Mama Mia! (using a pasta maker to make gluten-free pasta)

Yes, that’s homemade fettuccine! Made all by myself! If you could see me, I’d be doing a little happy dance (if I wasn’t so tired). I LOVE pasta. I could LIVE on pasta. Well, except for that whole gluten thing. Whether glutened or gluten-free, fresh pasta is 100 times better than the dry, boxed kind. I previously made ravioli from scratch without a pasta-maker (lots of rolling dough out by hand). I was impressed at how good it tasted. I used Bette Hagman’s bean flour blend recipe. It’s the same recipe that I used again tonight.

I began a quest to find a pasta maker a little while back. I didn’t want anything motorized – just the basic hand crank variety. After reading several reviews online, I determined that the one made by Imperia (and conveniently sold at Linens & Things) would do just fine. The reviews did have lots of helpful suggestions on how to get the most out of the gadget, which I will pass along.

(disclaimer: the photos are a little off because my batteries were dying and it’s also hard to take pictures while trying to use the machine. sorry. I promise more pictures next time I try this.)

So here is what I bought:

Before using for pasta that you are going to eat, you need run through some dough that ends up getting thrown away. This may seem like a bit of a waste, but it serves two purposes. First, the machine comes with some residual oil on the moving parts that you can’t quite wipe off. By running dough through it a few times, it cleans the machine. (You should never clean the pasta maker with water and soap, as you will never get it all the way dry and it will rust.) The second reason for running this first batch through is for practice. While this is a relatively simple machine, there is a bit of a learning curve. Think of it as learning to drive a car. Once you get the hang of it, it’s not that difficult. But in the beginning, it takes practice. Don’t expect perfect looking pasta the first time. Or the second time. Fortunately, the dough seems fairly resilient and you and just smush is back together and try again. (but more on that later.) After you have your machine clean (actually, kind of messy as it is now covered in gf flour/corn starch), toss the first batch of dough in the trash and start making pasta for real.

Step 1. Make dough. I like the recipe using the four flour bean mix. You can use a mixer with a dough hook. You can do it the old fashioned way with the flour on the counter, cracking the egg into a crater in the middle, then mixing it in slowly. Your preference. I mixed by hand in a bowl. But it does need to get kneaded just a bit so that it is no longer sticky. Use corn starch for this.

Step 2. Divide dough in half (or smaller). Flatten to no more than 1/2″.

Step 3. The machine has a knob that adjusts the width between the blades. Set it to the widest setting. Roll dough through.

Step 4. Fold dough in half. Dust both sides with corn starch, roll through again.

Step 5. Repeat step 4 several more times until the dough is well kneaded.

  

Step 6. Adjust knob so that the rollers are one notch closer together. Having dusted dough with corn starch, roll through. (Do not fold in half.)

Step 7. Continue adjusting rollers closer together, rolling dough through until it has been rolled at thinnest setting. You will need to keep dusting with corn starch between each pass. You will also probably need to cut the dough as it gets longer, or it will be too difficult to handle.

If the dough is sticking to the machine or clumping, the dough probably needs more flour or corn starch added to it. Just add more flour, knead it a bit longer, and try again. When I was working with the dough, it seemed like it would be almost impossible to get the dough too dry.

Step 8. Once rolled out. Let the dough dry for at least 15 minutes for trying to cut. This is key. If you are making ravioli or tortellini, it’s probably not necessary. But if cutting on the machine, it is.

Step 9. Roll pasta sheets through the cutter. The machine came with cutters for spaghetti and fettuccine.

Some reviews I read said that this whole process required two people. I did this just fine by myself. It is however important to be able to clamp it very tightly to a counter or table so that it doesn’t move. Also, I found cutting the longer sheets in half made them easier to work with.

Step 10. Cook in boiling, salted water. WARNING: it takes almost no time at all to cook (less than 5 minutes). I over-cooked mine.

ENJOY!

The sauce you see is made of the following, bought at the farmers’ market over the weekend (I’d never seen white eggplant before):

I also used this week’s secret ingredient: Basil!

My next trick will be to try tortellini! Yikes!