, fettuccine, spaghetti, and ravioli |
6 or 7 | Tortellini, thin fettuccine, and linguine fini |
7 or 8 | Very thin |
| very fine linguine |
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