If you are anything like me, I am sure that you just love Italian food. And what better way to get that authentic taste of Italy then by making your own fresh pasta. Although this can be a little bit fiddly, and the results somewhat hit-and-miss, the whole process is made much easier if you use a pasta machine. Good pasta makers are designed to still give you full control over the type of pasta which you create, but the pasta machine takes most of the hassle out. Most pasta machines which are available on the market will not only help you to roll out pasta, but will also cut it into spaghetti, fettuccini, or other various shapes for you. Here I am going to give you some of my top tips to help you get great-tasting pasta out of your pasta maker every time.
Thickness of the Pasta
Rolling pasta with a pasta machine allows you to make the dough much lighter than if you were to do this by hand. This makes it easier for the pasta to absorb juices and sauces, which will add to the flavour of the dish. In order to be able to get the past through your pasta maker several times, you need to make sure you cut only small pieces of dough. You should feed the pasta through the pasta maker several times until it is paper-thin. This will not only make better tasting pasta, but will also mean that it takes far less time to cook. One of the more important features which you need to look for when looking at buying pasta machines is that it has a good range of settings for the thickness, or you may not be able to get the thickness you want.
Stopping the Dough from Sticking
One of the most frustrating things when you use a pasta machine can be when the dough sticks. To stop this from happening, make sure you sprinkle some flour on the pasta maker as well as the dough before you begin. When you buy a pasta machine it may be better to buy an electric pasta maker. As well as making the whole process a little less labour intensive, the speed of the rolling on the electric pasta machines makes it less likely that the dough sticks than on manual ones. In addition, buying a pasta machine with more than one speed may help you to better control the rolling process - if the dough is a little too sticky then going either too slow or too fast will make your pasta fall apart!
Getting Nice Even Pasta Strands
Once you have finished rolling the pasta, you should leave it to stand for about 10 minutes before you put it into the cutting section of the pasta maker. This will help to stop it from sticking, and will also help to prevent clumping, which will mean that you get nice even pasta strands that will cook like a dream. If you make sure that you buy a pasta maker with different attachments this will also mean that you can get all kinds of different shaped pasta out of the machine.
