Making Pasta

So, the boys bought me a pasta maker for Christmas. I used it a few days later following the directions that came with the Atlas 150. It was awkward and time consuming, but came out pretty good. This past weekend I tried again, using a recipe I downloaded. This recipe called for a small amount of olive oil. The dough was impossible to work. I wasted over 2 hours trying to get the stuff through the machine. When I finally did, it was dry and kept breaking apart. Finally, I put all the dough in a plastic bag and put it in the freezer and bought some linguine to serve with the chicken scallopine. My guess is the olive oil was a mistake because it seemed to lubricate the rollers and they couldn't grip the dough. Perhaps the dough was too dry. Since I don't have any local friends to coach me in the proper techniques (there is really nothing like hands-on first person experience), I could use a few pointers. What consistency should the dough be? What should it feel like? How easily should the dough pass through the machine on the first pass? etc. Any good links?

There's really no need for the olive oil, IMO. I've always used Marcella Hazan's recipe for fresh pasta, and I've never had problems feeding the dough through the rollers.
When making fresh pasta, work quickly, so that your dough doesn't have time to dry out.
Finding somewhere convenient to mount the machine is helpful too. I saw an Alton Brown episode where he mounted it to an ironing board. I've never tried his method, but I thought it was clever.

Your dough should be quite smooth - I love the feel of a properly made pasta dough. It should not feel dry, but it shouldn't be sticky, either. It should pass through the rollers effortlessly.

Could the two hours you spent messing with the dough have dried it out, making it more difficult to work?

Agree. Olive oil is not a good idea. Flour, salt, eggs, nothing else. Add an extra yolk for richness. Don't underknead, let the dough rest, wrapped in plastic, before rolling.

Use the #1 setting to really get the texture right- run some through, fold it, run it through again. Do the fold and roll three or four times until the dough is very smooth, almost glossy, then flour up the rollers and start running through tighter setting. Once you get the technique down, it's fast and easy. I think Cynthia posted a pic of me running some dough through my Atlas which gives a pretty good idea of what it should look like.

Thanks. I found the picture you're referring to. Yes, I think it dried out and the oil was a mistake. Regarding the moisture and feeling - Stuart, I know you use wet dough for making bread, but should it be about the same as a non-wet dough? Traditional bread uses a ratio of about 1 part water to 3 parts flour (by volume). I know what that feels like. I'm thinking it should be a bit stiffer than this, but what I made was very stiff.

Thanks. I found the picture you're referring to. Yes, I think it dried out and the oil was a mistake. Regarding the moisture and feeling - Stuart, I know you use wet dough for making bread, but should it be about the same as a non-wet dough? Traditional bread uses a ratio of about 1 part water to 3 parts flour (by volume). I know what that feels like. I'm thinking it should be a bit stiffer than this, but what I made was very stiff.

Howie, I get the best results using a drier state of dough than I do when making bread. The dough should have a smooth, leathery feeling to it when you start, and then you should work as fast as you can to avoid the dough drying out further. Using that method, I get good results down to setting 5 on my Atlas (6 if using semolina flour) and can cut into any shape I wish.

Mark Lipton

Yes, it's a bit like PlayDoh, moisture-wise, but stiffer.

Huh. James Beard recommends that if you're going to knead with a mixer (which I usually do), you add a tablespoon of olive oil per 2 eggs. It's always worked for me.

Stuart's Play-doh analogy is a good one. I also look for what John mentioned - there's an amazing smoothness to the dough when it's ready. It has a sheen to it that's really neat.

FWIW, I've never used oil but I've always done mine by hand rather than in a mixer.