How do I avoid gummy, unworkable pasta dough?

How do I avoid gummy, unworkable pasta dough? - Person Making Pasta Tagliatelle

I've tried several times to make egg pasta from scratch. No matter how much flour I add or how much I knead, the result is the same: the dough is too sticky to pass through a pasta roller or even to roll out by hand. Last night I tried a friend's extruder machine, and the extruded noodles just gummed together before I could even cut them off. What should I be doing differently?



Best Answer

Michael Rhulman writes: "The pasta dough ratio is 3 parts flour, 2 parts egg. So I crack 1 egg per serving into a bowl, then multiply that weight by 1.5 and add that much flour."

Try that.

Also, the recipe for extruded pasta is different, most often made with semolina and water...almost always a crumbly texture when entering the extruder.




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How do I avoid gummy, unworkable pasta dough? - From above of broken eggs on flour pile scattered on table near salt sack and kitchenware
How do I avoid gummy, unworkable pasta dough? - Cook adding flour into baking form while preparing meal
How do I avoid gummy, unworkable pasta dough? - Uncooked balls of dough near rolling pin placed on wooden table sprinkled with flour with eggshell and raw spaghetti in kitchen



Quick Answer about "How do I avoid gummy, unworkable pasta dough?"

Add a little oil and a little salt to your pasta and stop overcooking it. Salt and oil will not make the dough less sticky, and the problem is with the dough, before you've even started cooking it.

How do you make fresh pasta not gummy?

Scatter a little more flour over the pasta, form it into nests and let it dry for another 10 to 20 minutes, it should feel slightly dry but not brittle. Either cook the pasta immediately or cover the baking sheet tightly with clingfilm and store in the fridge for 2-3 hours.

Why did my pasta turn out rubbery?

When your pasta is chewy, this is a sign that it's undercooked. Let it boil for another minute and taste-test it for doneness again. When the pasta noodles are tender on the inside but still firm to the bite on the outside, you know that they're done. Italian chefs call this \u201cal dente,\u201d which means to the tooth.

Why is my pasta sticky and chewy?

When pasta becomes overcooked, it takes on a gummy and unpleasant texture. Overcooked pasta also scores higher on the glycemic index than correctly cooked pasta, which means that it has a greater impact on your blood sugar levels.

What happens if you over knead pasta dough?

It's almost impossible to over-knead a dough, though, since it'll eventually build up so much elasticity that it won't allow you to continue. That said, you don't want to keep the dough out for too long, lest it begin to dry out.



2 ways to adjust your pasta dough.




More answers regarding how do I avoid gummy, unworkable pasta dough?

Answer 2

No matter how much flour I add or how much I knead, the result is the same: the dough is too sticky

Could be the weather and not you at fault! Seriously, my Italian flat mate swore the British climate was the reason for not achieving the perfect pasta mix every time. He ended up a risotto eater instead.

Apart from that, a couple of things occur to me. Always presuming you are using one medium sized egg to each 100 g of "00" flour, adding more flour is not the solution. Flour + liquid = paste. The more flour added, the stodgier the pasta will become.

If you are making a larger amount -- say 300 g flour -- try only adding two eggs, then the third a little at a time starting with the yolk. Only add the white if required to just hold the dough together. A blender or mixter with a dough hook work well. If still too dry add a little oil. Kneading will take around 10 minutes until silky and smooth. Wrap in cling film and rest in a cool place.

It would be good if you could give your ingredients and quantities @crmdgn. "Egg pasta" can be many things. My basic pasta recipe is 100 g "00" flour, one egg and a pinch of salt (or multiples thereof). My mother used to make pasta with equal parts plain/all-purpose flour and semolina, eggs, olive oil, water and salt. And Umberto, the flat mate? I never found out what his "mama's secret recipe" was, but as it was often a failure when he made it, I suspect it is no loss! To be absolutely fair, it was in the days before "00" flour was widely available.

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