Drying Pasta Dough

Dry your homemade pasta for later use.

Some novice pasta makers mix and knead their dough, cut it out and pop it immediately into boiling water. While the anticipation of a fresh pasta meal may be an excuse, this isn't the best way to create a fresh pasta dish. Drying the pasta will improve your dish, whether you are making fresh noodles for soup or creating spaghetti nests to use next week.

Things You'll Need

• Pasta dough
• All-purpose flour
• Pasta machine or knife
• Tea towel
• Cutting board
• Broom or dowel
• 2 chairs
• Plastic bags

Instructions

1. Lay the sheet of pasta on a floured surface after you finish rolling it thin. Allow the pasta to rest and dry slightly on the surface to make it easier to cut the dough into shapes. The dough won't be so sticky and the noodles will separate more easily, either in a machine or with a knife.

2. Set the cut pasta pieces onto a floured tea towel or cutting board. Dust them with a light coating of flour on top and allow them to rest and dry further for about 15 minutes before cooking. This will create a firmer surface on the dough and help prevent the noodles from sticking together in the cooking water.

3. Dry pasta shapes, such as squares or bow ties, completely for storage and later use. Lay the shapes on a floured board and dust them with more flour. Set the board in a warm, dry spot away from boiling water or other sources of moisture. Turn the pasta over after a couple of hours, to allow the other side to dry in the open air. Leave the pasta out until it is completely dry and brittle. Store the dried pasta in sealed plastic bags.

4. Hang stringy pasta, like fettuccine or spaghetti, over a broomstick balanced on the backs of two chairs or over dowels suspended in the air in your kitchen. Hanging the noodles will allow air to reach every surfaces of the noodles and will help them dry faster. Keep long strands from breaking by storing stringy pasta in long plastic bags or tall counter containers.

5. Pile thin pasta, like angel hair, into round nests to dry in an attractive manner. Turn the nests over on a regular basis to make sure that all the surfaces dry evenly. Package the nests in plastic bags when they are completely dry.

Tips & Warnings

• Don't do any initial drying for stuffed pasta like ravioli. You want a slightly stickier dough so that the edges will seal together.

References

• Recipe Tips.com: Drying Pasta
• Coquinaria.nl: How to Make Fresh Pasta Dough