Italians are tough.
When I mentioned to one recently that I’d watched Stefano Manfredi make pasta from scratch in fifteen minutes, she replied, “Fifteen minutes? He took five minutes too long!”
This astounded me, because pasta has always been our culinary bugbear. Pete and I have tried to make it on several occasions, and always ended up with a kitchen covered in flour and a pasta machine clogged up with dough.
It now seems that (surprise, surprise) we’ve been overthinking the whole process. We’ve tried with continental flour, then remilled semolina flour, then added oil, boiling water and so forth, and each time we’ve ended up with a clumpy mess.
So we decided to try again using Steve Manfredi’s method. After all, it’s hard to argue that something is impossible when we’ve witnessed it with our own eyes.
I tipped 400g of plain (AP) flour into a large mixing bowl and cracked in four fresh eggs. The amount of flour will depend on the day – factors such as humidity, the hydration of the flour and ambient kitchen conditions will all impact on the finished dough. Manfredi suggests starting with slightly less flour and adding more as needed (I, of course, forgot that bit).
I squelched the flour and eggs together until combined, but didn’t knead it. Then I cut the dough into quarters and started feeding it through the thickest setting on the pasta machine. This kneads and conditions the dough – feed it through the rollers, fold it in half and feed it through again, and keep repeating until the dough is smooth and pliant. Fold the dough in whichever way is necessary to fit your pasta maker – our machine is small, so we alternated between folding it lengthwise and crosswise. Dust with flour if necessary to stop the dough sticking, and resist the urge to narrow the rollers before the dough is well kneaded.
Once the dough is flexible and smooth, start reducing the roller setting and feed the pasta through until it reaches the thickness you’re after. Keep dusting with flour as you go. We put ours through until it reached the number “6” notch on our machine.
We found this easier to do with two sets of hands – Pete cranked the handle and I manoeuvred the dough as it grew longer and longer with each pass. The finished sheet was dusted with flour, rolled up loosely, and cut into thick tagliatelle.
We cooked the pasta immediately – no drying or resting time required – and as it was so fresh, it only needed a minute in salted boiling water (Manfredi suggests just thirty seconds!). We served it with a simple black olive and tomato sauce, and it was sublime…
The whole process was ludicrously easy and surprisingly tidy. Plain (AP) flour was much easier to work with than the stronger semolina or continental flours. However, we didn’t manage to put dinner on the table within the prescribed thirty minutes – I think it was closer to forty and it took the combined efforts of both of us.
Just as well we’re not Italian!
Fig Jam and Lime Cordial 
AHA! Thank you so much for this post. i have a little pasta machine and piles of eggs! ChgJohn has spent hours in emails trying to help me get it right. I I think I was hurrying it, not kneading it with the machine like you say.. Excellent post! c
Celi, when you start working the dough for the first time, it will be a bit cracked and crumbly as it goes through the rollers. Just fold it up and squish it back together. After a few passes, it will start to smooth out – it’s amazing how quickly the kneading bit went!
My friend!! I’ve missed you!! So glad you found me again (I lost my URL…)
We have moved and my pasta roller did not come with me and it makes me sad. I am looking for one (someone was selling one for $165US. I don’t think so…)…I need to work on making it by hand…this looks absolutely lovely
Barb, I’m so sorry about your url! Making pasta by hand is hard work! :)
It’s so nice to see you again.. x
I think you did extremely well to manage it in 40 minutes! I agree you need 2 handling those machines:)
Glenda, the hardest thing was finding a place to clamp the machine down so that it didn’t move! Like Doc mentions below, there’s only one place on our bench to clamp it down as well!
Beautiful… I can imagine how delicious this pasta… Thank you, love, nia
Thanks Nia! It was great fun to make!
Well done Celia!
Thanks love! Hope you’re feeling better! x
Wonderful post. i think alot of cooking hang ups are just over thinking things. Just do it! Kneading with the machine seems to help keep the dough pliable. I love making pasta and am inspired to do so today since reading your post!
Connie, you’re so right! Sometimes we can think ourselves into a corner and end up never even starting! Thanks for stopping by! :)
I have still never made pasta, but I am going to bite the bullet and get a machine and do it!
Deb, I’m sure you’ll be spoilt for choice in Italy! :) Roz below recommends the Imperia over the Atlas..
I don’t have a pasta machine- but I like to knead and roll and have made noodles (pasta) many times. It is extraordinary how much better the homemade is than the store bought. Thanks for this post!
Heidi, good for you! You’re much more committed than I am – I don’t think I’d make noodles by hand! :)
It so good to see someone actually using their pasta machine! Ours is gathering dust
Ours was too until last week! :)
Celia, not sure if you ever tried ravioli, but I find that it is a lot easier than pasta, even if it seems impossible to be the case. Since there is not cutting into strands, ravioli ends up being simpler to make. At least I found it easier.
of course, I make a fantastic mess in the kitchen – haven’t done it in a while, but I hope to do beet pasta before the end of 2012 :-)
Sally, we’ll have to give it a go again – I don’t think our last attempt was particularly successful. We might try with our new dough.. thanks!
Oh Celia – now you’ve motivated me to get out my ‘machine’ and follow suite. They are amazing machines, aren’t they? I love what mine can do, but there’s only one possible place in my entire kitchen where the damn thing will lock down. But I guess I’m lucky to have that!
Yup, you got me – tomorrow is pasta night. And I’ll use Manfredi’s process.
Doc, like you, there’s only one spot on our bench with enough room underneath to clamp the machine down securely! Hope the pasta works out well for you! :)
I borrowed mitchdafish’s pasta machine last year and it took us forever just to figure out how to fold the dough into the right shape, like one of those spatial awareness tests. I suspect you really need to watch someone do it, and be watched in turn and corrected – how does anyone do it on their own? Congrats to you two though!
Jo, we used to get very caught up on that too, but we’ve now figured out it doesn’t matter. Just fold the dough anyway it will go, and if it won’t fit in the machine, cut it into smaller pieces. As you can see, we’ve become very laid back about the whole process.. ;-)
There is definitely a wrong way to do it. LOL, I have done it, and you end up with a piece of dough about two inches wide and a yard long :D
I’ve never been tempted to make my own pasta (I’m very lazy) but I’ve seem Jamie knock it up in just minutes on the tv. We’ve had a lot of wonderful homemade pasta in the last couple of weeks here in Italy & I’m wondering if maybe it is worth investing in a pasta machine now. The price is the only thing stopping me right now.
Amanda, if you do buy one while you’re over there, Roz (see below) is recommending an Imperia over an Atlas. We’ve only ever used an Atlas, so I couldn’t say either way…
I do like making my own pasta and enjoy making the dough and rolling it. It’s the filled ones that elude me! Interesting method here – must give it a try.
Sally, we found the whole thing a lot easier I suspect because we handcut the sheets rather than trying to feed them through the cutters. The pasta was nicer too – very silky as a result. We’ll try making filled ones soon, I think!
Well done!! Speed is very much the essence.It reminds me of the time when I was demonstrating to a class of 5 year olds how pasta was made and by the time I got to the third and final group things were getting a bit tricky!
Thanks Tony! I can’t imagine how fidgety the five year olds would have been by the time you got to group three! :)
I am right in the middle of making handmade pasta for the first time! I don’t have a pasta machine, so I’m doing it the old fashioned way. So far I’ve been at it for 2 hours…
Here’s hoping my “pansotti” turn out well. I would hate to have put all this effort in and end up with a pile of glue in the bottom of the pot!
Oooh Kate, hope it’s going well! :)
Thanks! They actually turned out pretty well. Not exactly what I pictured in my mind’s eye, but they were fairly tasty and didn’t stick to the bottom of the pan (or each other). Not bad for a first attempt. :)
Looks gorgeous! I always use 100g/egg with “00” grade flour which is what most people use and it works perfectly. you see, the finer the flour the better it works. This attempt looks really great, Celia.
Thanks Nick! I’m sure I’ve got some 00 flour kicking around somewhere, I’ll give it a go…
It has never ever failed me.
Love making pasta and have a machine in both houses but a tip the Atlas Mercato does not work as well as the Imperia…calibration issue. Which brand are you using.
Just looked at your photo and it is an Atlas so hopefully they have improved them since I bought mine some 20 years ago, anyway when I went out to buy another machine for Tasmanian house I bought the Imperia as I found most of my Italian friends had this brand and found it to be better.
Roz, it’s funny you should say that – the flat rollers are fine, but in the past we’ve had some problems with the cutting rollers. Having said that, Pete did just point out that we’ve never tried using them with a non-sticky dough before… :)
Congrats Celia on making your own pasta. I have a pasta maker and sadly, it sits in a cupboard and is never used. I really must get it out and give it a go. And that simple sauce looks delicious xx
Charlie, I was surprised how easy it was to make. Maybe Glange Girl can crank the handle for you? (I shouldn’t joke, hopefully she’s feeling a bit better today?)
Fantastic Celia, It sure looks the business! I think 40 minutes sounds perfectly acceptable and still faster than ordering take-away. Yummo!
Becca, and best of all, there was a full serve over to send to the neighbours for dinner! (Big Boy wasn’t home!) :)
Good job Celia! That’s exactly how my mum makes it and in recent times I would always think she was “wrong” for not resting the dough. However her pasta is always lovely so I guess mamma knows best!
Sue, the resting thing is interesting – the sheets started to stick together a bit while we were waiting for the water to boil (I guess that’s why you need lots of flour). When we watched Stefano make his pasta dish, he put the pasta water and the sauce on first, THEN he made the pasta from scratch. Gotta admire that sort of timing.. :)
i love the process of making pasta and it’s a big part of the enjoyment of it so i never really mind how long it takes to make..but having said that i only tend to make lasagne sheets these days..yours looks yum celia especially with that lovely simple sauce..
Jane, thank you! I want to make lasagne sheets next!
This looks delicious Celia with such a simple sauce…I love making pasta almost as much as l love making bread. It is so rewarding. It does take me a little longer than 10 minutes though, I am clearly not Italian either…although I do try hard :)
Jane, I look forward to the day when pasta making happens as much as breadmaking does at our place! :)
This is great to read – I have a pasta maker that has never seen the light of day and I am determined to use it one day – have you read jeffrey steingarten’s article on pasta – it is what I think about when I think of pasta making because he created such a vivid image on him at the kitchen table putting eggs into a pile of flour on the table
Johanna, I’ll have a look, I love Steingarten’s writings.. :)
What a great post Celia! I haven’t made pasta, I don’t have a pasta machine but it’s one of those things that is on my list. I like how you’ve found the simplicity in making it and then been able to express it here.
Rose, Bizzy Lizzy was telling me that she saw them at Aldi a while ago for $20! Not sure how good they’d be, but that really is very cheap! Thanks for your comment – Pete says I always make simple things too complicated, so I’m chuffed that we’ve been able to do the reverse this time. :)
That looks great, my daughter has made it on several occasions, had it hanging all over the kitchen. She would love one of those attachments for the Kitchenaid mixer, though to warrant the cost one would have to make it quite regularly.
Shirley, I think if you make the pasta and don’t cook it straight away, then you have to hang it to stop it sticking. The Kitchenaid attachments cost a fortune! :)
I’m loving making pasta without even a pasta machine – not hard at all with a bit of practice to have dinner on the table in less than half an hour. I think maybe because we’re so used to buying dried pasta, we think it’s harder than it is. I agree with you that the problem is overthinking! I put a little oil in mine along with the eggs and baker’s flour. Mix, knead, roll, cut, boil. Such a good way to use eggs too, and pasta with real eggs is so rich you don’t need elaborate sauces. I love the colour in yours – you can see that it is made with real eggs.
Linda, we had a vegetarian friend over for dinner last night, and we made pasta again. It was so much fun – he arrived at 5pm and dinner was on the table by 5.45pm, and he helped us make the pasta! I can see this becoming a dinner party favourite!
I don’t make noodles very often, but when I do, I make a big batch of them (sometimes I use up to 3 dozen eggs!). I store them in large containers. I find lasagna noodles are the fastest to make–no cutting! When I first started out we made our noodles with our Atlas machine that had been gathering dust for several years, now I have an attachment for my KitchenAid so it goes a lot faster.
Manuela, that’s a huge quantity! Wow! Do you use plain flour as well?
I made Mille Feuille Lasagna last night. (Or should that be Mille Foglio?) Scrummy. Takes time but oh-so-yummy.
Cosmo, I love how you always tackle the really tricky dishes. Whereas we’re always trying to find the easiest possible option.. ;-)
Fantastic! Hopefully you will make your own pasta more often now :)
Tandy, absolutely! In fact, we made it again last night when we had friends for dinner! (I wanted to prove to myself that it wasn’t just a fluke the first time.. ;-))
I agree, fresh pasta is so nice. I love my machine and use it to make ultra thin crackers as well.
Liz, that is a genius idea! I never thought of that! I wonder if Pete will let me find a permanent spot on the bench for the pasta machine.. somehow I doubt it.. ;-)
I was just about to post about using the pasta machine for olive oil crackers, too!! ( I find I only need to go down to about 6 or 7 notch on my machine, but find they come out beautifully – much better than trying to hand roll!)
My Ah-Ha! moment for pasta making was watching Masterchef Junior, when Gary & George were ‘competing’ to make pasta, and one was going super fast, and ended up with a gluggy, soft mess, and the other took their time ‘laminating’ the dough (the folding process), and ended up with a more elastic dough, that held together well with some ‘bite’.
Celia that’s brilliant! I always thought you had the knead it and let it rest. I’ve made a bit of pasta since I got the attachment for my mixer but this makes it even easier.
Claire, I know! I always thought the same thing, but it really isn’t necessary! I’ve now tried it twice, so it definitely does work! :)
Kudos on a job well done. I love homemade pasta and strangely have only ever used all purpose flour. The worlds your oyster now that you have it sorted.
:-) Mandy
Mandy, thank you, it really does feel like that! Last night when our friend Craig was over, we started the pasta when he arrived, and had it on the table within the hour! I think it’s just made dinner parties so much easier! :)
Well done for cracking it Celia, even if you didn’t manage it in ten minutes. I’ve always thought of pasta as something that’s really difficult to do, so I’m impressed. Admittedly, I don’t have a pasta machine though. I bet it tastes so much nicer than bought.
Choc, the pasta machine is a good investment, I think, and the finished pasta was silky smooth. Like you, we always thought it was really hard, and we’d just about given up on it! It’s always nice to be able to achieve something you’d thought was too hard – now if only we could master nougat.. ;-)
Some things are worth the extra time to make from scratch. I love homemade pasta but I only do it about once or twice a year. Time to get that machine out!
I worked with a young man that was a chef that would just mix the egg and flour, roll thin and cut with a knife. Maz
Maz, there are some brilliant pasta makers out there – I’ve watched the Japanese noodle makers do the same thing. Just amazing!
Fabulous post with great tips and pointers. Between you and John I will get round to making fresh pasta this year. I will be brave! And a lovely sauce too, black olives are a wonderful ingredient for pasta dishes.
Claire, I have whinged and moaned about how hard it was to make pasta for years. And suddenly, it was easy! Do you have a machine? Just try with a small batch first…
I had a similar experience making pasta at home… a big mess of flour all over the kitchen! I haven’t tried again since…
Amber, do you mix the dough in a mixing bowl? I know bread and pasta recipes always talk about tipping the flour onto the bench, but I’ve never done that, I always use a large stainless steel mixing bowl. Makes cleaning up much easier! :)
I’ve used half semolina and AP flour and it still came out easy and wonderful. I love mixing the egg and flour on an open counter surface and mix by hand. I do agree that when it comes to using the machine, I have no idea how to do it successfully without another set of hands.
Hi Cassandra! Glad to hear you’ve got the recipe working so well for you! :)
How do you know how thin to roll it? What made you stop at 6?
Anne, it just looked about the right thickness when we got to 6! I wish I could offer a more considered reason.. ;-)
I normally go to 7 on my machine – going further makes the dough too thin and difficult to handle, in my opinion..
I am going to try one of these days…nothing like fresh…
Thanks Norma! It was surprisingly easy! :)
My pasta machine has yet to be used and I’ve had it two years. I used to make pasta 30 years ago using my mother in laws machine. You make it look so easy.
Barbara, Steve Manfredi made it look easy! :) We just followed his example!