Hand Rolled Pasta – Southern Italian Style
Makes 1 lb
Ingredients:
2 cups semolina/semola rimacinata
1 cup warm water
Instructions:
Before you begin:
Do not add the water to the flour all at once.
The temperature and/or humidity will affect how your pasta dough comes together.
Add water/additional flour sparingly as needed until your dough comes together and is tacky and not at all sticky.
Pour the flour into a bowl or mound on a table/board. Create a well in the middle of the flour with your fingers.
Pour 2⁄3 cup of the water in the well, leaving the rest in the cup, if needed.
With a fork, slowly start incorporating the water with the surrounding flour without breaking down the walls.
Gradually incorporate all the flour and water and start kneading the dough by hand. If you started mixing your dough in a bowl, now is the time to dump it out onto a counter to continue kneading.
If the dough is too dry add more water, a few drops at a time.
If the dough is too sticky add a little more flour, just a dusting.
Your dough should be like Play-Doh. Continue kneading for 10 minutes until it is smooth and not sticky or tacky.
Wrap in plastic wrap and let dough rest at room temperature for 30 minutes. Once your dough is made and wrapped, you can store in the refrigerator until you are ready to use it but bring it back to room temperature before you start to make your pasta shapes.
Unwrap the dough and cut off a piece, making sure to always re-wrap the rest to make sure it does not dry out as you work.
Roll out your pasta into a long snake, about 3⁄4” inches thick.
Using a knife or a bench scraper, cut your dough into small pieces depending on what pasta you are making.
Place formed shapes on a semolina or cornmeal covered tray lined with parchment paper. You want to make sure your fresh pasta shapes do not touch each other, or they may stick together.
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