How to Make Egg Dough

Flour + Egg

Make Fresh Pasta by Feeling

If you travel throughout Italy, and eat your way through fresh pasta dish after fresh pasta dish, you’ll see first-hand that pasta dough can vary depending on where you are or whose nonna you cook with.

When first starting out with pasta making, I learned a very basic egg dough that uses 100 grams of 00 flour and one egg per portion. Pasta is very simple to make, yet complex at the same time. It’s not just about the measurement of the ingredients, but also the texture of the pasta dough, the flour you’re using, the eggs, in addition to things out of your control like the outside weather or the warmth from your hands. The more humid it is, the more flour you’ll need. With dry weather, the less flour you’ll need. Fresh pasta calls you to learn to work by feeling. What I love the most is that fresh pasta isn’t exact and you have to adapt as you go along. If your pasta dough is dry, add more moisture by wetting your hands which may be just enough to bring it back together. If your pasta dough is too wet, gradually add more flour until it’s no longer sticky and just feels right.

The classic 00 flour used for making pasta is a soft wheat flour, low in gluten and finely ground. If you don’t have a specialty Italian market near you, 00 flour can be found on Amazon. BUT here’s a little secret. . . almost every US market has what’s called, pastry flour or cake flour, also made from a soft wheat, finely ground and a great replacement to use for 00 flour, if it is accessible to you (double check a rising agent wasn’t added in the ingredients list). While there are traditions for Italian classics, it’s also okay to adapt to what’s locally available to you.

Lastly, the eggs. I use what’s called “pasta gialla eggs” which are from free range chickens that have diets high in carotenoids. Their diet is what makes the yolks a beautiful yellow-orange color which gives fresh pasta a beautiful, sunny hue. Aside from considering the quality of the eggs, eggs aren’t machine made meaning they don’t have an exact volume or weight. Eggs are what contribute to the binding and hydration of the pasta dough. Since each egg is not exactly the same, it’s what makes each dough vary, even if made by the same person at different times.

This is the most basic egg dough which is a great base for some fresh pasta styles like stuffed shapes such as ravioli or great for lengthy tagliatelle (although I love my tagliatelle with some semola flour for bite).

Fresh pasta is typically made on a wooden board called an “asse pasta” or “spianatoia” that goes over your table, with a little stopper underneath that fixes it in place. You can easily have a local carpenter make one for you if it can’t be ordered online. I make pasta on my marble table which is great for most of the shapes I make, but for certain hand rolled or dragged shapes, you should make it on a wooden board because it creates texture, helping your delicious sauces grip to the shape.

I’ve been making fresh pasta for at least 20 years, and have always loved it. During the pandemic, mostly stuck at home, it’s been such a great way to relieve stress and anxiety. I’ve never loved it more and I hope you give fresh pasta-making a try. It’s truly amazing what a small bit of flour and egg can make from your own hands.

Making Pasta Dough with 00 Flour & Eggs

Basic Egg Dough

Ingredients:

100 grams (approximately ¾ cup) of 00 flour per portion

1 egg per portion

Method:

Pour the flour on a flat surface like your table or counter. Using your fingers, make a well in the middle of the pile, large enough to hold the egg. We don’t want the egg pouring over the edge when we start working it together.

Then take a fork and lightly scramble the yolk with the white. Once they are mostly combined, go around the inside of the well in a counterclockwise motion, slowly incorporating flour until you get a crumbly mixture of dough.

Pour some flour onto your fork, to remove any excess dough that’s sticking, and add the bits to your mound of dough.

At this point, we have a crumbly dough that is still very soft, and in order to bind it better we will use our fingertips to smush the dough for a smoother combination. Sometimes I also use a pastry cutter to cut the flour into the egg more before using my finger tips.

We’ll end up with a more cohesive dough and onto our next step, to knead it. Knead the dough using the heel of the palm of your hand, pushing away and quickly turning back with a slight quarter turn. Knead for several minutes until the dough comes together. There is no exact time for kneading as it varies from person to person. Factors affect the dough process like the force used with kneading or if the dough is perfectly hydrated, etc.

However, there is a way to check if your dough is kneaded correctly. Cut the dough in half and take a look at the cross section. You want a very smooth dough that is not overly sticky, and you don’t want to see any bits of dry flour. If your dough is not smooth or you see flour you have to knead more. If your dough is very sticky, you should continue to knead and gradually add more flour. It’s dancing over this fine line of imperfectly perfect which will be different every time but it gets better with practice. Again, it’s all done by feeling.

Once you have your dough kneaded, wrap it in plastic wrap. If your dough gets exposed to air, it will dry and we should not have dry dough only until after it is shaped. Alternatively, you can flip a bowl upside down over the pasta dough on your surface. The dough should rest for at least 30 minutes before shaping, you can even let it sit a whole day wrapped in the fridge before you want to use it. When you’re ready to work with it, leave it at room temperature for about half an hour so it comes to temperature and is easier to work with.

Note:

I love making pasta dough by hand, however when making several portions, I use the kitchen aid to help get it done faster. When using the kitchen aid mixer, add your flour to the bowl, make a well and add the eggs. Using the dough hook on low speed, let it work for a few minutes until the dough comes together. On some days this happens very quickly, on other days it needs time and help. If the dough doesn’t come together on its own, pull away the bowl to check and evaluate. If the dough is very crumbly and dry, add a tablespoon of water, and let the dough hook continue to work. If it’s still dry, continue adding small amounts of water slowly, and gradually. Give the dough time to absorb the water before adding more. On the other hand, if it’s very sticky, add tiny amounts of flour until completely incorporated. In either scenario, finish kneading the dough by hand on your work surface for a few minutes, wrap it, rest it and later proceed with making your desired pasta shape.