I bought one of those on Sunday in anticipation of the snow storm. I
also wanted to use up a William Sonoma credit that I had. So, what
went wrong:

I followed the recipe for egg pasta provided in the manual of the
roller/cutters. It said 3.5 cups of flour (I used 125 grams x 3.5 or
437 grams), 3 eggs, 1/2 teaspoon of salt and one tablespoon of water.
It made very dry dough that would not come together. So I started
adding water and I'd bet all in all I added close to a 1/2 a cup or
more.

The dough seemed better. I cut it into 4 pieces and let it sit for 20
minutes. I then made the first batch of linguini. I ran it through
the roller till I got to five, only folding on the #1 setting. What
should I have done next? I took out the roller and put in the
linguini cutter. It worked pretty well even though the linguini was
much too long. I put the linguini in a twisted pile like they do in
videos. I just remembered there might be some you tubes on this.

I put the roller back and did the next piece of dough but this time
cutting it in half again. So now what again? do I roll out all the
dough and then cut? That is what I did but I did not lay out the
rolled pasta dough straight, I folded it once crossing over the end
under it. I did that 6 times and then put in the cutter.

I could not separate the dough into a straight piece again and it
became a nightmare. I did the best I could and then put the cut
linguini and a tent like shape. When I finished, everything stuck
together. I guess keeping it straight would have been the best idea.

I'd appreciate any technique questions. The woman in William Sonoma
said she makes the dough on the counter, making a whole in the
mountain of flour and putting the eggs and water in the hole and
incorporating the flour. She said it makes for lighter pasta. I
wonder if I used too much water.

Alan

Alan Calan wrote:
>
> I bought one of those on Sunday in anticipation of the snow storm. I
> also wanted to use up a William Sonoma credit that I had. So, what
> went wrong:
>
> I followed the recipe for egg pasta provided in the manual of the
> roller/cutters. It said 3.5 cups of flour (I used 125 grams x 3.5 or
> 437 grams), 3 eggs, 1/2 teaspoon of salt and one tablespoon of water.
> It made very dry dough that would not come together. So I started
> adding water and I'd bet all in all I added close to a 1/2 a cup or
> more.
>
> The dough seemed better. I cut it into 4 pieces and let it sit for 20
> minutes. I then made the first batch of linguini. I ran it through
> the roller till I got to five, only folding on the #1 setting. What
> should I have done next? I took out the roller and put in the
> linguini cutter. It worked pretty well even though the linguini was
> much too long. I put the linguini in a twisted pile like they do in
> videos. I just remembered there might be some you tubes on this.
>
> I put the roller back and did the next piece of dough but this time
> cutting it in half again. So now what again? do I roll out all the
> dough and then cut? That is what I did but I did not lay out the
> rolled pasta dough straight, I folded it once crossing over the end
> under it. I did that 6 times and then put in the cutter.
>
> I could not separate the dough into a straight piece again and it
> became a nightmare. I did the best I could and then put the cut
> linguini and a tent like shape. When I finished, everything stuck
> together. I guess keeping it straight would have been the best idea.
>
> I'd appreciate any technique questions. The woman in William Sonoma
> said she makes the dough on the counter, making a whole in the
> mountain of flour and putting the eggs and water in the hole and
> incorporating the flour. She said it makes for lighter pasta. I
> wonder if I used too much water.
>
> Alan

You almost certainly used too much water. Properly done, the dough will
not really come together in a coherent form until you've run it through
the rollers on #1 a number of times, folding it in half after each pass,
effectively kneading it. After a while of this the raggedy dough will
start to hold together better and become more uniform and a bit elastic.
Once it's holding together you can let it rest for a bit before rolling
it down to thickness and then running it through the cutters.

"Alan Calan" > wrote in message
...
>I bought one of those on Sunday in anticipation of the snow storm. I
> also wanted to use up a William Sonoma credit that I had. So, what
> went wrong:
>
> I followed the recipe for egg pasta provided in the manual of the
> roller/cutters. It said 3.5 cups of flour (I used 125 grams x 3.5 or
> 437 grams), 3 eggs, 1/2 teaspoon of salt and one tablespoon of water.
> It made very dry dough that would not come together. So I started
> adding water and I'd bet all in all I added close to a 1/2 a cup or
> more.
>

That's the trouble with stupid cup recipes! They never tell you how to fill
the cup and the weight can vary from 100g to >130g.
The recipe I have is:
300g flour
3 eggs
1 tsp salt

I remember watching Maryanne Esposito make pasta dough by hand and it
never looked like my dough. Maybe the recipe doesn't work well in the
mixer. It didn't taste that bad, the linguinis that I was abl to
separate.

What about the technique of when to do the rolling and cutting and
what do you do with the pasta after each step?

Alan


On Wed, 04 Mar 2009 19:36:33 -0600, "Pete C." >
wrote:

>You almost certainly used too much water. Properly done, the dough will
>not really come together in a coherent form until you've run it through
>the rollers on #1 a number of times, folding it in half after each pass,
>effectively kneading it. After a while of this the raggedy dough will
>start to hold together better and become more uniform and a bit elastic.
>Once it's holding together you can let it rest for a bit before rolling
>it down to thickness and then running it through the cutters.

Alan Calan wrote:
>
> I remember watching Maryanne Esposito make pasta dough by hand and it
> never looked like my dough. Maybe the recipe doesn't work well in the
> mixer. It didn't taste that bad, the linguinis that I was abl to
> separate.
>
> What about the technique of when to do the rolling and cutting and
> what do you do with the pasta after each step?
>
> Alan

Dust the pasta with flour before running through the cutter. Use a long
handle woden/plastic spoon to catch the cut pasta when it's half way
through, letting it drape over the handle of the spoon. Either
immediately transfer it to a large pot of boiling water to cook, or hang
it over a drying rack to dry a bit more.



>
> On Wed, 04 Mar 2009 19:36:33 -0600, "Pete C." >
> wrote:
>
> >You almost certainly used too much water. Properly done, the dough will
> >not really come together in a coherent form until you've run it through
> >the rollers on #1 a number of times, folding it in half after each pass,
> >effectively kneading it. After a while of this the raggedy dough will
> >start to hold together better and become more uniform and a bit elastic.
> >Once it's holding together you can let it rest for a bit before rolling
> >it down to thickness and then running it through the cutters.

boulanger wrote:
>
> "Alan Calan" > wrote in message
> ...
> >I bought one of those on Sunday in anticipation of the snow storm. I
> > also wanted to use up a William Sonoma credit that I had. So, what
> > went wrong:
> >
> > I followed the recipe for egg pasta provided in the manual of the
> > roller/cutters. It said 3.5 cups of flour (I used 125 grams x 3.5 or
> > 437 grams), 3 eggs, 1/2 teaspoon of salt and one tablespoon of water.
> > It made very dry dough that would not come together. So I started
> > adding water and I'd bet all in all I added close to a 1/2 a cup or
> > more.
> >
>
> That's the trouble with stupid cup recipes! They never tell you how to fill
> the cup and the weight can vary from 100g to >130g.
> The recipe I have is:
> 300g flour
> 3 eggs
> 1 tsp salt

Most definitely! When baking/making stuff like bread & pasta - it's
much better to go by weight!!! I'm learning this the hard way, too!

Sky, who's yet to figure out a good baguette

--
Ultra Ultimate Kitchen Rule - Use the Timer!
Ultimate Kitchen Rule -- Cook's Choice

"Sky" > wrote in message
...
> boulanger wrote:
>>
>> "Alan Calan" > wrote in message
>> ...
>> >I bought one of those on Sunday in anticipation of the snow storm. I
>> > also wanted to use up a William Sonoma credit that I had. So, what
>> > went wrong:
>> >
>> > I followed the recipe for egg pasta provided in the manual of the
>> > roller/cutters. It said 3.5 cups of flour (I used 125 grams x 3.5 or
>> > 437 grams), 3 eggs, 1/2 teaspoon of salt and one tablespoon of water.
>> > It made very dry dough that would not come together. So I started
>> > adding water and I'd bet all in all I added close to a 1/2 a cup or
>> > more.
>> >
>>
>> That's the trouble with stupid cup recipes! They never tell you how to
>> fill
>> the cup and the weight can vary from 100g to >130g.
>> The recipe I have is:
>> 300g flour
>> 3 eggs
>> 1 tsp salt
>
> Most definitely! When baking/making stuff like bread & pasta - it's
> much better to go by weight!!! I'm learning this the hard way, too!
>
> Sky, who's yet to figure out a good baguette
>
Have you tried Maggie Glazer's recipe? Apparently, it's very good but I've
not tried it. The classic French dough is 60% hydration, i.e., 60g water to
every 100g of flour but their flour is softer than Canadian and US bread
flours that require more water.

boulanger wrote:
>
> "Sky" > wrote in message
> ...
> > boulanger wrote:
> >>
> >> "Alan Calan" > wrote in message
> >> ...
> >> >I bought one of those on Sunday in anticipation of the snow storm. I
> >> > also wanted to use up a William Sonoma credit that I had. So, what
> >> > went wrong:
> >> >
> >> > I followed the recipe for egg pasta provided in the manual of the
> >> > roller/cutters. It said 3.5 cups of flour (I used 125 grams x 3.5 or
> >> > 437 grams), 3 eggs, 1/2 teaspoon of salt and one tablespoon of water.
> >> > It made very dry dough that would not come together. So I started
> >> > adding water and I'd bet all in all I added close to a 1/2 a cup or
> >> > more.
> >> >
> >>
> >> That's the trouble with stupid cup recipes! They never tell you how to
> >> fill
> >> the cup and the weight can vary from 100g to >130g.
> >> The recipe I have is:
> >> 300g flour
> >> 3 eggs
> >> 1 tsp salt
> >
> > Most definitely! When baking/making stuff like bread & pasta - it's
> > much better to go by weight!!! I'm learning this the hard way, too!
> >
> > Sky, who's yet to figure out a good baguette
> >
> Have you tried Maggie Glazer's recipe? Apparently, it's very good but I've
> not tried it. The classic French dough is 60% hydration, i.e., 60g water to
> every 100g of flour but their flour is softer than Canadian and US bread
> flours that require more water.

!!!! Oh gosh, more "science" to learn So far, I've been able to
make fairly good bread, and other times I get less than satisfactory
results (sigh). No, I've not tried that particular recipe you've
mentioned. Can you kindly provide a website or link to it? I'd greatly
appreciate it. When making bread, I've learned measuring by weight
provides better results than when measuring by volume.

Sky, a baking newbie!

--
Ultra Ultimate Kitchen Rule - Use the Timer!
Ultimate Kitchen Rule -- Cook's Choice

"Alan Calan" ha scritto nel messaggio
>I bought one of those on Sunday in anticipation of the snow storm. I
> also wanted to use up a William Sonoma credit that I had. So, what> went
> wrong:

Using a motorized pasta roller/cutter with no experience, that's all.
>
> I followed the recipe for egg pasta provided in the manual of the
> roller/cutters. It said 3.5 cups of flour (I used 125 grams x 3.5 or
> 437 grams), 3 eggs, 1/2 easpoon of salt and one tablespoon of water.
> It made very dry dough that would not come together.

Yes, it certainly would. Unless making a regional specialty, I use 100 g of
flour and one egg, pinch of salt. Period. You make up the difference among
eggs during the rolling when you flour the pasta to keep it moving.

>>So I started> adding water and I'd bet all in all I added close to a 1/2 a
>>cup or> more.>
> The dough seemed better. I cut it into 4 pieces and let it sit for 20
> minutes. I then made the first batch of linguini. I ran it through
> the roller till I got to five, only folding on the #1 setting. What
> should I have done next? I took out the roller and put in the
> linguini cutter. It worked pretty well even though the linguini was
> much too long. I put the linguini in a twisted pile like they do in
> videos. I just remembered there might be some you tubes on this.
>
> I put the roller back and did the next piece of dough but this time
> cutting it in half again. So now what again? do I roll out all the
> dough and then cut? That is what I did but I did not lay out the
> rolled pasta dough straight, I folded it once crossing over the end> under
> it. I did that 6 times and then put in the cutter.

I didn't really understand all that. For what it's worth I teach to roll
then cut, leaving a towel over the lumps of unused dough. Many don't fold
and roll anywhere near enough. Do that on number 1 until the pasta sheet,
which you have been dusting with flour, feels like damp skin.

> I could not separate the dough into a straight piece again and it
> became a nightmare.

It dried because it was left too long. You can't possibly work fast enough
the first (100) time to leave pasta sheets around. Nobody cam, it's not
your fault.

When I finished, everything stuck
> together.

When your cut pasta exits the cutter, drop it on some flour and gently
swoosh with your fingers then arrange as you please. Alternatively, have a
clothes drying rack ready and lay the pasta strings on flour then gently
transfer onto the rack. They will at least be separate, although they also
dry quickly.

> I'd appreciate any technique questions. The woman in William Sonoma> said
> she makes the dough on the counter, making a whole in the> mountain of
> flour and putting the eggs and water in the hole and> incorporating the
> flour. She said it makes for lighter pasta. I> wonder if I used too much
> water.

I am sure you did. Don't add any at all and use her technique. You will
quickly find that you can't add too much flour, it won't let you. The
crumbly bits you begin with start to smooth out and become stretchy as the
egg takes up the flour. It is simply one of the most sensuous kitchen
chores there is. The more you feel your way through the work, the better
the pasta. Then refrigerate 30 mins or so in pieces wrapped in plastic.

Giusi said...

> "Alan Calan" ha scritto nel messaggio
>>I bought one of those on Sunday in anticipation of the snow storm. I
>> also wanted to use up a William Sonoma credit that I had. So, what>
>> went wrong:
>
> Using a motorized pasta roller/cutter with no experience, that's all.
>>
>> I followed the recipe for egg pasta provided in the manual of the
>> roller/cutters. It said 3.5 cups of flour (I used 125 grams x 3.5 or
>> 437 grams), 3 eggs, 1/2 easpoon of salt and one tablespoon of water.
>> It made very dry dough that would not come together.
>
> Yes, it certainly would. Unless making a regional specialty, I use 100
> g of flour and one egg, pinch of salt. Period. You make up the
> difference among eggs during the rolling when you flour the pasta to
> keep it moving.
>
>>>So I started> adding water and I'd bet all in all I added close to a
>>>1/2 a cup or> more.>
>> The dough seemed better. I cut it into 4 pieces and let it sit for 20
>> minutes. I then made the first batch of linguini. I ran it through
>> the roller till I got to five, only folding on the #1 setting. What
>> should I have done next? I took out the roller and put in the
>> linguini cutter. It worked pretty well even though the linguini was
>> much too long. I put the linguini in a twisted pile like they do in
>> videos. I just remembered there might be some you tubes on this.
>>
>> I put the roller back and did the next piece of dough but this time
>> cutting it in half again. So now what again? do I roll out all the
>> dough and then cut? That is what I did but I did not lay out the
>> rolled pasta dough straight, I folded it once crossing over the end>
>> under it. I did that 6 times and then put in the cutter.
>
> I didn't really understand all that. For what it's worth I teach to
> roll then cut, leaving a towel over the lumps of unused dough. Many
> don't fold and roll anywhere near enough. Do that on number 1 until the
> pasta sheet, which you have been dusting with flour, feels like damp
> skin.
>
>> I could not separate the dough into a straight piece again and it
>> became a nightmare.
>
> It dried because it was left too long. You can't possibly work fast
> enough the first (100) time to leave pasta sheets around. Nobody cam,
> it's not your fault.
>
> When I finished, everything stuck
>> together.
>
> When your cut pasta exits the cutter, drop it on some flour and gently
> swoosh with your fingers then arrange as you please. Alternatively,
> have a clothes drying rack ready and lay the pasta strings on flour then
> gently transfer onto the rack. They will at least be separate, although
> they also dry quickly.
>
>> I'd appreciate any technique questions. The woman in William Sonoma>
>> said she makes the dough on the counter, making a whole in the>
>> mountain of flour and putting the eggs and water in the hole and>
>> incorporating the flour. She said it makes for lighter pasta. I>
>> wonder if I used too much water.
>
> I am sure you did. Don't add any at all and use her technique. You
> will quickly find that you can't add too much flour, it won't let you.
> The crumbly bits you begin with start to smooth out and become stretchy
> as the egg takes up the flour. It is simply one of the most sensuous
> kitchen chores there is. The more you feel your way through the work,
> the better the pasta. Then refrigerate 30 mins or so in pieces wrapped
> in plastic.


Run a string across from one cabinet knob to another. Buy a set of plastic
coat hangers, clean thoroughly.

Make golfball size dough clumps. Work from 1 to 5 roller settings and then
hang on a hanger. Repeat for all the dough. Then switch to a pasta cutter
and feed each pasta sheet through and re-hang cut pasta. Repeat until done.

Take a hanger of pasta and trim with scissors over the pot of boiling
water.

Suggestion: I add 1/2 teaspoon of turmeric to the dough while mixing to
golden it up a bit. More visually appealing, imho.

Homemade pasta is the most fun mess I can make in the kitchen! ))

Andy

"Sky" > wrote in message
...
> boulanger wrote:
>>
>> "Sky" > wrote in message
>> ...
>> > boulanger wrote:
>> >>
>> >> "Alan Calan" > wrote in message
>> >> ...
>> >> >I bought one of those on Sunday in anticipation of the snow storm. I
>> >> > also wanted to use up a William Sonoma credit that I had. So, what
>> >> > went wrong:
>> >> >
>> >> > I followed the recipe for egg pasta provided in the manual of the
>> >> > roller/cutters. It said 3.5 cups of flour (I used 125 grams x 3.5
>> >> > or
>> >> > 437 grams), 3 eggs, 1/2 teaspoon of salt and one tablespoon of
>> >> > water.
>> >> > It made very dry dough that would not come together. So I started
>> >> > adding water and I'd bet all in all I added close to a 1/2 a cup or
>> >> > more.
>> >> >
>> >>
>> >> That's the trouble with stupid cup recipes! They never tell you how
>> >> to
>> >> fill
>> >> the cup and the weight can vary from 100g to >130g.
>> >> The recipe I have is:
>> >> 300g flour
>> >> 3 eggs
>> >> 1 tsp salt
>> >
>> > Most definitely! When baking/making stuff like bread & pasta - it's
>> > much better to go by weight!!! I'm learning this the hard way, too!
>> >
>> > Sky, who's yet to figure out a good baguette
>> >
>> Have you tried Maggie Glazer's recipe? Apparently, it's very good but
>> I've
>> not tried it. The classic French dough is 60% hydration, i.e., 60g water
>> to
>> every 100g of flour but their flour is softer than Canadian and US bread
>> flours that require more water.
>
> !!!! Oh gosh, more "science" to learn So far, I've been able to
> make fairly good bread, and other times I get less than satisfactory
> results (sigh). No, I've not tried that particular recipe you've
> mentioned. Can you kindly provide a website or link to it? I'd greatly
> appreciate it. When making bread, I've learned measuring by weight
> provides better results than when measuring by volume.
>

You've made the most important decision!!!

The book I mentioned is by Maggie Glezer, "Artisan Baking" (originally
Artisan Baking Across North America).
Now a paperback, ISBN: 13: 978-1-57965-291-3

There are many other good bread-baking books and most are summarised in the
FAQs of alt.bread.recipes where there is a bunch of very friendly and
helpful people. The Glezer book isn't the only one on the subject but the
Acme Bakery baguette recipe has been tried by others on a.b.r and is
reckoned to be good.

http://abrfaq.info/faq/88 click on Resources for an extensive book list. I
have many of them and if you are interested I could recommend some (perhaps
by e-mail) I take it that your address is not a spamtrap as mine is!

As for the science, the bakers percentage system is very easy to grasp and
allows you to scale the quantities of ingredients you need very easily. If
you are interested, I'll e-mail an explanation tomorrow (it's late, I'm
tired and I have an appointment tomorrow morning).
Best wishes

"Giusi" > wrote in message
...
> "Alan Calan" ha scritto nel messaggio
>>I bought one of those on Sunday in anticipation of the snow storm. I
>> also wanted to use up a William Sonoma credit that I had. So, what> went
>> wrong:
>
> Using a motorized pasta roller/cutter with no experience, that's all.
>>
>> I followed the recipe for egg pasta provided in the manual of the
>> roller/cutters. It said 3.5 cups of flour (I used 125 grams x 3.5 or
>> 437 grams), 3 eggs, 1/2 easpoon of salt and one tablespoon of water.
>> It made very dry dough that would not come together.
>
> Yes, it certainly would. Unless making a regional specialty, I use 100 g
> of flour and one egg, pinch of salt. Period. You make up the difference
> among eggs during the rolling when you flour the pasta to keep it moving.
>

What sort of flour? I have some Italian "00" flour in the freezer that I
use but some authors suggest semolina flour. I have some of that too.

"boulanger" ha scritto nel messaggio >
> "Giusi" wrote in message
I use 100 g of flour and one egg, pinch of salt. Period. You make up the
difference >> among eggs during the rolling when you flour the pasta to keep
it moving.
>>
>
> What sort of flour? I have some Italian "00" flour in the freezer that I
> > use but some authors suggest semolina flour. I have some of that too.

00 is merely soft wheat flour very finely ground. It weighs 130+- g per cup
depending on humidity. o flour is the same but coarser, although it takes
some examination to see it. It weighs 128+- per cup. 00 is what we use at
home to make egg pasta.

I make semolina pasta in the food processor using just water, salt and oil.
It's harder to work than the soft wheat flour and is generally not used to
make homemade egg pasta. I don't have any neighbors or friends who make
semolina pasta, and really, the plain flour pasta is gobs cheaper and very
easy so why screw around with it?

In the US I use AP flour, adjusting during the rolling, dusting period.
Hard wheat flour, usually called Manitoba here, costs euro 1.79 a kilo. 00
I can buy for 34 centesimi.There would have to be some huge advantage for me
to change over and there isn't.

"Giusi" > wrote in message
...
> "boulanger" ha scritto nel messaggio >
>> "Giusi" wrote in message
> I use 100 g of flour and one egg, pinch of salt. Period. You make up
> the difference >> among eggs during the rolling when you flour the pasta
> to keep it moving.
>>>
>>
>> What sort of flour? I have some Italian "00" flour in the freezer that I
>> > use but some authors suggest semolina flour. I have some of that too.
>
> 00 is merely soft wheat flour very finely ground. It weighs 130+- g per
> cup depending on humidity. o flour is the same but coarser, although it
> takes some examination to see it. It weighs 128+- per cup. 00 is what we
> use at home to make egg pasta.
>
> I make semolina pasta in the food processor using just water, salt and
> oil. It's harder to work than the soft wheat flour and is generally not
> used to make homemade egg pasta. I don't have any neighbors or friends
> who make semolina pasta, and really, the plain flour pasta is gobs cheaper
> and very easy so why screw around with it?
>
> In the US I use AP flour, adjusting during the rolling, dusting period.
> Hard wheat flour, usually called Manitoba here, costs euro 1.79 a kilo.
> 00 I can buy for 34 centesimi.There would have to be some huge advantage
> for me to change over and there isn't.
The AP flour here is fairly strong and can be used for bread making. Since
there are several Italian grocers/supermarkets here that stock "00", I might
as well use the real stuff.
One author reckons the slightly coarser semolina flour results in a rougher
textured pasta that the sauce can adhere to more easily. I agree with you
on the plain flour pasta - why mess with something so simple?

This is Mary Ann Esposito's Recipe

INGREDIENTS4 large eggs 1/2 cup semolina flour
About 2 1/2 cups King Arthur™ unbleached all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt

DIRECTIONSTo make the dough in a food processor, put the eggs in the
bowl of the processor and process until smooth. In a bowl, mix 2 1/2
cups all-purpose flour, the semolina flour, and salt. Add the flour
mixture to the eggs 1 cup at a time and process just until a ball of
dough starts to form. Add a little water if the dough seems dry, a
little more flour if it seems wet. The dough should not be so sticky
that it clings to your fingers. Turn the dough out onto a floured
surface and knead it, adding additional flour as necessary, for about
5 minutes or until smooth. Cover and let rest for 10 minutes before
rolling out and cutting into the desired shape,

To make the dough the traditional way, combine 2 1/2 cups all-purpose
flour, the semolina flour, and salt in a mound on a work surface. Make
a well in the center of the flour and break the eggs into the well.
Beat the eggs with a fork. Then, using the fork, gradually incorporate
the flour from the inside walls of the well. When the dough becomes
too firm to mix with the fork, knead it with your hands, incorporating
just enough of the flour to make a soft but sticky dough. You may not
need all the flour. Brush the excess flour aside and knead the dough,
adding additional flour as necessary, for about 10 minutes or until
smooth. Cover and let rest for 10 minutes before rolling out and
cutting into the desired shape.

Cut the dough into 4 pieces. Work with 1 piece at a time, keeping the
remaining dough covered. Roll the dough out on a floured surface as
thin as possible, or use a pasta machine to roll the dough out to the
thinnest setting. Drape the sheets of pasta over dowel rods suspended
between 2 chairs to dry slightly, about 5 minutes.

**Those dowels are a great idea BUT our sheepdog loves pasta and I
think he might even love the game of pulling the strips off the
dowels. Mary Ann uses 3 cups of pasta and 4 eggs. The kitchen aid
manual called for 3.5 cups of flour, three eggs and a tablespoon of
water.**

Cook the pasta in a large pot of boiling water until al dente, 2 to 3
minutes. Drain, sauce, and serve immediately. Or dry and store the
pasta: Hang the strips over dowel rods suspended between two chairs
until very dry. (I usually leave it on the rods for a day.) When the
ends of the pasta begin to curl, it is dry enough. Wrap it loosely in
aluminum foil and store for up to 3 months.


On Wed, 4 Mar 2009 18:58:20 -0700, "boulanger" > wrote:

>
>"Alan Calan" > wrote in message
.. .
>>I bought one of those on Sunday in anticipation of the snow storm. I
>> also wanted to use up a William Sonoma credit that I had. So, what
>> went wrong:
>>
>> I followed the recipe for egg pasta provided in the manual of the
>> roller/cutters. It said 3.5 cups of flour (I used 125 grams x 3.5 or
>> 437 grams), 3 eggs, 1/2 teaspoon of salt and one tablespoon of water.
>> It made very dry dough that would not come together. So I started
>> adding water and I'd bet all in all I added close to a 1/2 a cup or
>> more.
>>
>
>That's the trouble with stupid cup recipes! They never tell you how to fill
>the cup and the weight can vary from 100g to >130g.
>The recipe I have is:
>300g flour
>3 eggs
>1 tsp salt
>
>

"Alan Calan" > wrote in message
...
>I bought one of those on Sunday in anticipation of the snow storm. I
> also wanted to use up a William Sonoma credit that I had. So, what
> went wrong:
>
>snipped>
>I could not separate the dough into a straight piece again and it
> became a nightmare. I did the best I could and then put the cut
> linguini and a tent like shape. When I finished, everything stuck
> together. I guess keeping it straight would have been the best idea.
>
snipped

I had that problem with my KA pasta attachment so I went back to my manual
roller one -
with my daughter providing a third hand to guide the cut pasta out onto the
bench,
no problems at all again.

I've never used the KA one again. I use my juice extractor and mincer a
lot, though.
Hoges in WA

In article >,
"Hoges in WA" > wrote:

> I've never used the KA one again. I use my juice extractor and mincer a
> lot, though.
> Hoges in WA

What are you going to do with it? <Barb looks around to see if anyone is
listening> Wanna sell it to me for cheap? (You've got an Australian
address, though. If it's for real, the offer's off the table.)

--
-Barb, Mother Superior, HOSSSPoJ
http://web.me.com/barbschaller
"What you say about someone else says more
about you than it does about the other person."

boulanger wrote:
(snip)
>
> The book I mentioned is by Maggie Glezer, "Artisan Baking" (originally
> Artisan Baking Across North America).
> Now a paperback, ISBN: 13: 978-1-57965-291-3
>
> There are many other good bread-baking books and most are summarised in the
> FAQs of alt.bread.recipes where there is a bunch of very friendly and
> helpful people. The Glezer book isn't the only one on the subject but the
> Acme Bakery baguette recipe has been tried by others on a.b.r and is
> reckoned to be good.
>
> http://abrfaq.info/faq/88 click on Resources for an extensive book list. I
> have many of them and if you are interested I could recommend some (perhaps
> by e-mail) I take it that your address is not a spamtrap as mine is!
>
> As for the science, the bakers percentage system is very easy to grasp and
> allows you to scale the quantities of ingredients you need very easily. If
> you are interested, I'll e-mail an explanation tomorrow (it's late, I'm
> tired and I have an appointment tomorrow morning).
> Best wishes

Thanks so much for the book recommendation and the ABR faq website
address. I found a Glezer book (ISBN: 1579651178, "Artisan Baking
Across North America") at the local library system and have it requested
for pickup. I also found a DVD by King Arthur Flour called, "The baker's
forum. Artisan breads [videorecording]." It's a 50-minutes show of some
sort. So, I requested that one, too It will take me awhile to go
through the ABR FAQ.

Yes indeed, I would be very interested in your explanation about the
bakers percentage system. Please email it to me. Just remove "NO SPAM"
from my email address. Thanks again.

Sky, who's playing with dough

--
Ultra Ultimate Kitchen Rule - Use the Timer!
Ultimate Kitchen Rule -- Cook's Choice

On Thu, 5 Mar 2009 12:34:07 +0100, "Giusi" >
wrote:

>"Alan Calan" ha scritto nel messaggio
>>I bought one of those on Sunday in anticipation of the snow storm. I
>> also wanted to use up a William Sonoma credit that I had. So, what> went
>> wrong:
>
>Using a motorized pasta roller/cutter with no experience, that's all.
I knew I had no experience and I wasn't expecting much and I didn't
get much! However, when I tasted Barilla linguini a few days later, I
realized, even with my hodge podge mess, there is no comparison
between fresh and consumer storage pasta.
>>
>> I followed the recipe for egg pasta provided in the manual of the
>> roller/cutters. It said 3.5 cups of flour (I used 125 grams x 3.5 or
>> 437 grams), 3 eggs, 1/2 easpoon of salt and one tablespoon of water.
>> It made very dry dough that would not come together.
>
>Yes, it certainly would. Unless making a regional specialty, I use 100 g of
>flour and one egg, pinch of salt. Period. You make up the difference among
>eggs during the rolling when you flour the pasta to keep it moving.

100 grams per egg is very easy to remember. I used only three eggs
for 437grams. You would have used almost 4.5 eggs
>
>>>So I started> adding water and I'd bet all in all I added close to a 1/2 a
>>>cup or> more.>
>> The dough seemed better. I cut it into 4 pieces and let it sit for 20
>> minutes. I then made the first batch of linguini. I ran it through
>> the roller till I got to five, only folding on the #1 setting. What
>> should I have done next? I took out the roller and put in the
>> linguini cutter. It worked pretty well even though the linguini was
>> much too long. I put the linguini in a twisted pile like they do in
>> videos. I just remembered there might be some you tubes on this.
>>
>> I put the roller back and did the next piece of dough but this time
>> cutting it in half again. So now what again? do I roll out all the
>> dough and then cut? That is what I did but I did not lay out the
>> rolled pasta dough straight, I folded it once crossing over the end> under
>> it. I did that 6 times and then put in the cutter.
>
>I didn't really understand all that. For what it's worth I teach to roll
>then cut, leaving a towel over the lumps of unused dough. Many don't fold
>and roll anywhere near enough. Do that on number 1 until the pasta sheet,
>which you have been dusting with flour, feels like damp skin.

I was doing that but then I was holding the rolled pasta with one hand
as I changed to the cutter with the other...so that was a little tough
and that is when I decided to roll all then cut all. What I did not
do, I can see that now from the videos below, is to lay out the rolled
pasta and pust some flower or corn meal on them.

Here are some of the videos I found; the first one uses 2.5 flour, 2
eggs

http://video.google.com/videosearch?...en&emb=0&aq=f#

This one is 2.25 cups and 4 eggs and rice flour during the resting,
rolling, cutting and waiting stages to keep it from sticking
http://video.google.com/videosearch?...en&emb=0&aq=f#
>

One method called for just egg yokes but I don't have that here.

This video was very interesting, although all by hand but you can see
what the pasta should look like.
http://video.google.com/videosearch?...en&emb=0&aq=f#

>> I could not separate the dough into a straight piece again and it
>> became a nightmare.
>
>It dried because it was left too long. You can't possibly work fast enough
>the first (100) time to leave pasta sheets around. Nobody cam, it's not
>your fault.
Well, there were lots of factors that could have made the process
easier, like a place to put the rolled sheet while I switch between
roller and cutter but things where not in good positions

>
>When I finished, everything stuck
>> together.
>
>When your cut pasta exits the cutter, drop it on some flour and gently
>swoosh with your fingers then arrange as you please. Alternatively, have a
>clothes drying rack ready and lay the pasta strings on flour then gently
>transfer onto the rack. They will at least be separate, although they also
>dry quickly.
>
>> I'd appreciate any technique questions. The woman in William Sonoma> said
>> she makes the dough on the counter, making a whole in the> mountain of
>> flour and putting the eggs and water in the hole and> incorporating the
>> flour. She said it makes for lighter pasta. I> wonder if I used too much
>> water.
>
>I am sure you did. Don't add any at all and use her technique. You will
>quickly find that you can't add too much flour, it won't let you. The
>crumbly bits you begin with start to smooth out and become stretchy as the
>egg takes up the flour. It is simply one of the most sensuous kitchen
>chores there is. The more you feel your way through the work, the better
>the pasta. Then refrigerate 30 mins or so in pieces wrapped in plastic.
>

On Thu, 05 Mar 2009 06:01:07 -0600, Andy > wrote:

>Giusi said...
>
>> "Alan Calan" ha scritto nel messaggio
>>>I bought one of those on Sunday in anticipation of the snow storm. I
>>> also wanted to use up a William Sonoma credit that I had. So, what>
>>> went wrong:
>>
>> Using a motorized pasta roller/cutter with no experience, that's all.
>>>
>>> I followed the recipe for egg pasta provided in the manual of the
>>> roller/cutters. It said 3.5 cups of flour (I used 125 grams x 3.5 or
>>> 437 grams), 3 eggs, 1/2 easpoon of salt and one tablespoon of water.
>>> It made very dry dough that would not come together.
>>
>> Yes, it certainly would. Unless making a regional specialty, I use 100
>> g of flour and one egg, pinch of salt. Period. You make up the
>> difference among eggs during the rolling when you flour the pasta to
>> keep it moving.
>>
>>>>So I started> adding water and I'd bet all in all I added close to a
>>>>1/2 a cup or> more.>
>>> The dough seemed better. I cut it into 4 pieces and let it sit for 20
>>> minutes. I then made the first batch of linguini. I ran it through
>>> the roller till I got to five, only folding on the #1 setting. What
>>> should I have done next? I took out the roller and put in the
>>> linguini cutter. It worked pretty well even though the linguini was
>>> much too long. I put the linguini in a twisted pile like they do in
>>> videos. I just remembered there might be some you tubes on this.
>>>
>>> I put the roller back and did the next piece of dough but this time
>>> cutting it in half again. So now what again? do I roll out all the
>>> dough and then cut? That is what I did but I did not lay out the
>>> rolled pasta dough straight, I folded it once crossing over the end>
>>> under it. I did that 6 times and then put in the cutter.
>>
>> I didn't really understand all that. For what it's worth I teach to
>> roll then cut, leaving a towel over the lumps of unused dough. Many
>> don't fold and roll anywhere near enough. Do that on number 1 until the
>> pasta sheet, which you have been dusting with flour, feels like damp
>> skin.
>>
>>> I could not separate the dough into a straight piece again and it
>>> became a nightmare.
>>
>> It dried because it was left too long. You can't possibly work fast
>> enough the first (100) time to leave pasta sheets around. Nobody cam,
>> it's not your fault.
>>
>> When I finished, everything stuck
>>> together.
>>
>> When your cut pasta exits the cutter, drop it on some flour and gently
>> swoosh with your fingers then arrange as you please. Alternatively,
>> have a clothes drying rack ready and lay the pasta strings on flour then
>> gently transfer onto the rack. They will at least be separate, although
>> they also dry quickly.
>>
>>> I'd appreciate any technique questions. The woman in William Sonoma>
>>> said she makes the dough on the counter, making a whole in the>
>>> mountain of flour and putting the eggs and water in the hole and>
>>> incorporating the flour. She said it makes for lighter pasta. I>
>>> wonder if I used too much water.
>>
>> I am sure you did. Don't add any at all and use her technique. You
>> will quickly find that you can't add too much flour, it won't let you.
>> The crumbly bits you begin with start to smooth out and become stretchy
>> as the egg takes up the flour. It is simply one of the most sensuous
>> kitchen chores there is. The more you feel your way through the work,
>> the better the pasta. Then refrigerate 30 mins or so in pieces wrapped
>> in plastic.
>
>
>Run a string across from one cabinet knob to another. Buy a set of plastic
>coat hangers, clean thoroughly.
>
>Make golfball size dough clumps. Work from 1 to 5 roller settings and then
>hang on a hanger. Repeat for all the dough. Then switch to a pasta cutter
>and feed each pasta sheet through and re-hang cut pasta. Repeat until done.
>
>Take a hanger of pasta and trim with scissors over the pot of boiling
>water.
>
>Suggestion: I add 1/2 teaspoon of turmeric to the dough while mixing to
>golden it up a bit. More visually appealing, imho.
>
>Homemade pasta is the most fun mess I can make in the kitchen! ))

It sure is a mess! I have no knobs on my cabinets but I am getting
great ideas.
>
>Andy

On Thu, 5 Mar 2009 06:04:52 -0700, "boulanger" > wrote:

>
>"Giusi" > wrote in message
...
>> "Alan Calan" ha scritto nel messaggio
>>>I bought one of those on Sunday in anticipation of the snow storm. I
>>> also wanted to use up a William Sonoma credit that I had. So, what> went
>>> wrong:
>>
>> Using a motorized pasta roller/cutter with no experience, that's all.
>>>
>>> I followed the recipe for egg pasta provided in the manual of the
>>> roller/cutters. It said 3.5 cups of flour (I used 125 grams x 3.5 or
>>> 437 grams), 3 eggs, 1/2 easpoon of salt and one tablespoon of water.
>>> It made very dry dough that would not come together.
>>
>> Yes, it certainly would. Unless making a regional specialty, I use 100 g
>> of flour and one egg, pinch of salt. Period. You make up the difference
>> among eggs during the rolling when you flour the pasta to keep it moving.
>>
>
>What sort of flour? I have some Italian "00" flour in the freezer that I
>use but some authors suggest semolina flour. I have some of that too.
>

One guy recommended eggs form italian chickens. Do you think that is
really necessary? What if I find American chickens that got the
roseeta stone software and learned italian?

"Melba's Jammin'" > wrote in message
...
> In article >,
> "Hoges in WA" > wrote:
>
>> I've never used the KA one again. I use my juice extractor and mincer a
>> lot, though.
>> Hoges in WA
>
> What are you going to do with it? <Barb looks around to see if anyone is
> listening> Wanna sell it to me for cheap? (You've got an Australian
> address, though. If it's for real, the offer's off the table.)
>
> --
> -Barb, Mother Superior, HOSSSPoJ
> http://web.me.com/barbschaller
> "What you say about someone else says more
> about you than it does about the other person."

Barb
At a guess, I'd probably be as far away from you as it is possible to get on
this planet.
I am in the SW of WA - I'm on the map we all did many years ago. I think
you're somewhere in the middle or on the East Coast?
regards
Hoges in WA

"Alan" > wrote in message
...
> On Thu, 05 Mar 2009 06:01:07 -0600, Andy > wrote:
>
>>Giusi said...
>>
snipped
>
> It sure is a mess! I have no knobs on my cabinets but I am getting
> great ideas.
>>
>>Andy

I have 3 of those indoor clothes dryer frames - cost a few dollars each -
and set them up in the kitchen to dry it on.
They just fold away when I'm finished. (I hate using the clothes dryer so I
still use the frames)
Hoges in WA

In article >,
"Hoges in WA" > wrote:

> "Melba's Jammin'" > wrote in message
> ...
> > In article >,
> > "Hoges in WA" > wrote:
> >
> >> I've never used the KA one again. I use my juice extractor and mincer a
> >> lot, though.
> >> Hoges in WA
> >
> > What are you going to do with it? <Barb looks around to see if anyone is
> > listening> Wanna sell it to me for cheap? (You've got an Australian
> > address, though. If it's for real, the offer's off the table.)

> Barb
> At a guess, I'd probably be as far away from you as it is possible to get on
> this planet.

Well, dayam!!

> I am in the SW of WA - I'm on the map we all did many years ago.

We all did? Huh.

> I think you're somewhere in the middle or on the East Coast? regards

> Hoges in WA

Of the US. Yes. :-) Minnesota. Not on the east coast.

--
-Barb, Mother Superior, HOSSSPoJ
http://web.me.com/barbschaller
"What you say about someone else says more
about you than it does about the other person."

"Alan" ha scritto nel messaggio

> One guy recommended eggs form italian chickens. Do you think that is>
> really necessary? What if I find American chickens that got the> roseeta
> stone software and learned italian?

Sure. Just make sure they also eat off the ground and produce orange yolks!
Then you don't get tempted to put things like turmeric in your pasta. Have
you ever smelled freshly opened turmeric? Did it remind you of Bologna?