Inspired by conversations on the Food52 Hotline, we're sharing tips and tricks that make navigating all of our kitchens easier and more fun.
Today: We kick off our collaboration with Mario Batali's How To Tuesdays with a video on making fresh pasta.
We love the How To Tuesday videos produced by the Mario Batali restaurant group; they're all about bringing tricks and techniques into our own home kitchens, making them approachable, making them accessible. So -- naturally -- we invited them to come hang out in our kitchen with us: to share their expertise, their knowledge, their experience.
Our first video with them is, of course, how to make fresh pasta; we can't think of people more fit to teach us. Watch Chef Josh Laurano of Tarry Market single-handedly quiet those fears, those hesitations, those doubts about making pasta dough at home -- and stay tuned for how to roll it out and make ravioli, tortellini, and other filled pastas.
Got anything you want to learn from the Batali chefs? Let us know in the comments!
This video was made in collaboration with Mario Batali.
Written by: Brette Warshaw
Popular on Food52
9 Comments
Technically, the more gluten the flour contains and the finer it is milled, the easier it is to roll out. Every flour absorbs water differently, so you should really learn to 'feel' the dough and adjust the liquid accordingly. Also, consider that the video says to use 1 egg per cup. The correct ratio is one egg per 100 grams, and a packed cup of flour is about 125g.
That said, even though wheat contains a lot of gluten, the rough particles of whole wheat interfere with the creation of the web of gluten that makes it possible to roll out the dough. This is why italian 00 flour, which has a talc powder consistency, gives the best results.
You should cut your flour with at least 30% white flour, to help the texture. And definitely adjust the liquid content by adding an extra egg or, even better, water by the tablespoons until you're happier with the result.
For more info check out my blog, there is a whole post dedicated to flours :)
http://goo.gl/2zN4CN
Just in case any of you would like to see the opinion of someone whose grandma worked as a pasta maker in Bologna all her life :)
~Emily from The Orange Slate
http://www.theorangeslate.com
@emilyamccord
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