How to Make Homemade Pasta

Making pasta by hand is easier than you think. Homemade pasta isn't too much cheaper, but the taste difference can be pretty dramatic, and the best part is, you probably already have the required ingredients and supplies in your kitchen.

Things You'll Need

• 2 cups semolina flour (or American bread flour)
• 3 large eggs
• Water, a drop at a time (if necessary)
• Knife
• Flour
• Eggs
• Pot with boiling water
• Rolling pin
• Pasta sauce

Instructions

1. Measure 2 cups of semolina flour into a mixing bowl. You can use American bread flour if you can't get semolina, and all-purpose flour is the last resort, but will still work if you are determined to make your pasta from scratch.

2. Crack 3 large eggs into the flour to make the homemade dough.

3. Mix the dough with a fork first, and then knead with your hands until the pasta dough is firm. This usually takes about 10 to 15 minutes.

4. Add water a drop or two at a time if the dough is too crumbly.

5. Roll the pasta dough into a ball and cover with plastic wrap (or a plate) for at least 30 minutes.

6. Roll out the homemade dough into a flat sheet using a rolling pin (or a tall glass, wine bottle or whatever kitchen item you like to use for rolling things out). You may need to lightly flour the surface you are using to roll the dough and your rolling pin. The dough should be rolled extremely thin before cutting it into noodles.

7. Use your hands to carefully roll the flattened dough sheet into a tube.

8. Slice the tube with a knife into sections no wider than the thickness of a quarter.

9. Stretch out the strands and let them dry for about 10 minutes.

10. Boil your made-from-scratch pasta in salted water for only 2 or 3 minutes, depending on the thickness of your strands.

11. Taste a sample when the pasta floats to the top.

12. Drain and add sauce immediately.

13. Dive in and congratulate yourself on a scrumptious homemade pasta dinner.

Tips & Warnings

• Add other ingredients if you want to experiment with taste and color. For example, add finely minced cooked spinach or a couple tablespoons of olive oil to the dough.

• If you're really motivated, make side dishes or pasta sauce from scratch while you are waiting for the dough to sit.