Knowing recipes for spaghetti noodles is useful and fun

It’s hard to imagine that spaghetti could taste any better than it already does. The combination of the sauce with the pasta is a filling, healthy treat that often makes folks feel comforted and warm.

Chances are, you tend to use dry pasta, and while that’s good, it’s not as good as using fresh pasta. Believe it or not, pasta isn’t all that difficult to make and can actually be quite enjoyable. So throw on your apron, make some room on your counter and get ready to make one of the many recipes for spaghetti noodles.

Mixing the Dough

To make some delicious, fresh pasta, you have to use the best ingredients you can. This means fresh, high-quality food items. So go ahead and buy the best items you can and you’ll be happy that you did once you taste the difference.

Pour 1 lb. of semolina flour onto your counter top or pastry surface, then form it into a mound. This type of flour typically helps the noodles retain their shape well during the cooking process, which means gorgeous and delicious noodles.

Use your fingers to scoop out a divot in the center of the mound that is large enough to house three eggs. Break open the eggs and pour them into the center, along with ® tsp. of salt. Again, use your fingers or a fork to mix the eggs, taking care not to disturb the flour.

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Once the eggs are mixed, go ahead and start working some of the flour into the eggs, a small amount at a time. If you bring too much flour into the eggs too soon, the mixture will start to spread all over your workspace.

When the eggs, flour and salt have mixed together enough that it looks like crumbly flour, start working it with a bench knife. This tool helps you mix the dough even more so. If you don’t have one of these handy tools, you can use your fingertips.

Once the ingredients are mixed together, use your hands to form the dough into a ball. If the dough seems too rough and dry to move into a ball, add more egg mixture. If the dough is wet and sticky, rub your hands with flour to help you manipulate it into a ball.

Get Knead-y

Who says you can’t cook and get a work out while doing it? Kneading the dough gets it smooth and pliable enough to turn into spaghetti noodles, but it also gives your arms some exercise.

Go ahead and start kneading by pushing the dough away with your palm. Turn the dough about 90 degrees, fold it over itself and push it down and away again. Continue this process for about seven minutes or until the dough is nice and smooth.

Use your bench knife to cut the dough into three equal parts. Form these pieces into balls, then cover them with a bowl or towel. Let them sit and rest for about 15 minutes.

Roll With It

Flatten one of the balls with your hand until it is about ® inch thick and insert it into a pasta machine. Set the machine to the wides setting, which is usually ?1,? then turn the handle while feeding the dough into the slot. Hold the rolled pasta in your other hand, taking care not to pull on it.

Once the dough has passed completely out, set the machine to its next smallest setting and run the dough through there again. Continue this process until the dough is about 1/16 of an inch thick. The dough that comes out will become thin and fragile, so enlist the help of an assistant to hold it, if you need to.

Turning Dough Into Noodles

After all this work, you’re probably ready to see the finished product, right? Well, here you go. Now it’s time to turn this thick, flat piece of dough into spaghetti noodles. Cut your long piece of dough in half or into thirds, if needed, and attach the adapter that cuts the dough to the pasta maker.

Insert the dough into the machine, then turn the crank to work it through and cut the dough into the noodles. Grab the bunch that comes out gently, then immediately hang the noodles to dry. You can hang them over a clothes drying rack or dowel. Continue until all your dough is cut. You can use the noodles immediately to make your feast, but they will also stay good for up to a week.

Recipes of spaghetti noodles are good to know, and you’ll impress the pants off of your friends and family when you tell them you made the pasta yourself.

Resources:

About.com: How to Make Fresh Pasta Noodles

What’s Cooking America: Cooking Pasta ? How to Cook Perfect Pasta