Basic Egg Pasta

Yield: Approximately 1-1/2 pounds or 4-6 servings.

• 4 large eggs
• 1/2 cup U-Bake Semolina flour
• 2-1/2 cups U-Bake all purpose flour
• 1/4 teaspoon U-Bake salt

Traditional Preperation:

1. Combine 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, the semolina flour, and salt in a mound on a work surface or countertop.

2. Make a well in the center of the flour. Break the eggs into the well then beat the eggs with a fork.

3. Using the fork, gradually add some of the flour from the inside walls of the well.

4. When the dough becomes too hard to mix with the fork, knead it with your hands, incorporating just enough of the flour to make a soft, but sticky, dough. You may not need all the flour.

5. Brush the excess flour aside. Knead the dough, adding additional flour as necessary, for about 10 minutes, or until smooth.

6. Cover the dough with a clean, lint-free tea towel. Let it rest for 10 minutes before rolling out and cutting into the desired shape.

Food Processor Preperation:

1. Place the eggs in the bowl of the processor and process until smooth.

2. In a bowl, mix 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, the semolina flour, and salt.

3. Add the flour mixture to the eggs, 1 cup at a time, and process just until a ball of dough starts to form.

4. Add a little water if the dough seems dry, a little more flour if it seems wet. The dough should not be so sticky that it clings to your fingers.

5. Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and knead it, adding additional flour as necessary, for about 5 minutes, or until smooth.

6. Cover the dough with a clean, lint-free tea towel. Let it rest for 10 minutes before rolling out and cutting into the desired shape,

Shaping the Dough:

1. Divide the dough into 4 equal pieces.

2. Work with 1 piece at a time, keeping the remaining dough covered with a lint-free, clean, tea towel.

3. Roll the dough out on a floured surface as thin as possible, or use a pasta machine to roll the dough out, referring to the owner’s manual on how to use and roll dough out on your particular machine.

4. Drape the sheets of pasta over dowel rods suspended between 2 chairs to dry slightly, about 5 minutes. (In today’s world, pasta drying racks can be purchased at chef/cooking specialty stores or thru catalogs.)

5. If cutting the pasta by hand, loosely roll up each sheet like a jelly roll. Using a very sharp knife, cut the pasta into fettuccini, vermicelli, or lasagna sheets. Or cut the pasta into the desired width with the attachments which come with the pasta machine.

6. Hang the pasta strips over dowel rods (or pasta drying racks) as you cut them, or, spread on lightly floured dusted clean, lint-free tea towels.

7. Cook the pasta immediately or let it dry completely for storage.

Cooking Homemade Pasta

1. Place a large pot of COLD water on the stovetop and bring to a rolling boil. Make sure the pot Is large enough so the pasta can freely move in the water/

2. Add a heaping tablespoon of salt to the boiling water.

2. Once the water comes to a boil, add the pasta and cook until al dente (“to the tooth”).

3. When done, thoroughly drain, add sauce, and serve immediately.

Drying and Storaging Homemade Pasta:

1. Hang the pasta over dowel rods (or over the pasta drying racks), and leave it there to dry. This will take about a day, maybe more, depending on the atmosphere in your home. Heat and humidity will affect the drying time.

2. A good “test” for the doneness of drying the pasta is to check the ends of it. If the ends begin to curl up, the pasta is dry enough.

3. Wrap the pasta loosely in aluminum foil and store it up to 3 months in a clean, dry, place.

Semolina Pasta Dough

This recipe is for a semolina pasta dough. It can be made by hand OR machine, i.e. stand mixer or even the food processor. It can be formed into any shape, from long spaghetti with varied thicknesses thin, “regular” spaghetti, fettuccini, ravioli dough, lasagna sheets…..the list is endless!

• 3 cups U-Bake Semolina flour
• 1 teaspoon U-Bake sea salt
• 4 or 5 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon U-Bake Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• Water, as needed

1. On the counter top, combine the flour with the salt and then make a pile, like a mountain.

2. Make a well in the center of the flour.

3. Crack the eggs into the center of the well, add the oil and mix with a fork.

4. Slowly add the flour into the wet ingredients until you have a workable ball of dough. Add water only if the dough is too dry.

5. Knead the dough for 5 minutes.

6. Cover the dough with a clean, lint-free tea towel and let it rest for a half hour.

7. Divide the rested dough into four equal parts. Work with one piece at a time, leaving the remaining sections covered with a towel, to prevent the dough from drying.

8. Form desired shaped pasta. Roll by hand or feed thru the shoot on a pasta machine