Handmade Pasta Dough for Fresh Pasta Dishes

Pour flour (both all-purpose and semola) out onto a flat wooden working board or into a large mixing bowl. Make a well in the center of the flour, and break an egg into it, adding salt. Beat the egg with a fork and begin to pull flour into the egg blend.

Knead dough for about 10 minutes. If you note that dough is too soft or sticky, add some additional 00 flour. Alternatively, if it’s too tough, add a bit of warm water.  You're looking for a soft, elastic dough that holds its shape nicely when formed into a ball.

Shape dough into a ball, and sprinkle with flour. Cover with a cloth and let it rest for at least 20 minutes.

A note regarding flour:  we recommend trying to source Italian 00-style all purpose flour. This is the equivalent in the United States to classic all-purpose flour.  The texture of your pasta will be very slightly different, but if you're not able to locate 00 flour, all-purpose can be used as a very valid alternative.

Once resting period has passed, prepare working space (ideally a wooden working board) by generously flouring surface.  

Using a standard wooden rolling pin, start rolling out your dough from the center, until you arrive at the your ideal thickness (the thinner the better!).  This is the hand-rolled version; alternatively, you can also roll out the dough using a pasta machine, adjusting the knobs to arrive at the desired thickness.  

Now, your dough is ready to be shaped into your preferred form.  See below for instructions on how to make ravioli.

Use your dough immediately, without allowing dough to dry. Using pre-made ravioli filling, roll out pasta dough until it is less than .2cm thick, keeping in mind that in this case the dough must be extremely thin for the dish to come out well. Cut the dough into equal rectanglar sheets.

Flour your working surface again, and place one prepared and rolled-out pasta sheet.  Using a small teaspoon, place pre-made filling on the dough at equal distances.

Moisten the dough around the filling with a wet finger or a pastry brush. Cover with a second sheet of dough and press down so that the two sheets stick together around each mound of filling. Separate the ravioli shapes with a pastry wheel or sharp knife. Arrange them on a lightly floured plate, being careful not to place them on top of one another.

Dry for at least 2 hours before proceeding with cooking pasta.