Questions concerning pasta dough

5078 Views 31 Replies 8 Participants Last post by kokopuffs, Oct 28, 2015

kokopuffs

Discussion Starter · Sep 22, 2015

This weekend I'll be using my Marcato Atlas pasta machine for the first time. On hand are semolina flour from Bob's Red Mill and some real Italian Caputo 00 flour. The final flour mixture will be a 50-50 blend of both flours along with some salt. For the dough I plan to use one of two recipies: Ruhlman's where the eggs are weighed and multiplied by 1.5 to give the weight of the flour; or, use one egg for every 100g of flour. Any helpful comments are welcome.

The pasta noodles will be made at my house and will then be transported to a friend's house a couple of minutes away where they'll be cooked. Again, I need some info concerning a slight delay in cooking them. Should the noodles be floured and covered with plastic wrap (also during transport) or what?

Once made, the noodles will be hung on a pasta rack but for how long before transport?????

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panini

· #10 · Sep 24, 2015

I have to agree with ChefRoss. I have never posted a pasta recipe basically because the dough is different each time I make it. I personally think it's a zen thing. I know that's crazy but if you touch the ingredients and mix them together, and form a dough that you just know will work. If you have to, put a small pan of boiling water on the stove and throw some in while your kneading.That's not to say I have not had some failures, especially on my dry pasta.

If I'm making pasta for my family I will use the 00 and durham flour mixture, not semolina.

I don't use vinegar. The vinegar in small amounts will kick the yeast but will also weaken the gluten. I'm also lucky that we have very hard water here in our lakes.

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panini

· #12 · Sep 24, 2015

@kokopuffs ,

I didn't read that whole article but yes, durham flour is a by product of ground semolina. But they also regrind or mill semolina to make the durham flour. It is a product on it's own. At least that

is what I've understood all these years.

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panini

· #14 · Sep 24, 2015 (Edited)

@BrianShaw

Ya, my bad. I should have mentioned I don't use yeast in my pasta. I was talking bread. However, I do use some vinegar in my pizza dough. It seems to condition the dough and loosen up the gluten that gives you that PITA return when you lay the dough down. I use it in any dough that I'm going to stretch. I only like to stretch something like foccacia once and lay it down with no return. I also like it when I can get my pizza dough thin enough to see the hairs on my knuckles through the dough./img/vbsmilies/smilies/wink.gif

As far as the vinegar goes in bread. I can only go by what has happened to me in the past. It's a thin line when you add vinegar. A small amount can kick the yeast and act to condition the gluten but too much will slack out the gluten. But I'm sure there is something scientific to say that's wrong.

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panini

· #19 · Sep 26, 2015

@kokopuffs sounds like your kneading to much. If your using the 00 don't knead to much. Most people will tell you the 00 is a softer wheat with less protein. It's actually the same amount of

protein as bread flour at about 12-12.5 the 00 refers to the grind.

Also use you pasta machine to help. run the dough through, fold it and run it again. You can do this a number of times.

Honestly, I have seen hundreds of homemade pastas made. By Nonnas, aunts, uncles, firemen in NYC and nobody uses vinegar or acid.

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panini

· #21 · Sep 27, 2015

@kokopuffs , it is really like bread. After a while you just know the right consistency. I made pasta dough tonight just for the two of us. I caught myself. I actually do something to test the dough. After mixing everything on the counter and I'm getting one mass and I knead it a little. Then I caught myself putting my hand on top of the ball and spreading my fingers a little and push down to see how the dough rises up between my fingers. It cam up fast so I went and added flour without even thinking.

I tried explaining to my wife how excited I was to discover this, she just looked up and asked, so we're not having pasta?

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