Wide Open Table is a bi-monthly Montana Free Press column on all things food and cooking. Sign up for this newsletter here. Sign up When I left home for college, my parents got me what I considered a “noodle maker” that was identical to the one they had in our house growing up. We used it often to make the family recipe for chicken noodle soup with homemade egg pasta. But I came to understand that the machine they gave me was a pasta maker from Italy. It was made for making much more than soup noodles. During the COVID pandemic, I made it a goal to learn the fundamentals of fresh pasta. That included both eggless semolina pasta and its silkier, smoother cousin, egg pasta. Over this last year, I’ve written two columns introducing the virtues of “pici” pasta and the vast array of options to be explored through vegan, southern Italian semolina pasta. Credit: Jon Bennion / MTFPWhile those two pastas are both delightful and delicious, I’ll admit that my personal pasta preference lies with egg-based pasta, a variety most prominent in northern Italy. You need only two ingredients: eggs and flour. The marriage of those basic items can produce something truly magical. The key is using top-quality ingredients and applying critical techniques refined by Italians over generations. First, let’s talk about the ingredients. If you’re just starting out, plain old all-purpose flour and whatever eggs you have in your fridge are sufficient to get you started, since you’ll be focusing more on the pasta-making process I spell out below. Later, when you have process dialed in and start looking to up your pasta game, you can seek out Italian “00” flour. The “00” denotes the finest grind of flour, and is used to make most pastas and pizza in Italy. When it comes to eggs, quality comes from happy hens that have a good diet. If you’re looking for a super golden color to your egg pasta dough, find some free-range eggs. Free-range chickens eat a more diverse diet, which shows in a vibrant orange yolk. Many of the same principles I explained in my previous pasta columns hold true for egg pasta as well. Weighing your ingredients, especially with a precise measurement like grams, is always going to deliver a more predictable outcome than cups and tablespoons. Eggs can vary widely in volume, which can contribute to unintended consequences. If you have a kitchen scale, use it, because 58% dough hydration — for example, 58 grams of egg for every 100 grams of flour — is ideal. In this recipe, I also provide close equivalents using cups and quantities of eggs. Credit: Jon Bennion / MTFPNow let’s talk technique. As with eggless pasta, a good knead develops a smooth, springy dough that makes for great texture. When making fresh pasta by hand, I always do a 10-minute kneading process, which helps me feel how the dough is changing as gluten develops. The knead is followed by 30 minutes of rest under plastic wrap or in a sealed plastic bag. If you aren’t ready to roll out your dough right after the rest, you can stick it in the fridge for up to 12 hours. Just make sure it comes out of the fridge at least 30 minutes before you roll to let it come to room temperature. It is possible to roll your pasta with a rolling pin, but I don’t recommend it for beginners. Getting the right thinness without drying out your dough is a balancing act that newbies shouldn’t have to focus on. I recommend buying a pasta machine.It’s an investment for sure, and one you shouldn’t skimp on. There are cheap department store versions, and they really don’t work well. No two pasta machines are the same, including their thickness settings. Here are some of the better options to consider: Imperia — Heavy-duty made-in-Italy pasta machine that I grew up with. Compact, sturdy, and high quality. Marcato — Also Italian-made, and probably one of the most popular brands with many professional pasta makers. I got the 180mm version to make wider pasta sheets for lasagna noodles and for making multicolored pasta.Pastalinda — Larger and wider machines that clamp in two places on your counter for sturdiness, featuring easy-to-see settings for adjusting the thickness of your pasta. Kitchenaid — If you’re short on space and already have a Kitchenaid mixer, there are pasta roller attachments that allow you to easily move pasta sheets through without the need for the hand crank. The recipe below incorporates a bit more egg yolk into the dough for a super-silky, vibrant yellow dough that will wow your family and friends. EGG PASTA RECIPEServes: 4 Prep time: 1 hourCook time: 2-3 minutes2 cups all-purpose or Italian 00 flour (240 grams)2 full eggs and 3 egg yolks (138 grams)Pour your flour onto your counter in a mound. Make a large well in the flour with the bottom of a bowl and then add the whole eggs and egg yolks to the center. With a fork, make small circular motions in the eggs to break the yolks and pull little bits of flour into the center. As you continue doing this, the center will become thicker. Pull in larger amounts of flour and mash it into the wetter center with your fork. At a certain point your hands become the better instrument going forward. Mash, roll, stretch and refold the shaggy dough into a ball and start the kneading process, as explained above, for 10 minutes. If it seems too dry a few minutes into the kneading, wet your hands and continue to knead. If it seems too wet, add more flour. It should be smooth and not sticky by the end. Allow it to rest for 30 minutes in plastic wrap or a sealed bag. Cut the dough in half and leave one portion wrapped while you start with the other half. Mash the working dough on the counter to start the thinning process before you use the pasta machine. On the pasta machine’s thickest settling, put the dough through. Add a little flour to the outside if you sense any stickiness. Fold the dough like French doors and run it through again. This continues the kneading process and gets you smoother dough. Credit: Jon Bennion / MTFPI run the dough through each of the settings at least 2-3 times, refolding each time with the French door method. The thickness of your final dough depends on the kind of pasta you are making. With most machines, I rarely take it to the thinnest setting. I usually stop one step thicker, and with filled pastas I might go a bit thicker still. On your final thickness, run it through a few times without folding for a smooth dough. Every pasta attachment has settings for a very skinny pasta that looks like spaghetti called “tagliolini” and a wider noodle that looks like fettuccine called “tagliatelle.” Or, if you dust the outside with plenty of flour, you can roll up the dough and cut super-wide pasta called pappardelle. I’ve even used this technique to make large egg noodles for lasagna. Once you get the basics down, the sky is the limit. This pasta takes only a few minutes to cook in nicely salted boiling water. You can use it with your favorite tomato sauce, chicken noodle soup, or just a simple combo of browned butter, lemon juice, and parmesan cheese. Keep this recipe handy, as future columns will explore the vast culinary frontier of filled pastas, shapes, and other recipes. The post Eggs + flour = magic appeared first on Montana Free Press.