Is it alright to freeze pasta dough?

I use the Marcato recipe which calls for 250g each of "00" flour and semolina along with 5 eggs and water up to 250g. This is a typical recipe used in imported bagged egg pasta found in specialty italian markets. Produces 500g of dough (a little more than a pound which is 454g...so about 17.5 ounces) I make the complete 500g into whatever shape I want and freeze half. Be sure to sprinkle a little bit of the "00" flour on the pasta as you cut it. Helps keep it from sticking together. You can freeze for about 15-20 mins first on a cookie sheet to insure the pasta remains unstuck in the freezer bag. I always use within 30 days. You can paly with the recipe a little by using yolks only for a richer eggier pasta (I do this for Papparadelle and Taglietelle). Hope this helps. Investing in a decent kitchen scale couldn't hurt either.

also, i always freeze laid out in a single layer on a cookie sheet. then once it's frozen transfer to a bag so that you don't have a giant frozen clump of pasta.

i often make fresh pasta dough...the egg dough freezes great. you can take it right from the freezer to the boiling water. the semolina and water fresh dough doesn't freeze as swell.

Thanks, Pierino. I like learning the authentic names for things like that.

The name for those "odd scraps" is malfatti which means "badly cut". Freezing is fine and they are good with a ragu type sauce. In fact you can roll out lasagne sheets, allow them to dry thoroughly, and then break them up by hand.

Hmm..I don't have experience with pasta dough to be able to help you troubleshoot that Sara, but I have worked with phyllo dough and various others, and when that dough tears it means either the it hasn't had the chance to rest enough (resting it allows the gluten to relax and makes it more elastic), or it has dried some on top while waiting to be rolled. I don't know if that applies here. Hopefully the others who have been making pasta more would weigh in and help you out. I am thinking if there are dried pieces of dough in there, they too could be the cause for it tearing.

Hey, thanks! I do use a pasta roller machine (I read Marcella Hazan inveighing against the extruders so opted for the imperia? brand machine). The problem is that when it gets beyond level 4 for me (6 being the thinnest) it just starts shredding itself and gumming up. You don't even want to see the spaghetti attachment. I have a bad feeling there are dried pasta particles in there I'll never get out (and I know you are not supposed to watch it but it still weirds me out a little). The first time I tried it, it went well, and ever since then, not. I believe you guys that once you get the hang of it it is easy as pie, but I don't know when I'll get there!

Whoops, typing without reading. I hate it when I do that. The revised answer would be yes, any of the three--dusting, laying out in a layer, or drying--would be a good idea.

Either or both would be a good idea. Another trick is to spread the pasta out on a baking sheet for the initial freeze and then put it into plastic bags. That's what my mother used to do, especially with ravioli.

Should I dust the pieces with some extra semolina to prevent them from sticking and freezing into one piece, or freeze them in a single layer first, or let them dry some overnight as Sam suggested?

Ah, rolled and cut scraps will definitely work.

As for Sara's problem, I agree with the consensus that rollers are better than extruders. I just use all-purpose flour and don't have any problems. One hint I'd suggest is not to rush it. Don't be in a rush to move from the thickest setting to the thinner ones. And if there's a problem, give the dough a bit of a rest. Even better, make it with someone who's already had success. Pasta making is one of those tasks that seems difficult until you get in, and then you don't know why you thought it was so hard.

Lol, Sara. As long as you keep trying , you will get it right eventually.
I was just thinking about freezing ready rolled and cut scraps for a quick odd shaped pasta dinner to make within a month or so. Thanks for the answers.

Sam and Sara, adding semolina definitely helps when freezing pasta dough. Don't hesitate to freeze it in bulk, Sara. I'd suggest sam1148's ratio of 1 egg but to 1/2 cup all-purpose flour, 1/2 cup semolina, 1 tablespoon olive oil, and 1 teaspoon salt. I'm with sam1148 with not having good luck with extruders.

Since you're talking scraps, I assume you don't want to make it into pasta first, which definitely works. I always make all my dough into pasta, but if you don't want to, I think you'll be fine. Just take some care not to let the dough dry out, either in the freezer or when you thaw it out.

@sarabclever. Intresting on your problem with making pasta dough. What flour are you using. I find a bit of semolina flour helps the dough. With a ratio of 1 egg to 1 cup of dry/flour and semolina flour mix. Works fine for me.

What type of pasta maker do you have? A roll type is best, the extruder types are a bit fussy.

I do it all the time, make the pasta, bag and freeze and it works just fine for me. I have never just frozen the dough itself I alway make it into pasta first.

It should be okay. How long would you freeze them? It might be best to dry them on a wire rack for later use.

This is a completely uninformed opinion, but if you can freeze yeasted pizza dough (which I have done and which has done just fine) and since you can freeze fresh pasta purchased at stores, I don't see why not. (I still can't get pasta to come out right via my pasta maker and get so frustrated I rarely make it...then get brave...then fail...cycle repeats).