I. Love. Pasta. Who’s with me?! When I think of pasta I think of comfort. Every time I whip out my enormous glass canister of flour and carton of eggs I am overcome with a sense of nostalgia. Everything about making this meal takes me back to being a little girl, standing in my Nana’s kitchen, helping her make homemade pasta dough <3 .
I’ve heard from many people, usually when they’re over enjoying homemade spaghetti, that they have a pasta machine but they’ve never used it! It sits buried in the back of their cabinet with the rest of the appliances that are never used and will inevitably sit there untouched for years to come. If you fall into this category, it’s time to whip that baby out! I will show you two different methods of making spaghetti: (Method 1) Kneading the dough by hand, and using a hand crank pasta machine. (Method2) Using your Kitchen Aide mixer and attachments. **Although method 2 is faster, your spaghetti will be equally delicious either way, I promise.** If you don’t have a pasta machine you can grab a hand crank one here & if you have a Kitchen Aide you can find the attachments here.
Things are pretty crazy in our world right now and a lot of us are spending more time at home than we typically would, why not use some of that extra time to try out something new in the kitchen?! Having homemade pasta in your recipe arsenal is a great way to not only feed a big group of people without breaking the bank, but they will walk away from this simple yet eloquent meal being SO impressed. Trust me.
What you’ll need to make the pasta dough:
2 Cups Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
4 Large Eggs, lightly beaten
1-2 Tbsp Olive Oil
Pinch of Nutmeg (Optional)
Method 1: By Hand
Pour flour onto a clean countertop and create a well in the center. Sprinkle a dash of nutmeg in the bottom of your well. Gently pour beaten eggs and olive oil into the center of the well. Using a fork gradually begin to bring flour from the edges in towards the center. Do this until you have what can only be described as an ugly clump of dough.Time to switch to your hands, woohoo!!This is what your dough will look like once it comes together….not very pretty I know. Throw down a good dusting of flour on to your countertop and little more on top of your dough.Knead the dough by using the heel of your palm to push down and away from you turning it repeatedly until it feels smooth and silky in texture, about 7-10 minutes. HELLO ARM WORKOUT!Once you’re done kneading, shape the dough into a ball. You should be able to easily leave an impression in it, but it should not be sticky! Wrap your dough in plastic wrap and pop it into the fridge :) . If you’re planning to roll it out right away, skip the fridge and let it rest (still wrapped in plastic) for 30 minutes.Once you’re ready to make your spaghetti, remove dough from the fridge and let it rest for 30 minutes. I like to get everything set up and ready to go during this time! Tip: Use a pastry brush and small bowl of flour to dust your pasta dough as you work with it.Cut dough into four equal sections, removing one section and recovering the remaining three. Dust your piece of dough with flour and briefly knead it. Set rollers on your pasta machine to the widest setting, then crank the dough through the rollers. Fold the dough over on itself and pass it through the rollers again, continue to do this 2-3 times (until your dough is soft and smooth). Reset the rollers one width narrower and crank the dough through this setting 1-2 times. Adjust the rollers to the next narrowest setting and continue passing the dough through each setting until you have one long sheet of dough that should be about 1/8-inch in thickness. NOTE: Make sure to dust sheets of dough with flour in between passes to prevent it from sticking to the machine. To cut the noodles, pass sheets of pasta through the spaghetti attachment on the pasta machine. If you plan on cooking your spaghetti right away you can toss noodles with flour and set them on a piece of parchment. If you don’t plan on using spaghetti right away, hang the noodles to dry on a pasta drying rack (if you don’t have a drying rack you can use a hanger!!) Once pasta is dry, CAREFULLY put noodles into a freezer Ziplock bag and place them in the freezer until you decide to cook them! To cook your spaghetti add to boiling water and cook for about 5 minutes. Toss with your favorite sauce and enjoy!!!
Method 2: Kitchen Aide
Dylan and I received our Kitchen Aide mixer as a wedding gift from my sister (who BTW is the best person ever) and I am OBSESSED. Using the hook attachment, add flour and nutmeg to the bowl and mix on low speed for just 10 seconds. Add beaten eggs and 1 tbsp olive into center of the flour. Mix on low speed, occasionally stopping and and scraping the sides of the bowl and hook with a spatula. Once your dough begins to combine, let the mixer knead it for 5-7 minutes. Note: If your dough seems too dry you can add cold water, 1 tbsp at a time. If your dough seems too wet, add more flourRemove the dough from the bowl and hook and form it into a ball. It should be smooth and silky soft. You should be able to easily leave an impression in it, but it should not be sticky! Wrap your dough in plastic wrap and pop it into the fridge :) . If you’re planning to roll it out right away, skip the fridge and let it rest (still wrapped in plastic) for 30 minutes. Once you’re ready to make your spaghetti, remove dough from the fridge and let it rest for 30 minutes. I like to get everything set up and ready to go during this time! Tip: Use a pastry brush and small bowl of flour to dust your pasta dough as you work with it.Cut dough into four equal sections, removing one section and recovering the remaining three.Dust your piece of dough with flour and briefly knead it. Set rollers on your roller attachment to the widest setting, turn mixer on to speed 2, and send the dough through the rollers. Fold the dough over on itself and pass it through the rollers again, continue to do this 2-3 times (until your dough is soft and smooth). Reset the rollers one width narrower and pass the dough through this setting 1-2 times. Adjust the rollers to the next narrowest setting and continue passing the dough through each setting until you have one long sheet of dough that should be about 1/8-inch in thickness. I personally like to roll out all of the dough before cutting any noodles to prevent having to switch back and forth between attachments. NOTE: Make sure to dust sheets of dough with flour in between passes to prevent it from sticking to the machine.To cut the noodles, switch to spaghetti attachment and set mixer to speed 2. Pass sheets of pasta through the spaghetti attachment.If you plan on cooking your spaghetti right away you can toss noodles with flour and set them on a piece of parchment. If you don’t plan on using spaghetti right away, hang the noodles to dry on a pasta drying rack (if you don’t have a drying rack you can use a hanger!!) Once pasta is dry, CAREFULLY put noodles into a freezer Ziplock bag and place them in the freezer until you decide to cook them! To cook your spaghetti add to boiling water and cook for about 5 minutes.Toss with your favorite sauce and enjoy!!!
