1 egg + 81 g flour. I use a food processor to mix, then when it comes together I take it out, knead it until it's no longer sticky, then let it rest for ~30 minutes. Finally I roll it out a little with a rolling pin before putting it through my pasta maker, starting with size 0 and making my way to size 7. Sometimes I let it rest for 10-15 minutes in between the rolling pin and pasta maker.
I've been ending up with this leathery weird texture and the edges look all chewed up. What am I doing wrong?
by -dai-zy
9 Comments
Sometimes when it’s sticky it will stick to the rollers and make this texture. Usually it’s 1 egg to 100g of flour, or 48-50% hydration. Try more flour, more bench flour when rolling it out, double it over itself then roll it again, repeat until it’s the right size/texture for you.
A few things:
1) Old Italian Grandmothers dont use food processors and this might be causing some trouble. The fucking whizzing might be heating and pulverizing the mix. Just put some flour on the table, make a well, and do it the old fashioned way.
2) If you want your mix to be nice and silky, try mixing in a splash of olive oil and the egg into a bowl and whisk it with a fork until incorporated
3) measuring the exact amount of flour isnt very helpful. How big is the egg? Is it free range or not? just use feeling its not a science experiment.
4) you don’t knead until its no longer sticky, you knead it until its smooth and incorporated. I usually go 7-9 minutes depending on the mix. It should be light and springy to the touch.
5) Potentially the biggest problem, i wouldn’t roll out any dough with a rolling pin. Just take a small chunk, put it on zero, fold it in half, then run it through, fold it in half, run it through, then fold it in half one more time and run it through. Laminating the dough like this will help to improve the “bite” and the texture as well. After that you do the 1-6 or so.
6) iI don’t think your dough is properly kneaded but even if it was, feel free to flour the equipment as well when you run it through to make sure you get a clean run through.
I literally made pasta today and it was silky and golden like rapunzel’s hair. Keep trying.
Run it through at zero, fold, repeat. I usually have to do that 3-5 times before the machine has laminated it enough to decrease the width at all.
If it’s too tacky after bringing the dough together, douse it with a lot of flour when you’re laminating it and continue to keep it well floured while you’re rolling.
It works for me every time I make a dough that’s too wet.
I would maybe consider weighing your eggs as well. For example, i do 185g eggs to 300g flour and make sure to need for at least 8 – 10 min. It will help prevent any weird textures and give a more consistent product
The rest time is causing it to dry out a bit and form a crust on the very most outside. I know this for a fact because I do it specifically to get a more textured noodle (although it will not be good for filled pasta). It could also be drying out in the rest period if it’s not wrapped tight enough.
That dry layer will cause the edges of the sheet to be ragged as well, but to harness the texture without that effect, let it dry more aggressively (with a fan or for longer) before the last two passes through the sheeter.
You’re overworking it while it’s wet. Let it rest in a bowl under a slightly damp cloth or wrap it in plastic wrap and let it proof. It needs to develop its glutens.
Not wet enough.
I would also recommend going slower through the rollers. don’t rush it. I mean, roll it on the thickest setting twice, and increese levels by 1 every two rolls, so go 0, 0, 1, 1 etc. if you roll on lvl for example 0 once, then 2, then 4, then 6 the dough ends up with weird texture. sorry I just woke up I’m not that eloquent. I hope you know what I mean!