For Serious Cooks - Pasta Makers?

[shootingstar]

Wow, but then can't be more labour-intensive than making focaccia from scratch...which I do...but only about 10 times annually.

I've heard a gentle way of easing oneself into homemade pasta..is to buy lasagna sheets and cutting up into strips...

[Quillfred]

Mimi - That sounds like a great idea. Maybe I'll throw a TE pasta party once I get the hang of things.

Smilingcat - I do have a pasta attachment option for the Cuisinart but it isn't nearly as nice as the Kitchen Aid one. I do need a scale and will remember to get the Seminola flour. Thanks for the tips.

Shootingstar - Is focassia very different from making regular bread? I'm still trying to get better at bread. I heard that the chlorine in tap water might be a factor. It still rises but would I like a little more ooopf. I never thought of playing with lasagne noodles. I saw a food show where the cook didn't precook the lasagne noodles. I didn't know that was an option.

Thanks all!

[mimitabby]

Btw,
my grandmother never weighed or measured anything. Depending on the humidity you're going to need more or less moisture for your dough. So remember weighing it gets you close, but... not necessarily THERE.

I'd enjoy a pasta making party; I have a machine!

[shootingstar]

Wow, but then can't be more labour-intensive than making focaccia from scratch...which I do...but only about 10 times annually.

I've heard a gentle way of easing oneself into homemade pasta..is to buy lasagna sheets and cutting up into strips...

Actually today just after this posting, I saw an older tv Jamie Oliver cooking show, where he shows precisely this, use of lasagna sheets for "short-cut" pasta..and you boil the cut pasta.


I suspect my focaccia is closer to a pizza dough, since I really want to stretch it for as many servings/slices as possible, so I flatten it out pretty thin. But it can bubble up nicely in oven..if it wasn't weighed down with yummy toppings ..(smoked salmon, etc.).

[NoNo]

I have both the pasta attachment for my Kitchenaid mixer and the old hand-crank style roller. The mixer attachment is by far faster, but both taste equally yummy. There's nothing better! I almost made ravioli this weekend, but never got around to it.

[Chile Pepper]

I don't use my machine much anymore because I can't get proper pasta flour here--but I love it when I do use it. The kids have fun with it, too. I knead my dough right in the machine (a manual Atlas)--just keep folding the dough and rolling it on the widest setting about ten times or so until you get the right texture. (I also make bread, incidentally, so it isn't the hand kneading I'm avoiding. The pasta dough is much denser and stiffer than bread dough, so I find the machine the easiest option.) I do not let it rest before rolling it out: once it has the right texture, I start tightening the machine rollers.

[firenze11]

I have a hand-crank machine. I kind of wish I had the Kitchenaid attachment to make the process faster, but I still really enjoy making homemade pasta. It makes me feel rustic. . .or something.

I'd say it's definitely worth making homemade pasta. The flavor is completely different. Whenever I make it for my family they got nuts over it and wonder why anyone would eat boxed, dried pasta. If I had the time I'd make fresh whenever I ate pasta. Or make a huge batch and dry it at home. It's not hard, it's just a bit messy and time consuming.

[Quillfred]

You have convinced me. I ordered an manual Atlas and dryer rack yesterday. Hopefully it is the one that can have a motor attached (if need be in the future).

Thanks to the advent of Youtube and cooking shows, I've seen the process and am convinced it is worth the time and effort.

Thanks again!

[bmccasland]

When's the TE dinner party?