Making pasta from scratch is not difficult and, once you get the hang of it, it will become one of your favorite recipes. However, there are a few things you need to know before you start so that it goes smoothly.

First, make sure you have a clean, well-lit space for the whole process to take place. Clear away all your junk (like the kettle, the bread bin and the kids’ homework) and get a long, clutter-free work surface set up. This won’t take much, but it will help you focus and be more productive. You will be able to fine more recipes from our site Fooooods.com

Next, mix all of the ingredients together and create a well in the middle of the flour/salt mixture (this is called a “well”). Crack the eggs into this well and whisk them with a fork to combine.

You can add olive oil to this dough if you’d like, which will prevent the gluten from forming and make the final pasta more tender. Salt is also helpful because it flavors the pasta and also strengthens the gluten so you’ll end up with a more al dente pasta.

Once the dough is mixed, let it rest in a bowl for 30 minutes or so. This allows the gluten to relax and make it easier for you to shape it into a sheet of dough.

During this time, you can also prepare your sauce and the ingredients for the dish. Then, when the dough is ready, you can roll it out and cut into noodles.

After the pasta is shaped, you can cook it immediately or freeze it so it’s ready to use later on. If you plan on cooking it straightaway, leave it out to dry for a few hours or, if you’re planning on freezing it, put it in an airtight container for a couple of days or up to a month before cooking.

Then, when it’s ready to cook, bring a large saucepan of water to a boil and add the pasta. Then, cook it for about 3-5 minutes, tasting it after about four minutes to see if you want to add more time to the cooking.

If you’re using fresh pasta, it will cook faster than dried pasta. If you’re freezing it, freeze it on a baking sheet and then transfer to an airtight container after it’s frozen.

Another tip for making pasta from scratch is to knead the dough before shaping it into a ball. Kneading the dough will massage the gluten in the flour, which makes the pasta more tender and al dente. It will also help the dough stick to your hands less, so you can handle it better. 

You can knead the dough by hand, in a stand mixer or in a food processor. The kneading process can take about 10 minutes for the dough to be smooth and pliable.

Then, you can shape the dough into your desired shapes and, if you’re using a pasta machine, you can then roll it out to the thickness you desire. 

Alternatively, you can cut the sheet of pasta into individual noodles by folding it in half and then cutting across into ribbons of your desired width.