How to Make Fresh Pasta from Scratch
Master making fresh egg pasta from scratch, from creating the flour well and kneading silky dough to rolling thin sheets and slicing uniform ribbons.
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🧰 Required Tools & Equipment
- ✓ Large wooden cutting board or clean countertop
- ✓ Fork
- ✓ Bench scraper
- ✓ Rolling pin
- ✓ Chef's knife
- ✓ Large stockpot
- ✓ Tongs or spider strainer
📦 Materials & Supplies
- ✓ Tipo 00 flour or unbleached all-purpose flour
- ✓ Large whole eggs (room temperature)
- ✓ Semolina flour (for dusting)
- ✓ Kosher salt
- ✓ Olive oil
⚠️ Safety Checkpoints & Warnings
- • Place a damp cloth under your cutting board to prevent it from sliding during vigorous kneading.
- • Maintain a curled 'claw' grip with your guide hand when slicing rolled pasta sheets with a sharp chef's knife.
- • Lower fresh pasta gently into vigorously boiling water to avoid hot water splashing.
📋 Step-by-Step Guide (7 Steps)
Form the Flour Well and Add Eggs
Mound the flour onto the center of the work surface. Use your fingers or the bottom of a measuring cup to push out a wide, high crater with solid walls. Crack the whole eggs directly into the center well and add a pinch of salt.
- • A volcano-shaped mound of flour with a wide crater holding intact egg yolks without any leakage.
- • Making the well walls too shallow, causing raw egg to break through and spill across the table.
Whisk and Incorporate the Dough
Beat the eggs with a fork in the center of the well, gradually drawing small amounts of flour from the inner walls into the liquid. Continue whisking until a thick, custard-like slurry forms. Switch to a bench scraper to fold the outer dry flour over the center until a shaggy mass forms.
- • A cohesive, crumbly, shaggy ball of dough with most loose flour pulled in from the board.
- • Collapsing the entire flour wall too early, leading to dry flour clumps inside the liquid center.
Knead Until Smooth and Elastic
Gather the dough into a ball and push down and forward using the heel of your dominant hand. Fold the top half back over itself, rotate the dough 90 degrees, and push again. Knead continuously for 8 to 10 minutes until the surface transforms from bumpy to completely smooth.
- • A smooth, taut, satin-finished ball that slowly springs back when poked with an index finger.
- • Stopping after only 3-4 minutes when the dough is still dimpled and insufficiently developed.
Wrap and Rest the Dough
Shape the kneaded dough into a tight sphere and flatten it slightly into a thick disk. Wrap it tightly in plastic wrap to eliminate air contact, then let it rest at room temperature for 30 minutes. This relaxes the gluten network and fully hydrates the flour particles.
- • Dough sealed tightly in plastic wrap with a softer, slightly darker, and fully relaxed appearance after resting.
- • Attempting to roll the dough immediately without resting, causing it to bounce back and tear.
Roll Out the Pasta Sheet
Unwrap the rested disk and slice it into quarters, keeping unused portions covered. Lightly dust your rolling pin and surface with flour, then roll outward from the center in all directions, turning frequently. Continue rolling until the dough sheet is translucent and uniformly thin (about 1 mm).
- • A flat, paper-thin sheet of dough where the outline of your fingers is visible through the sheet when lifted.
- • Rolling back and forth over edges, pinching them thin while leaving a thick center.
Fold, Cut, and Unravel Noodles
Dust the surface of the rolled sheet generously with semolina flour to prevent sticking. Loosely fold the sheet inward from opposite ends or roll into a loose cylinder, then slice crosswise into 1/4-inch ribbons using a chef's knife. Immediately slide your fingers under the cuts and toss the noodles into loose nests.
- • Uniform, separate ribbons of pasta dusted in semolina and loosely coiled into airy nests.
- • Rolling the dough too tightly or cutting without enough dusting flour, causing layers to fuse together.
Boil and Test for Doneness
Bring a large stockpot of heavily salted water to a rolling boil over high heat. Gently drop the pasta nests into the water and stir immediately with tongs to prevent clumping. Cook for 2 to 3 minutes until the noodles float to the surface and become tender with a slight bite, then drain.
- • Floating, pale-yellow noodles that are soft throughout with a slightly firmer core when bitten.
- • Cooking fresh pasta for the same duration as dried pasta (8-10 minutes), turning it to mush.
Credit: inspired by an original tutorial by TastyShek — watch the original on YouTube.
Don’t have everything?
- No Tipo 00 flour? Unbleached all-purpose flour mixed with 20% semolina
- No Bench scraper? Stiff metal spatula or wide putty knife (food clean)
- No Rolling pin? Smooth wine bottle cleaned and lightly dusted with flour