Like the chefs shown in the video, I like to do it by hand (well, I normally roll them out with one of those pasta rolling machines, but I can and have rolled them by hand), since the way the dough feels tells you if it is too dry or too wet, and if it is kneaded enough. When it feels smooth and all (or almost all) the flour has been taken into the dough, it is kneaded enough. As the first man said, every time it is different. The exact ratio of egg to flour depends on mainly on two things: The humidity of the air and the size of the egg -- the USDA defines large eggs as weighing between 2 ounces (57 grams) and 2¼ ounces (64 grams).
Here's a recipe
8 ounces flour
2 whole eggs
3 egg yolks (keep the extra whites in case you need more liquid -- incidentally, egg whites freeze well)
Put the flour in a mound on the table and make a well in the center. Put the eggs and yolks in the well and start mixing them together. When the dough has formed, knead it for at least five minutes, ten would be even better. It is impossible to over-knead pasta dough.
When it feels smooth and all (or almost all) the flour has been taken into the dough, it is kneaded enough.
Assuming you have a pasta machine, cut the dough into two or more pieces and run it through. The first few times through, fold the dough on itself and keep running through the number 0 setting until you have a smooth dough; three or four times should do. If it sticks to the rollers, dust it with some flour. Then increase the setting and run it through each one in turn. Number 5 or 6 should probably be the last setting.
If you do not have a pasta machine, take out the rolling pin and start rolling. You want to end up with dough so thin that if you hold it up and put your hand behind it, you can see what looks like the shadow of your hand.
Cut it into pieces appropriate for your use – for example, lasagna should be as long as the baking dish and three or so inches wide. I use a pizza cutter with a plastic wheel to cut pasta, as it will not scratch the counter surface.
To cook fresh pasta, put a large pot of salted water on to boil. Have a large bowl of ice water next to it to shock the pasta after it cooks. Put the pasta into the boiling water, and cook it from 30 seconds to no more than a minute. Shock it in the ice water, and then put it on a towel or some other cloth (I have a tablecloth made from what is essentially thin cotton canvas that works perfectly) to drain.
Uncooked fresh pasta will keep in the fridge for no more than a day. On the second day, it will turn a muddy yellow, although it will still taste OK. I don’t know if it will last longer than a second day without starting to go bad, and I don’t think I want to find out.
= new reply since forum marked as read
