Growing up in Germany, making your own pasta seemed to be reserved for experienced homemakers. Recipes and methods were passed on from generation to generation, and the goal of learning them seemed unattainable. Learning to use a pasta maker changed all of that.
My journey of becoming a sourdough home baker quickly brought me to branch out from bread to other things to make from scratch for my family. I enjoy knowing what goes into the food we eat and avoiding processed foods full of preservatives.
At some point in my journey, a friend cleared out some clutter and gave us a Marcato Pasta Queen pasta machine. Marcato doesn’t make this model anymore, but I did some research for you, and one of the best options seems to be the Marcato Atlas 150.
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You can also get attachments for your stand mixer that will eliminate the work of turning the crank.
Equipment
- 1 Pasta maker The Marcato has the best reviews I found.
Ingredients
- Prepared pasta dough find my recipes by clicking on the link
Instructions
- Prepare your pasta dough and let it rest. Make sure it is elastic and not too dry.
- Use the C-clamp provided to secure the base to your counter. Make sure you can turn the handle without hurting your hands.
- Slide the pasta cutter attachment into the slots on the base.
- Dust your counter or a large cutting board with semolina flour.
- Cut off about 60 grams of dough – a bench scraper works well.
- Dust the dough with semolina flour.
- Pull out the dial of your machine and set it to the widest setting.
- Feed the dough through the rollers while turning the handle.
- Take the dough package and fold it in thirds. Then dust it with flour.
- Pass the dough through the rollers again, turn it around, and pass it through again.
- Dust with semolina flour and set the dial to 2.
- Pass the dough through the rollers twice again.
- Repeat this until you reach the desired thickness.
Cut your pasta
- Move the handle to the pasta cutter.
- Dust your pasta sheet with flour again and feed it through the cutter.
- You can transfer your pasta to hot water and boil it right away (3 – 4 minutes).Or you can hang them to dry out and store them in a sealed container.Or you can form little nests of pasta and freeze them individually.
Clean your pasta maker
- Do NOT put your pasta maker into the dishwasher or immerse it in water!
- Use a damp cloth to wipe down your pasta machine. and dry it with a tea towel or a microfiber cloth.
- Fold a rag or paper towel and feed it through the rollers to wipe them clean.
- To clean the cutter part, feed a paper towel through the rollers.
