Homemade Pasta Dough (By Hand Method)

• 3 eggs (Optional: 5 Egg yolks. If using only yolks, you will likely need a few extra eggs)
• Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• Salt Pepper, Garlic Powder, Parsley, Oregano
• 9 Heaping tablespoons of AP Flour (Rule of thumb: 3 heaping Tablespoons per egg used)

Method

1. Place flour on your counter top. With a small bowl, press into the mound of flour to create a “volcano” hole in the center. Make sure this hole is entirely surrounded by a wall of flour.
2. In a bowl, whisk together your eggs.
3. Add your seasoning (about a tablespoon of each).
4. Dump the eggs into the center of the “flour volcano”.
5. With a fork, slowly mix flour into the egg wash with continuous circle motions around the center of the volcano. With each lap around, grab a little bit of flour from the wall you pass. The mixture should start to thicken up as you add more and more flour. Be careful not to grab too much too soon, as a breach in the wall could result in eggs escaping and creating quite the mess!
6. Once the egg/flour mixture is thick enough that you’re struggling to move it nicely with the fork, its time to get your hands dirty.
7. Coat your hands in flour, this will help the mixture not stick to your hands.
8. Incorporate the rest of the flour into the mixture creating a dough. Note: the dough should be tacky, but not sticky. If the dough is still sticky, slowly add small amount of flour to improve the quality. If the dough appears too dry, add a small amount of oil until you reach that “tacky but not sticky” consistency.
9. Knead the dough for 10-15 minutes. To knead, first form a ball with the dough. Then, use the “push, fold, push, fold” method. Push the dough down to flatten it a bit, followed by folding it in half. After you fold it in half, turn the dough to the side and repeat the steps. (Reference: If you pushed forward then folded back, turn the dough to the side so your folds in the dough are facing sideways not long ways)
10. After kneading, wrap the dough in cling wrap and refrigerate it for 1-2 hours.
11. See “Homemade Linguini” for how to turn pasta dough into beautiful linguini.