Practice makes Perfect Pasta - "Progress" Pictures

[RPMcMurphy]

Attempt 1 at homemade pasta.







This was a couple of months ago.
Lessons learned:
Hand rolling will never get it as thin as you like it without double the arm strength of sanity
Bigger is not better, because they almost double in size.


Next attempt.










lessons learned:
Pasta rollers are GREAT. But I can still improve the look of the ravioli.

Last attempt (this weekend)





These ones were worthy of lobster/crab.

Presentations were "eh" because it was a family meal.


Lessons learned:
the 6.99 ravioli "punch" is great, but I kinda like the hand made look....so I'm torn... maybe I'll experiment more...

I should probably invest in a mixer with dough hook....hand mixing isn't all that fun.

I'm getting pretty good at getting the right feel for the pasta doing it by hand though....using a mix of semolina and AP. I'm also working on more efficient tricks to rolling it out and getting the right size strips without wasting a bunch of dough scraps.

I'd be willing to go out on a limb say that I can make some good tasting pasta dough and I'm pretty confident about it now. I used to make the the day before as to ensure the dough would roll out ok, etc. etc. now I'm confident.

[OregonYeti]

Nice work!

I use the hand-cranked pasta machine too. I've never tried a motorized mixer.

For ravioli I've used a tool made for potstickers, and it worked really well. You put a circle of dough on it, put in the filling, then fold the tool over, which folds the dough over. It makes them one at a time. I looked for a picture but couldn't find one.

I prefer 100% semolina dough for pasta--the trick with it is letting it rest at least 2-3 hours before rolling out, which changes the consistency dramatically. I wrap the ball of dough in plastic wrap for the resting time.

[RPMcMurphy]

yep I let is rest wrapped in the fridge for at least 2 hours.

I like a 50/50 mix but haven't tried 100% semolina....it's actually tough(er) to get around here, none of my frequented supermarkets carry it, so thats the main reason I do 50/50 haha.

[Free Rider]

This is fantastic! Just the type of photos that I like to see and thank you for the "lessons learned" too. Your raviolis look great.

[RPMcMurphy]

thanks for the feedback.

Another thing I forgot to mention is that my girlfriend SWEARS they taste better if frozen (or semi-frozen) first.

so I lay them out on a cookie tray, put them in the freezer until "stiff" then put them in a zip lock.