PASTA MAKING 101
THE BEGINNER'S GUIDE TO HANDMADE PASTA
If you've ever wanted to learn how to make homemade pasta but aren't sure where to begin, you're in the right place! Making handmade pasta is easier than you might think. You just need to understand a few basics to get started.
My goal is to make pasta-making feel approachable and enjoyable, whether it's your very first time working with pasta dough or you're looking to fine-tune your skills and learn to make different shapes. I'll walk you through the fundamentals of handmade pasta, from ingredients and tools to the techniques behind making fresh pasta in your own kitchen.
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Handmade Pasta Basics
The two most common types of handmade pasta dough are egg dough and semolina dough. Each has different ingredients, textures and uses depending on the pasta shape you're making.
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Egg dough is made with flour and eggs. It’s soft, silky and perfect for long, hand-cut shapes like tagliatelle and fettuccine as well as filled pasta shapes like ravioli or tortellini. This dough is common in northern and central Italy, places like Bologna and Emilia‑Romagna.
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Semolina dough is made with just flour and water - no eggs needed. It’s firmer and has more structure than egg dough, making it ideal for hand-shaped pasta like orecchiette, cavatelli and busiate. It’s commonly associated with southern Italy, places like Puglia or Sicily where these shapes originate.​
Ingredients for Handmade Pasta
‘00’ Flour: ‘00’ flour is a finely milled Italian soft-wheat flour commonly used for fresh egg pasta. Its fine texture helps create a smooth, soft dough that's easy to knead and roll.
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Semolina Flour: Semolina comes from durum wheat, a harder variety of wheat traditionally used for pasta. Semolina rimacinata is a finer, double-milled version used in handmade semolina dough. It adds structure and helps create a firmer bite. Coarser semolina is useful for dusting work surfaces and pasta trays to prevent sticking as well as extruded pastas.
Eggs: Eggs provide moisture and impact the color and texture of the dough. Whole eggs create a softer, more workable dough, while additional yolks add richness, deeper color and a silkier texture.
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Water: Water is used in traditional semolina pasta doughs instead of eggs. It creates a firmer texture that’s perfect for many southern Italian pasta shapes.
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​Essential Pasta-Making Tools
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Pasta Machine: A Marcato Atlas 150 or KitchenAid Pasta Roller makes rolling dough into even sheets much easier.
Wooden Board: Provides a sturdy surface for mixing, kneading and shaping dough.
Bench Scraper: Used for bringing dough together, cutting portions and keeping your work surface clean.
Pasta Wheel Cutters: Helps cut clean edges and shape different types of pasta.
Making Pasta Dough
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Making fresh pasta dough involves three basic stages: mixing, kneading, and resting. Each plays an important role in developing the dough's texture and making it easier to roll and shape.
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Mixing: The flour and eggs are combined until a dough begins to form.
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Kneading: Kneading develops the gluten in the flour, giving the dough its structure and elasticity.
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Resting: Resting allows the gluten to relax and the flour to fully hydrate, making the dough smoother and easier to roll out.
Rolling Handmade Pasta
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Once your dough has rested, it's time to roll it out. You can use a pasta machine, like the Marcato Atlas 150 or KitchenAid Pasta Roller, to create smooth, even sheets of dough. Alternatively, you can roll pasta entirely by hand using a traditional wooden rolling pin, known as a mattarello.
The thickness of your pasta sheets depends on the shape you're making. Filled pasta like ravioli requires a thinner sheet, while long-cut pastas like tagliatelle are rolled slightly thicker.
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Shaping Handmade Pasta
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Once your pasta dough is rolled out, it's time to shape it! Handmade pasta comes in countless shapes and sizes, from long ribbons like fettuccine, tagliatelle and trenette to filled pasta like ravioli, tortellini and cappelletti.
Each shape has its own technique and many require just a few simple tools. With a little practice, you can start exploring different shapes and finding your favorites.
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Common Pasta-Making Mistakes
Making pasta from scratch takes a little practice. Here are three common mistakes to watch for when getting started:
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Dough that's too dry: If the dough feels crumbly and won't come together, it may need a little more moisture. Add a little bit of water or wet your hands and continue kneading.
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Dough that's too sticky: If the dough is too sticky, add a light dusting of flour and continue kneading.
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Skipping the resting period: Resting allows the gluten to relax, making the dough easier to roll and shape.
These are just a few of the common issues that can arise when making fresh pasta dough. My Pasta Making 101: Egg Dough guide covers troubleshooting tips and FAQs in more detail, addressing the many variables that can affect your dough and the finished pasta.
Take Your Pasta-Making Skills Further
Ready to get hands-on and start making pasta yourself? My Pasta Making 101: Egg Dough guide was created to make handmade pasta approachable, with detailed, step-by-step instructions to help you make melt-in-your-mouth handmade pasta.
Inside, you'll find everything you need to get started with fresh egg pasta, including ingredient and tool recommendations, dough fundamentals, and step-by-step tutorials for five handmade pasta shapes: fettuccine, tagliatelle, farfalle, garganelli, and ravioli.
The guide also includes troubleshooting tips and FAQs to help you navigate common questions and challenges along the way.
Whether you're making pasta for the first time or looking to expand your skills, this guide will help you get started.
Ready to make pasta from scratch?
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Explore Pasta Making 101: Egg Dough
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