Fresh Pasta Dough Q&A

Want to make fresh pasta in the am to serve at dinner. How do I handle the pasta til using it? 
Hi Matt - I'm having friends for dinner and would like to make fresh pasta . If I make the fresh pasta in the morning, how do I keep this pasta until …

Refrigerating fresh egg pasta - colour changed overnight! 
Hi :-) I LOVE making pasta! I am using unbleached all-purpose flour and eggs for my dough. How can I stop my pasta from turning brownish after …

Colour of fresh pasta is wrong! 
Hi, I am hoping to make some homemade pasta for a farmers market, and am experimenting at the moment with a few batches. It tastes great, but I think …

How to avoid slimy pasta 
Hi all, I'm really enjoying making fresh pasta but am struggling to produce pasta that isn't totally smooth and that has a "slimy/slippy" texture …

Overcoming tough texture pasta dough 
Hi Matt - I'm often so disappointed with my fresh pasta. It seems tough and doesn't have the light tender texture I'm looking for. If I were to put …

Freezing spinach and ricotta ravioli 
I was wondering... when you make a batch of spinach and ricotta ravioli , can you freeze it to use later? Or else, how do you store the ravioli if …

Pasta machine rolling issue - is it normal for it to shred/tear? 
Hi Matt, I just found your website and YouTube videos and I love them! I am a new homemade pasta cook and found a great ebay deal on an Imperia …

Atlas pasta machine's tagliolini comes out in pairs 
Hello Matt, I just received an Atlas 150 pasta maker as a gift, and when I run the dough through the tagliolini cutters the strands come out stuck …

How to make gluten free pasta  
Hi Matt, I need to learn how to make gluten free pasta . Do you have a good recipe for this? Thanks, May. Response: Hi May and thanks for …

How to make sacchetti 
Hi Matt - how do you make stuffed sacchetti ? Thanks - Eleanor. Response: Hi Eleanor - good question. The theory is simple, but with this one …

What does oil do in pasta dough? 
Hi Matt - what is the purpose of oil in pasta dough? Is it to make it softer? Or to keep it from sticking? Thanks! Answer: Hi there! Well …

How to Make Vegan Pasta 
Hello I have been making pasta for my restaurant with eggs and flour. I have decided to make the restaurant 100% vegetarian and am looking for homemade …

How long will home made pasta keep? 
Simple question Matt: after the fresh pasta is made and dried, what is its shelf life? Answer: Good question - I was never really sure, as I never …

Questions about eggs in pasta dough 
Hi, what is a good substitute for semolina flour ? I want to make an eggless pasta dough, but only have all-purpose flour or wholewheat flour. What …

100% soy flour pasta recipe? 
Have you got a recipe for 100% soy flour pasta? I am allergic to wheat, eggs and dairy so it would be nice to be able to make pasta with such flours …

What's the best pasta machine dough recipe? 
Matt, I just bought the Imperia SP150 , so my next question is, do you a great pasta machine dough recipe? Which one of your fresh doughs works …

I broke my Atlas pasta maker - what did I do wrong? 
Hi Matt, First off thank you for your site. I bought a pasta maker and never had the courage to actually use it until I fell by chance across your site …

Pasta machine troubles - sticking noodles 
I have only made homemade pasta three times, for which I have used a newly purchased hand-cranked pasta machine, bought from Bed Bath and Beyond. …

Pasta flour question: semolina vs 00 
I have made pasta with eggs using 00 flour, which works well with my past roller and cutters. And also I've made pasta with an extruder with semolina, …

Help - my pasta is drying out too much! 
Hi, love your website, love the recipes, and everything! My question is: what do I need to do differently so that the pasta I make doesn't become sooo …

How to make stuffed paccheri pasta? 
Hi Matt, I am wanting to stuff 'paccheri' pasta with a beef/hot sausage mixture. I don't know which is better and safer.... stuff raw meat in the …

Can I make fresh ravioli, leave it in the fridge then cook it the next day? 
I have to make a pasta dish tomorrow, and am using fresh pasta to make ravioli . I need to make it beforehand, so can I make it today then leave it …

Why is my fresh pasta breaking in the pan? 
Hello, I made fresh pasta noodles for the first time last night with the CTC x1500 Pasta Express, and everything seemed to go smoothly until cooking. …

Can I use semolina flour with my Kitchenaid pasta machine? 
Hi there - I have a new pasta attachment for my Kitchenaid stand mixer, and the recipe call for all-purpose flour. I've always used semolina for …

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Can I re-freeze pasta dough for ravioli? 
Hi Matt, I'm making ravioli for a work event. I made the pasta dough today (Tuesday) and put it into the freezer. I'm going to make and fill the …

Making homemade paccheri 
Was wondering if (as a home cook) I can make paccheri pasta and if anyone can anyone assist me with how to do this? Thank you! Answer: Hi …

My homemade fresh pasta was too soft 
Hi Matt, Thanks for your enthusiasm about pasta. I was so inspired that I tried the homemade pasta instantly after readying about it. Well I made …

Why did my fresh orrechiette pasta taste doughy? 
First, its so great that you have a Fresh Pasta Q&A ! I spent a lot of time looking for one, so thanks in advance :-) I made pasta for the first …

My pasta sticks together when boiling! 
Hi, Whenever I boil homemade pasta it all gets stuck together in one giant blob! What am I doing wrong? Thanks. Response: Hi there, this …

Resting my pasta dough 
My pasta recipe says to allow the dough to rest for 30 minutes. Do I put it in the fridge or leave it out to rest? Thanks! Answer: Your dough …

How do you make your own pasta shells to stuff? 
Hi Matt How do your make your own fresh pasta shells that you can then stuff? Appreciate your help - thanks! Eugene. Answer: Hi Eugene, …

Difficulty using Imperia 150 Spaghetti Attachment 
I bought the Imperia spaghetti attachment from Amazon a few years ago and have had no success with it. I flatten the dough to the machine's penultimate …

Doughy cappelletti pasta - what went wrong? 
Our family makes a stuffed pasta called cappelletti , which my grandmother has made since before I was born. She is not with us any more. On Thanksgiving …

Problems getting the pasta through my machine 
I went to use my pasta machine (after a week or so) and every time I try to put dough through my ( Imperia ) machine the dough refuses to go right through. …

Can I dry garganelli? 
Can I make garganelli in advance and let it dry several hours? Thanks. Response: Certainly Bob, in fact that would really be perfect. Just leave …

Why does my pasta dough taste like eggs? 
I made a pasta dough recipe with 1 3/4 cups of all-purpose flour, 3 eggs, tsp salt, and tsp of olive oil and when I cooked it, it just tasted like cooked …

Cook fresh pasta to make cannelloni? And how to make ziti? 
Hi Matt, First off - great website! I have two quick questions - I have recently started making my own fresh pasta , mostly ravioli so far. …

How long to cook fresh pasta? 
Hi Matt, How do you determine the cooking time for fresh pasta? Thanks. Answer: This is a great question and it's something that many new fresh …

Minimal eggs and wholemeal pasta only - still worth buying a pasta machine? 
First of all, thanks for the informative site. Do the following requirements mean that I should forego buying a pasta machine? 1) I want to mininmize, …

Making pasta dough: using food processors and flour for making ravioli 
Hi Matt - can you make pasta dough in a food processor? And is all 'semolina' pasta dough better for ravioli or is type 00 (super-fine double zero …

Storing fresh pasta for sale at market 
We are a group of ladies who would like to sell pasta at the local market. So far we have made it with just the fresh eggs and basic flour. We then …

Pasta extruder talk, Imperia vs Atlas, and storing dry pasta 
Hi Matt, Your website is great: there is so much information! Do you have any method to prepare hollow pasta tubes ? I suppose that a pasta …

Pasta widths of pasta machines for cake decorating 
I would like to buy a pasta machine to use for cutting ribbons or strips in sugarpaste for cake decorating. Does such a machine have various widths to …

Fresh egg pasta or non-egg pasta - which and when? 
Hello, Great website! My question is: what do you think about when you decide to use egg-pasta and pasta made without eggs in? Is it something …

Using the Imperia pasta maker to make fresh lasagna sheets 
Hi Matt - couple of quick questions for you. When making pasta for lasagna using the Imperia 150 pasta maker , would running it through to setting …

Can I make the pasta dough tonight and cut tomorrow? What is the best storage for long duration resting? 
I have a dinner party tomorrow night and don't have enough time do make the pasta, rest it, cut it and cook it. Can I make the dough tonight and cut and …

What is a good substitute for semolina flour? 
Can I substitute semolina flower (I can't find it where I live) for all-purpose or wholewheat flour? Livia. Answer: Hi Livia and thanks for your …

Help! Fresh pasta dough is not cutting right. 
I think I have a pasta dough issue . Here's my problem... My dough is a ratio of 1 egg to 1 cup flour with enough water to make it all stick together …

Why does my fresh pasta taste floury? 
When I made my pasta (before I came across this great website!) the pasta tasted floury. Would this be because I might not be kneading it enough? …

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Is it ok to rest fresh pasta for more than 30 minutes in the fridge?  
I do not have much time to spend cooking. I wonder if it's ok to prepare pasta dough tonight and let it "rest" in the fridge until tomorfow, then I will …

Can I mix superfine 'doppio zero' (00) and general household flour to make fresh pasta? 
Hi Matt - I need 500g of doppio zero flour to make fresh pasta, but I only have 400g. Can I add normal household flour to make up the extra 100g? …

Where to buy a garganelli comb 
I am trying to buy a contraption called a "garganelli comb". It is as wide as a pencil, and the dough is 1 x 1 inch wide dough. With this combed finish, …

Making homemade ravioli 
I am looking for a recipe for making a sausage-stuffed ravioli that is simple. I have dumpling molds to work with in all sizes. Can you point me …

Best pasta machine dough recipe 
Hi Matt, I've tried making fresh pasta once or twice using your recipes and loved the taste of the dishes it produced. I am now thinking of getting …

Homemade pasta recipe book for pasta machine present? 
Help! A family member is getting a pasta machine for Christmas and has asked for a recipe cookbook to go with it. She is not looking for an Italian …

How to make different pasta flavours 
How do I make different flavour pastas? Not the sauces, the pasta itself, like spinach pasta, pepperdew etc.? Thanks Matt. Answer: Hi Paul. …

Defrosting frozen pasta 
If you have frozen fresh pasta, should it be defrosted before final cooking? Answer: Hi Sue, the answer is yes. When you next take it out of the …

Drying fresh pasta 
Hi Matt, What's the best way to dry fresh pasta and what would be the shelf life? Or should I store it in the fridge after it's dried? Thanks. …

Flour to make ravioli dough 
I have the attachments for my KitchenAid mixer to make ravioli - the pasta roller and the ravioli maker. What is the best pasta flour to use with …

How to make transparent pasta parcels 
Hi Matt, I am looking for a trick of making pasta parcels (ravioli or tortellini) transparent, so the colourful fillings are shine through. I don't …

Fresh pasta dough - after the fridge & making lasagna 
I made fresh pasta dough this morning and then put it in the fridge. How long do I have to wait after I take it out of the fridge before I can use …

How long do you cook freshly made pasta for? 
How long do you cook the freshly made pasta for? And also, I thought fresh pasta dough needed to be left to "dry"? Answer: Hi Pal - good questions …

Freezing fresh pasta 
Cheers Mathew Now that I've mastered Indian, Thai and Chinese, Italian is my next project and your website is very helpful. I have been freezing …

Can I store pasta dough in the fridge? 
Matt, for how long can I store the pasta dough in the fridge? Answer: Hi Francisco and thanks for your question. In answer to your question, …

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