Master Pasta Dough
Great pasta starts with great dough, it’s as simple as that. I have spent years testing different ratios and combinations and have firmly landed on this recipe as my master dough. It is worth noting that this dough uses a fair amount of egg yolks compared to most pasta dough recipes you’ll find these days. Because of that, it results in the most fantastic texture: leathery, non-sticky, rolls beautifully, deep in colour (if you’re using high quality eggs).
I use this dough for almost all pasta shapes these days; long shapes like spaghetti, tagliatelle and pappardelle. Short, hand-rolled shapes like garganelli, barchette, farfalle. And of course this works well for all filled pastas.
Master Pasta Dough
Yields approx. 580 g / 4 servings
Ingredients
360g tipo 00
135g whole eggs
85g egg yolks
Method
Place the flour in a mound on your work surface and make a well in the centre. Pour the eggs into the well and using a fork, slowly begin to whisk until the yolks and whites have come together.
Start incorporating a little bit of flour at a time, whisking vigorously until you have a thick custard-like consistency.
Switch to a bench scraper, starting in front of you scoop up some flour from the outer edge and flip it over the centre. Use a chopping motion to cut the flour into the eggs. Repeat, moving around all sides of the flour.
Once you have a shaggy dough, use your hands to press into a ball. It might be a bit crumbly at first but keep going, and once you can see and feel a ball form starting to take shape, it’s time to knead.
After 5 minutes of kneading, cover the dough in something airtight and let it rest for 5-10 minutes. This will allow the dough to rehydrate and the gluten relax.
Return to the dough and continue kneading for another 5-7 minutes. The dough should be smooth and elastic, and not sticky at all.
Cover the dough again and let it rest for a minimum of 30 minutes at room temperature before rolling and shaping.
If you need to leave your dough for longer, rest it in the fridge and bring it to room temperature before rolling and shaping.
Troubleshooting
Depending on your location and humidity, this could impact your dough. If the dough is too sticky, very lightly dust your work surface with flour and knead directly onto it to incorporate just the smallest amount of flour until the texture is corrected.
If your dough feels too dry, my favourite way to manage this is by wetting your hands under a tap and immediately returning to the dough to knead, without drying them prior.
Always, always rest your dough generously. The texture will transform and you will find as the gluten relaxes, it will be much easier to work with.
