How do you keep fresh pasta from sticking together?

[CarlAird]

Making pasta noodles from scratch but they keep sticking together I'm using the KitchenAid mixer attachment!

[oldschool1982]

You have to work quickly and dust it with a bit extra flour too. The best thing is to have a pasta drying rack and spread them evenly over it. Since it sounds like you need assistance immediately.....

Cover a broom stick with saran wrap and put it between two chairs. As soon as the pasta comes off or out of the die, layer it evenly over the broom stick.

This way worked so well for my Grandmother.... When I started making my own I never bought a drying rack.

[stir it up]

Carl, I also use the Kitchen Aid. You mean the roller set right, with three rollers, not the extruder?

Are you also talking about a problem where as soon as you cut it it's not completely cut apart, so each fettucine strand is a little stuck to its neighbor? If that's the case, you need to let the flat sheets dry SLIGHTLY between flat rolling them and roller cutting them. That will give them a little better body to cut apart more completely.

I do two things for drying, I use an old wooden clothes drying rack, for drying the strands. The other thing I do for the sheets when letting them dry a little before cutting is I drape large clean non-linty tea towels over the cupboard doors on my island (opened), and hang the pasta on that.

Hey oldschool, did your grandmother also roll by hand, with a similar broom handle? I love watching people who can really do that, with the slight stretching motion at the same time, doing it so fast and efficient like they could do it in their sleep.

Carl, do you have good gluten development in your dough as well, that will help make good pasta. You can use your flat roller to sort of work that up, to "knead" your pasta dough.

[IronChefATL]

dust your pasta with rice flour as you roll it. The moisture of the pasta wont absorb it the same as wheat flour, then no sticking.

[stir it up]

rice flour works great as non stick "lube" for most doughs, such as in proofing baskets, bannetons, etc.

However, the downside of rice flour for pasta IMO is that it affects the boiling experience, the clarity of the boiling water and it wanting to boil over more readily. I don't want to compromise a nice boil for the pasta (some might turn the heat down too low if the water's cloudy), I want nice clear happy water.

I use rice flour (or rye which has similar properties) for breads on occasion, but for pasta I never use it. I prefer to work at developing good gluten quality in the pasta, and that and handling methods can solve the sticking and keep the water clear.

To each his own IronChef, so if you want to try it Carl go for it.

[oldschool1982]

Originally Posted by stir it up

Hey oldschool, did your grandmother also roll by hand, with a similar broom handle? I love watching people who can really do that, with the slight stretching motion at the same time, doing it so fast and efficient like they could do it in their sleep.

Stir, I don't remember a broom handle being used to roll but she did have a huge 3ft long 2in round wood dowel that served as her rolling pin. (it actually had a dual purpose if you catch my drift)

[stir it up]

it actually had a dual purpose if you catch my drift

LOL oldschool. how we can laugh about such things.... now.