Homemade Pasta: 3 Pasta Dough Recipes & 10 Different Shapes

If you have some extra time to spend cooking, homemade pasta is definitely the perfect project to take on. We have three simple pasta dough recipes for you to start with. Whether you have a pasta maker or not, in this article we will also show you how to create pasta shapes at home! Not only a fun activity for the whole family, but we are also sure you will be in love with the homemade pasta taste and texture! And once you have your fresh handmade pasta, the possibilities are endless! We have plenty of delicious pasta recipes in this article for you to try!

Jump to:

• Homemade Pasta: The Labour Of Love
• Helpful Equipment for Homemade Pasta
• Helpful Equipment for Homemade Pasta
• Types of Pasta Dough
• Which Homemade Pasta Dough is Best?
• How to Flavour and Colour your Pasta Dough?
• Homemade Pasta Shapes
• More Homemade Pasta Resources
• Bottom Line
• Three Different Pasta Doughs: Semolina, Egg and Egg Yolk

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Homemade Pasta: The Labour Of Love

Everything I know about pasta making, I learned from my Italian friend Giovanni in my second year at university. It was surprising to see all the special equipment for pasta making on a university campus, to say the least, but the passion for cooking was strong enough to pack a very heavy machine and travel with it across Europe.

Giovanni later confessed that he thought pasta-making would be somewhat a conversation piece that would help him make friends in the UK (boy, did it work! I seem to remember girls queueing up to get a taste of the Italian cuisine and see the Italian chef himself in action!).

A few years back, my parents-in-law gave us a Marcato Atlas pasta roller. After staying in the kitchen cupboard unused for a couple of months, we decided it would be a great weekend activity for us. To be completely honest, I didn't expect the fresh homemade pasta to be that much better. What is more, I thought it would be a nightmare to make.

Having seen many professional chefs struggle on Masterchef to roll the pasta out, it sticking to the work surface and then the ravioli bursting and the filling leaking out, I had VERY low expectations! 

What can I tell you? It's 7 years later and our stuffed pasta (ravioli, tortellini, agnolotti) is still exclusively made at home. Yes, we do still buy dried penne and spaghetti for quick weekday dinners, but if it's pasta for a weekend meal, there is no excuse! It has to be homemade. 

Homemade pasta, believe it or not, is not that hard to make. It takes some time, of course, but the work involved is so therapeutic and relaxing that it almost feels meditative! What is more, both the texture and the flavour of the homemade pasta stand heads and shoulders above shop-bought dried pasta. It makes a perfect activity for couples and families with kids too! 

Helpful Equipment for Homemade Pasta

Below, we will show you how we create a range of homemade pasta shapes. Some of them you can make with things that you'll find in the kitchen, like a thin metal skewer, a rolling pin and/ or a fork. Other shapes will require the fresh pasta dough to be rolled out thinly first. 

Helpful Equipment for Homemade Pasta

Below, we will show you how we create a range of pasta shapes at home. Some of them you can make with things that you'll find in the kitchen, like a thin metal skewer or a fork. Other shapes will require the pasta dough to be rolled out thinly first.

If you're interested in making homemade pasta regularly, or simply like to have all the equipment needed handy for when you feel inspired, here's a list of everything 'homemade-pasta-related', that we use (links to the products in blue): 

Kenwood Food Processor (optional): food processors can be used to make the dough. It helps distribute the water or eggs in the flour by pulsing the blades. However, I feel it's easy enough to do it with your hands. What food processor is extremely useful for, though, is making fillings for your stuffed pasta and a variety of pasta sauces. 

Marcato Atlas Pasta Roller (not required for all pasta shapes, but extremely useful): as you will see below, you can make pasta without having to roll it first. There are many handmade pasta shapes, like Cavatelli, Malloreddus, Fusilli and Trofie that require no machine. However, having a pasta maker opens up so many more shapes and recipes: think tagliatelle, lasagne sheets and ravioli, to name a few. 

Butter Paddles/ Gnocchi Boards (replace with the back of the fork, if you don't have one): A fun tool to use to make Malloreddus or Gnocchi (we love making Sourdough Gnocchi). This wooden board makes your pasta look very pretty and the texture helps capture more of that delicious sauce! 

Dual Cutter (or a very sharp knife or a pizza cutter): a cutter we use has two blades, one for a straight edge, and another one for flute. We use it to cut a thinly rolled sheet of pasta, like cutting rectangles for farfalle, shaping ravioli or making fluted pappardelle. 

Dough Scraper/ Pasta Cutter (can be replaced with a sharp knife): We use a Von Chef Bench Scraper. 

Types of Pasta Dough

In the recipe card below, you will find three simple recipes for homemade pasta dough.

Whichever one you choose to cook with, it is important that you use the right ingredients to guarantee success!

Traditional Egg Pasta Dough (Pasta all'uovo): 

• Flour: we tend to use 00 flour for our fresh dough, although you can make it with semolina flour as well. Whilst you can use different types of flours, like plain (all-purpose flour) or strong bread flour for pasta, for me, the pasta may turn out a bit too stodgy and even chewy. 
• Eggs: Since all the moisture in the dough comes from the eggs in this fresh egg pasta dough it is difficult to state the exact amount. I add a medium-sized egg per 100g of flour. If the dough is too dry, simply add a tablespoon of water. If it's too sticky, add a sprinkling of flour. 

Semolina Pasta Dough (Pasta bianca):

• Semolina: if you're making pasta bianca, you will need very fine semolina. It is normally called semolina flour.
• Water: Use warm water, it helps with the kneading process, as the water dough feels more pliable without being too sticky. 

Egg Yolk Pasta (Pasta al tuorlo d'uovo):

Pasta dough can also be made with flour and egg yolks only. This type of pasta is rich in flavour, bright yellow in colour and provides silky-smooth pasta. However, it is harder to knead and becomes quite delicate when boiling. We use 00 flour for the egg yolk pasta. You will also 3-4 medium egg yolks for every 100g of flour that you use (so about 8 yolks to feed 2-3 people. If you have some spare egg yolks though, give it a go! 

Which Homemade Pasta Dough is Best?

Traditional egg pasta dough is a great base for both the filled, rolled and hand-shaped pasta. The dough is made with both the egg white and the yolk ensuring good binding, strong dough that doesn't tear easily but is also rich in flavour and soft in texture. Although the dough is very versatile, we love using this dough for filled pastas (like ravioli and tortellini) and other shapes that need rolling, like tagliatelle, spaghetti, farfalle and penne. 

Egg yolk pasta dough is perfect for long shapes that aren't intricate or need to hold shape. It's the richest-tasting pasta made with egg yolks, so it is best suited served with a simple tomato sauce or a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil.

Semolina pasta dough is made with just water for hydration. It is lower in protein (since there's no egg). However, semolina flour is higher in gluten than 00 flour. Pasta made with this dough will have a different texture that lends itself better to hand-shaped pasta shapes like Cavatelli, Foglie D'Olivo and Fussili. 

How to Flavour and Colour your Pasta Dough?

Green: Baby spinach pulp. Simply place 150g of baby spinach in a colander. Pour a full kettle of boiling water over the spinach and then leave to cool enough to handle. Squeeze as much of the moisture out as possible and place it in a food processor. Blend it into a very smooth green paste. Beat two whole eggs with the spinach mixture. Use about 250g of flour to make up for the extra moisture from the spinach, but you may need to adjust the amounts slightly whilst you knead. Add a tablespoon of water if your pasta dough is too dry. If it's too sticky, add some more flour.

This type of pasta is perfect to use in our Green Pasta with Peas recipe. Or shape it into lasagne sheets and make a Lasagna Verde!

Yellow/ Orange: Turmeric. Simply add ½ teaspoon of ground turmeric per  200g flour and make the pasta dough as usual. This will create a nice pastel yellow-coloured pasta. 

Black: squid (cuttlefish) ink. First, add 4g of squid ink to your eggs or water and beat to combine (don't worry if it doesn't blend in well, it will all combine in the kneading process). We use and love Nortindal Ink. It comes in handy 4g sachets, so they are not messy to use and store! Then make your pasta as normal (plus account for some extra time to wash your hands...don't worry it doesn't stain your skin). 

We love our Squid Ink Pasta With Seafood and White Wine Sauce!

Homemade Pasta Shapes

Different shapes of pasta can be made depending on the equipment that you have at hand. 

Homemade Pasta Shapes Without Pasta Machine

The video below shows how we make a simple semolina pasta dough and then use it for five different pasta shapes. None of them requires a pasta machine and most can be made using things you have at home. Or simply your hands! 

• Cavatelli: Cavatelli means 'little hollows' in Italian. Perfect little pasta shape that can be made with nothing else but your hands. The grove in the middle is great for picking up the yummy sauce. 
• Malloreddus: Also known as Sardinian Gnocchi. Similar to Cavatelli,  Malloreddus have ridges on the outside that also help capture as much sauce as possible (always a winner!). You will ideally need a gnocchi board to create this pasta from Southern Italy, but you can get away by rolling them off the back of a large fork to create ridges. 
• Fusilli al Ferretto: Spiral-shaped pasta, that can be made at home with the help of a metal skewer or any other thin metal rod. It takes a bit of practice (see the video above), but once you've mastered the technique you will have a lovely bowlful of homemade swirly pasta - Fusilli al Faretto - in minutes!
• Trofie: twisted pasta from Liguria, Northern Italy, trofie get their name from the Ligurian verb 'to rub' referring to the shaping motion required to make these little guys. 
• Foglie D'Olivo: literally meaning 'olive leaf' in Italian, these are extremely easy to create with only a butter knife. Try making them with green (spinach) coloured pasta dough. A plate full of little olive leaves looks fantastic!

Homemade Pasta Shapes Using Pasta Machine

If you do have a pasta rolling machine and would like to use it, there are various shapes you can create with your pasta dough. The video below shows how we make a simple egg pasta dough (Pasta all'uovo) and use it to make six hand-rolled pastas. 

• Lasagne Sheet: All rolled pasta starts as a lasagne sheet. Simply roll your dough into thin pasta sheers, trim the edges to create rectangles and you have fresh homemade lasagna sheets. Use them to make lasagna or improvised Cannelloni with Kale and Feta!
• Linguine: similar to spaghetti, but flat rather than round, and about 4mm in width. The name 'linguine' means little tongues in Italian. 
• Tagliatelle: a long and flat ribbon-shaped pasta, that originally comes from the Emilia-Romagna and Marche regions. Traditionally made with egg dough, tagliatelle is cut in 6-9mm wide ribbons. Try our Lemon and Feta Tagliatelle. 
• Pappardelle: a wide (9mm-2.5cm) ribbon pasta, that can have either a straight or a fluted/ serrated edge. Pappardelle is traditionally served with rich tomato or meaty sauces (ragu). 
• Farfalle & Strichetti: Farfalle is butterfly-shaped pasta and has fluted edges. On the other hand, Stritchetti is a regional pasta native to Modena and has straight-cut edges and has bow-tie shape. Very simple to make, yet extremely impressive-looking pasta 
• You can also make ravioli, tortellini, agnolotti and a range of other stuffed pastas if you have a pasta machine.

More Homemade Pasta Resources

• How To Store Freshly Made Pasta?
• Filled Pasta: How to Make Ravioli, Tortellini & Other Stuffed Pasta Shapes?
• Pasta Recipes

Bottom Line

In summary, we believe everyone should try making their own pasta! Overall, not only is pasta a fun activity, but it tastes a lot better than dried pasta bought from the shop! Not forgetting the sense of achievement of creating something from scratch!