While people’s opinions on food can differ significantly depending on their taste and the country they come from, we think that everyone can at least agree on one thing — we all enjoy eating delicious pasta.

Pasta comes in various shapes, which makes it easy for anyone to find a type that they love. Moreover, we can play with sauces and eat our pasta in so many different ways, which is another reason why this Italian dish is widely popular.

Still, nothing beats fresh, homemade pasta. Contrary to popular opinion, making pasta from scratch isn’t very complicated. Therefore, we will teach you how to make homemade pasta like a pro. Keep reading to learn all about the process of making one of the most popular types of pasta — linguine.

Get Yourself a Pasta Maker

While it is possible to make fresh pasta from scratch without a pasta maker, we do recommend using the machine, since it makes the whole process quick and straightforward. Plus, we won’t spend a fortune on a manual pasta roller — they are pretty affordable.

Once we have equipped ourselves with a pasta maker, we can start gathering all the necessary ingredients and making the dough.

Gather the Ingredients for the Dough

How to make fresh pasta? You need to start from the ingredients – here is what you’ll need:

• All-purpose flour (2 ¼ cups)
• Three large eggs
• Sea salt (a pinch)

And, believe it or not, that’s all it takes. With only these three ingredients, you will be able to make delicious, tender linguine that you can combine with multiple types of noodles for a wonderful meal again and again.

How to make fresh pasta — Directions

1. Prepare a clean surface in your kitchen where you can sift the flour and work on it. Then, using your fist, gently make a little well-like hole in the center of the flour.
2. Now, break the eggs into the hole, add a pinch of salt, and gradually start mixing the egg mixture into the flour. You can do that with your fingers (using one hand only) or with a fork, slowly mixing the ingredients together, thus making a firm dough. The sides of the well need to be high enough for the eggs to remain inside.
3. If your dough feels too firm and dry, add a couple of water drops. On the other hand, if it feels too sticky and wet, add a bit of flour. Be careful with adding the flour though; adding too much will make your pasta floury and heavy. Ideally, your dough should feel sticky once you’re done mixing the ingredients.
4. Then, take the dough, scrape it into a ball, and start kneading it. To prevent it from sticking to the surface, spread a bit of flour over the work surface. The best way to knead the dough is to press firmly into it, using the heel of your hand, and to fold it over towards yourself, giving it a quarter turn. Keep repeating the pressing and folding process until the dough becomes smooth and elastic — that will take around three to four minutes.
   
5. Once the dough is ready, wrap it in a plastic wrap and let it rest for 20–30 minutes.
6. While you’re waiting, take a pot, pour some water in it, and put it on the stove to boil. This step is essential because you want to cook the pasta as soon as it is ready. If you wait for too long, it will dry out.
7. Before you unwrap the dough, set up your pasta roller, turning the dial to the widest setting (that’s usually number one).
8. Once the resting time has passed, take the dough out from the plastic and cut it into four equal pieces.
9. Then, take the first piece (while the remaining three pieces are covered with the plastic wrap) and start flattening it, making a rectangle shape.
10. Next, feed the dough through the rollers, starting with one of the sides of the rectangle that is the shortest.
11. When the dough comes out on the other end, fold both sides into the middle, forming three layers in total. The best way to do that is by pressing lightly and sealing the pieces of the dough.
12. Then, feed the dough into the machine once again, putting one of the narrower sides first. For the best results, repeat the folding and rolling process five times in total.
13. Once you’ve finished folding and rolling for five times, you need to start rolling the dough thinner. Do that by setting up the dial to the following setting (that’s usually number two).
14. Now, carefully roll the pasta through the pasta maker, slowly turning the crank with one hand and catching the dough on the other end with the other hand. You shouldn’t tear or stretch the sheet.
15. At this point, don’t fold the dough anymore; just keep rolling it and reducing the settings until you get the pasta sheet to be as thin as you want it. Make sure that you roll the pasta two or three times at each setting, without skipping settings. When it comes to linguine, go up to six or seven and you’ll get the perfect thickness.
16. If the sheet gets too long, you can cut it in half — that will make things much easier. Also, your noodles won’t be incredibly long. However, make sure that your sheets aren’t too short either; around 12 inches per sheet is perfect for linguine.
17. When you are satisfied with the sheet you’ve created, start forming the noodles. To do that, you first need to attach the noodle-cutting attachment to the pasta maker, using the pasta maker’s manual. Linguine is about 0.16 in in width, which isn’t as wide as fettuccine, but a bit wider than spaghetti.
18. Feed the thin pasta sheets into the attachment for cutting with one hand and use the other hand to catch the noodles while they crank out of the pasta maker. Repeat the process with all of the pasta sheets.
19. To prevent the noodles from sticking together, keep them on a sheet pan that you’ve dusted with cornmeal. Alternatively, you can buy a special pasta drying rack. Either way, you need to separate the noodles and toss some cornmeal on them.
20. Once the water starts boiling, add the fresh pasta and cook it around two to three minutes. When it becomes firm but tender, and it lightens in color, that means it’s ready.
21. Finally, drain the pasta, pour our sauce of choice over it, and serve!

So, now you know “How to make fresh pasta”.  If you are just learning how to make pasta for the first time, the process might seem lengthy and complex. However, once you get hold of it, you’ll realize that it is actually pretty simple, and you can make amazing fresh pasta every time. If you want fresh pasta with a little less work, check out some of the best electric pasta makers make the process quick and easy.