I did a search but didn't see anything. I'm sure some of you dabble in pasta.
I'm writing because I need help. I've made probably 8-12 batches of homemade pasta now, and it just doesn't seem to be "perfect" in such a way that homemade justifies not buying either dried or fresh pasta at the store.
So here's a list of issues, and then I'll tell you what I've tried:
I've rolled the pasta numerous ways. I've cut the pasta in thin spaghetti, in fettucine, and for ravioli. I even tried hand-cutting tagliatelle this past weekend.
Nothing seems to live up to what fresh pasta should look, taste, or feel like in my mind. And I'm getting frustrated...
Any thoughts?
I'm writing because I need help. I've made probably 8-12 batches of homemade pasta now, and it just doesn't seem to be "perfect" in such a way that homemade justifies not buying either dried or fresh pasta at the store.
So here's a list of issues, and then I'll tell you what I've tried:
- Thickness of the noodles: I use the Kitchenaid pasta maker attachment. Everything I see online/etc tells me to roll pasta out to the 5, 6, or 7 setting. But I find that when I do that, the sheets of pasta are SO incredibly thin that the noodles are like paper. A fettucini noodle should have a little thickness to it. And the spaghetti cutter should be more like spaghetti than angel hair. So I normally stop at 4, which seems fine to me but I don't understand why literally EVERY site seems to expect it to be rolled out thinner. Even ravioli ended up ultra-thin at a 4 or 5 rather than going to 6 or 7.
- Color of the noodles: When I go out for pasta, or buy pasta (dry or fresh), the noodles finish a sort of pleasant off-white color. Mine finish stark white. I've tried all sorts of pasta recipes, including pastas based on ONLY egg yolk and no egg whites (i.e. 150g type 00 flour and 8 egg yolks). My pasta, prior to cooking, always has a nice beautiful yellow hue. After cooking? Stark white. I have to think I'm doing something wrong to cause this.
- Texture of the noodles: To me, fresh pasta should have a nice bite to it without being tough. Mine is, well, flaccid. My pasta, that is. I'm not sure if this is due to it being not thick enough as mentioned in item 1. I don't think I'm overcooking it, but it's possible. But it doesn't have that firm bite that I expect from pasta.
I've rolled the pasta numerous ways. I've cut the pasta in thin spaghetti, in fettucine, and for ravioli. I even tried hand-cutting tagliatelle this past weekend.
Nothing seems to live up to what fresh pasta should look, taste, or feel like in my mind. And I'm getting frustrated...
Any thoughts?