This recipe for fresh homemade pasta dough is designed to be flexible. Instead of the extra egg yolks many recipes call for, it uses oil, giving it a bendy texture ideal for ravioli and agnolotti. But it’s wonderful for fettuccine, lasagna, and pappardelle too.
Learning how to make pasta dough for the first time? The process is simpler than you might think, but it takes practice. Equipment is key: A stand mixer does most of the kneading in this fresh pasta recipe, and while you can use a rolling pin, a pasta maker with a hand crank or KitchenAid pasta roller attachment makes life easier.
Let your dough rest at room temperature so the glutens can relax—skip this step, and the dough will spring back each time you roll it. Pass the dough through your pasta maker several times for a smooth, even dough that doesn’t crack. When ready, you should be able to see the shadow of your hand through the dough. Once you’ve cut the pasta into your desired shapes (note that fresh pasta swells quite a bit while cooking), dust it with a little bit of flour or cornmeal to prevent sticking.
The same rules for cooking store-bought spaghetti apply to fresh pasta making: Cook it in a large pot of boiling salted water, but start checking if it’s cooked through after just a minute or two.
Looking for a pasta dough recipe without eggs? Try one with semolina flour and boiling water. Pair your fresh homemade pasta with our favorite pasta sauce recipes, like white pesto with ricotta and Parmesan cheese, a spinach pasta with preserved lemon, and more.
What you’ll need
Stand Mixer
$400 $380 At Amazon
Cloth Bowl Covers
$18 At Amazon
Recipe information
Yield
Makes about 1 pound
Ingredients
Preparation
Step 1
Mix 3 large eggs, beaten to blend, 2 cups (250 g) all-purpose flour, 1 Tbsp. olive oil, and 1 tsp. Diamond Crystal or ½ tsp. + ⅛ tsp. Morton kosher salt in the bowl of a stand mixer with your hands until a shaggy dough forms. Knead with dough hook on medium-low speed until dough is smooth and elastic, about 10 minutes. Cover bowl with a cloth bowl cover or kitchen towel and let rest at least 30 minutes.
Step 2
Dust a large rimmed baking sheet with cornmeal or semolina flour. Set pasta machine to widest setting; dust lightly with cornmeal or semolina flour. Divide dough into 4 pieces. Working with 1 piece at a time and keeping remaining dough wrapped in plastic as you work, flatten dough into a narrow rectangle (no wider than mouth of machine); pass through rollers. Fold in ends of dough so they meet in center, then fold dough in half and roll again.
Step 3
Repeat without folding, adjusting machine one setting thinner after every pass and dusting with cornmeal or semolina flour if sticky, catching pasta sheet with your hand instead of letting it crumple on the work surface (cut sheet of dough in half if it gets too long). Continue until pasta sheet is ¹⁄₁₆" thick (setting 8 on most machines). (Alternatively, you can roll out sheets lengthwise with a rolling pin until ¹⁄₁₆" thick.) Transfer dough to prepared baking sheet and roll out remaining dough in the same manner.
Step 4
Cut pasta as desired.
Do Ahead: Dough can be made 1 day ahead; cover tightly with plastic wrap and chill.
Editor’s note: This fresh pasta dough recipe was first printed in September 2016 to accompany Sweet Corn and Ricotta Raviolo and Butternut Squash Agnolotti, but it’s easy, texturally resilient, and versatile enough to form into any shape.
