5 Essential Tips to Make Perfect Fresh Pasta

Making fresh pasta at home can be incredibly satisfying, as long as it's done perfectly and flawlessly. It's an art passed down from generation to generation, made up of gestures that become rituals of preparation. We're going to reveal 5 useful tips for making perfect fresh pasta at home: simple preparation tricks, from which flour to use, to the number of eggs, to how to knead it and roll out the dough. Here are the rules to follow, small tips that are useful even for beginners who want to impress their guests.

1. Don't Use Only All-Purpose Flour

To make the dough, use only a portion of all-purpose flour and then add the re-milled semolina flour; this will improve the consistency of the pasta. The result is a dry, compact dough that will also hold its shape better after baking.

2. How Many Eggs to Use

For fresh egg pasta, the suggested ratio is 1:1, meaning for every 100 grams of flour, you need 1 egg. This rule, however, isn't always true: eggs aren't always the same size. If you're using small eggs, add 1 more and slightly increase the amount of flour.

3. Add a Drizzle of Oil

The original fresh pasta recipe doesn't call for oil, but it's amazing how elastic the dough becomes and how it doesn't break. You can therefore add 1 tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil, making a dough for 4 people with 200 grams of flour and 2 eggs. This will make rolling out the dough easier.

4. Knead For at Least 10 Minutes and Then Let it Rest

It's important to work the dough well, allowing the gluten to develop, which is essential for achieving the right consistency and final strength of the product. Knead for at least 10 minutes, then wrap the dough in plastic wrap and let it rest for at least 30 minutes. This will make the dough easier to work with.

5. Pull It Gently

You can roll out the dough with a rolling pin, flouring it and turning it frequently to prevent it from sticking, or use a pasta machine, delicately rolling out the dough through all the thicknesses until you reach the desired one: the thickness will depend on the shape you want to make, whether it's tagliatelle or filled pasta.