Make Bread Machine Pasta

Most homemade pasta recipes involve mixing the pasta with your hands, which can be quite messy. If you have a bread machine laying around, you can make it do most of the work for you!

Ingredients

 * 1 cup flour
 * 1 large egg
 * 3/4 teaspoon salt
 * 1 teaspoon vegetable oil
 * 1 to 2 tablespoons water

Steps

 * 1) Put all of the ingredients into a bread machine. Start with 1 tablespoon of water and add more later if the consistency of the dough is too rough. You can set it on the dough setting but most breads start out kneading anyway and you will not run it for its full cycle.
 * 2) *Optional: Use a flexible spatula and push the ingredients toward the propeller until it the flour becomes dough. Use caution as the machine can break a wooden spatula. This will help speed up the process of kneading the dough.
 * 3) Add additional water, if needed, after about 5 minutes of mixing the pasta dough. Examine the dough and see if you need to add all or part of the remaining tablespoon of water. You're looking for a clean, smooth ball of dough that looks like something you could work with your hands. If you put in too much of the remaining water, the dough will be too soft and will stick to the sides. If you have done this, try adding pinches of flour to rebuild the consistency until you get a ball again.
 * 4) Allow between 10 and 20 minutes for the dough to be mixed. When the time is up, turn off the bread machine and unplug it. Take a sheet of plastic wrap and pick up the ball from the machine, wrapping it in the plastic. Your skin need not touch the dough. Set this wrapped dough aside to settle for 20 minutes.
 * 5) Wait 20 minutes for the dough to rest.
 * 6) Open the plastic and work the dough with your hands. If it feels a little sticky, dip your hands or the dough into some flour and pat the dough until it's no longer sticky. Break the dough into four or more smaller balls.
 * 7) Cut the dough into strips or use a pasta maker. If you have a pasta maker you are ready to go. Run the dough through the rollers at the widest setting then work your way to the thinnest. Each setting will make your strip longer and wider. If the strips become too wide, fold them over and run through again. To save time you could use every other thickness setting as you work your way to the thinnest. If your goal is lasagna, don't bother with the thinnest setting, it may be too thin.
 * 8) Start cutting pasta strips. By the time you've made all the strips, the first strip should be dry enough to cut. The strip should not be sticky at all. If it is, it could cause problems with the cutter. As each strip is cut into noodles hang them to dry more.
 * 9) *If you don't have a pasta maker flatten the balls of dough with a rolling pin then use a pizza cutter to cut into noodles. You can use this to make lasagna, ravioli or egg noodles should work and you can certainly experiment with twisting and folding your dough to invent your own noodle.
 * 10) *You can also Use a Paper Shredder as a Pasta Machine!
 * 11) Cook the pasta or refrigerate the noodles shortly after making them. Standard pasta cooking directions apply to this dough. Boil 7 to 10 minutes in slightly salted water.

Tips

 * You can use all purpose flour and corn oil if you want. You can also use semolina flour and olive oil. Semolina is harder wheat and gives a nicer texture to the pasta.
 * I have to disagree with the cooking time. Fresh pastas cook much quicker than dried packaged pastas.  Mine only takes 2-3 minutes.  If cooked too long, fresh pasta loses its wonderful springy texture.
 * (from the original author) I stand corrected. I never tried cooking less than 7 minutes but it makes sense.
 * If you don't have a bread machine, a food processor works fine (In my opinion--actually better!). You can use the regular chopping blade if you don't have a dough blade.

Warnings

 * Be careful with poking things into a running bread machine. Avoid the moving propeller.
 * Beware that egg is used in the pasta recipe and eggs are perishable. Cook or refrigerate the pasta soon after the pasta is made.

Things You'll Need

 * Bread Machine
 * Measuring Cups and Spoons
 * Pasta Maker or Rolling Pin and Pizza Cutter
 * Plastic Wrap
 * Pasta Hanging Device

Related Tips and Steps

 * How to Use a Paper Shredder as a Pasta Machine
 * How to Make Egg Noodles Using a Food Processor
 * How to Make Egg Noodles
 * How to Make Ravioli