[longfellow]

Having a problem making raviolis. I always end up with thick dougy pieces.
I bring my pasta dough machine to the 3rd setting. When I am making them they seem fine but once the hit the hot water the raviolis swell up to much.
The number three setting on the pasta machine works well for for spegetti.
Looking to make delicate raviolis and need help.

[oldschool1982]

Not sure what thickness your #3 setting or how thick your "spaghetti" is but I have to ask...... are you letting the pasta dough rest after making and then before plopping the ravs in the water?

From the short description I would guess the dough is a bit too thick and is not getting ample rest time. Also, depending on the type of flour used, you could also be over working the dough and creating excess gluten.

IMHPO good ravilois are made from dough sheets that are just a hair thicker than a wonton wrapper or just under an 1/8 inch.

[RPMcMurphy]

i put my "manual" pasta roller down to 2 when rolling it out (gradually of course, 5-3-2)....you should almost be able to see through it...

i let my dough rest for like 40-60 minutes in the fridge wrapped in saran.

take extra time to make sure its sealed right, but more importantly, make sure you press ALL the air out.

practice makes perfect
Choose Life.: Practice makes Perfect Pasta - "Progress" Pictures

i went from this



to this...

[Psycho Chef]

People may warn of over kneading but not enough can be a problem also. Always better done by hand, to get a feel for it, the dough should be "elastic" or "strechy". It should pull quite a bit without cracking and then be properly rested where it will become "softer" feeling. By hand with 3 or 4 lbs of dough the kneading can take 20 minutes or more, and the resting another half hour. My pasta machine gets thinner as the numbers go up so numbers are meaningless but the second to least thinnest works for us it's 7 out of 9. If it's hard to handle when you roll it out, hang it over something to dry for 5 to 10 minutes. When they loose that sticky shine and the edges start to feel "leathery" they should be easier to work with.

[longfellow]

THanks for the info