This is our go-to recipe for all of our hand-cut pasta (pappardelle, tagliatelle, capellini, garganelli, etc). This recipe was inspired by pasta dough recipes from Flour + Water (a restaurant in San Francisco owned by one of the best pasta chefs in the country) and slightly modified. We use all purpose flour from Cairnspring Mills and eggs from Skagit Valley. This dough is silky, luxurious, with supple texture. It is intended to be cut either by hand or a pasta cutter (hand crank or Kitchenaid attachment). It is not intended to be extruded through a die (pastas such as spaghetti, rigatoni, penne, bucatini, etc.). We cut, slightly dry, then freeze our pasta for a longer shelf life. This type of pasta ideally is cooked soon after making but can be frozen for later use or kept in a refrigerator. Unless it is frozen, it will oxidize if not used within a couple of days and must be kept dry and free of moisture. While fine to eat, the pasta will discolor due to the high egg content in the dough when stored in the refrigerator or at room temperature for an extended period of time.
The recipe follows:
Ingredients
2 c. flour
18 egg yolks
1 Tbsp. of extra virgin olive oil
1 Tbsp. kosher salt
Steps
1. In a bowl or the bowl of your stand mixer, place the flour and salt, mix it to evenly distribute the salt in the flour.
2. Make a well in the center of the flour and add the olive oil.
3. Separate the egg yolks from whites and place in the well (save the whites for meringue or healthy egg white omelets).
4. The most traditional way from here would be to, using a fork, beat the egg yolks together with the oil and slowly start incorporating the surrounding flour until the dough comes together. The most practical way would be to place the mixing bowl onto your stand mixer and, with the dough hook (or paddle), mix until the dough starts to come together. Either way works fine.
5. Once the dough comes together, turn the dough out onto a clean surface. Knead the dough until it is smooth and elastic. Push your finger lightly into the dough. If the indention starts to bounce back, you are set. If not, knead a little longer. Generally, you will need to knead roughly 6 to 8 minutes.
6. Wrap the dough tightly with plastic wrap and let rest at room temperature for 30 to 60 minutes before rolling out. This allows the gluten developed during kneading to relax and the dough will be easier to roll out and work with. You can also refrigerate the dough for a few hours or overnight as well, but remember to pull the dough out about an hour before you will be rolling it so that it comes back to room temperature.
7. Roll the dough out in sheets and cut as desired.
