Handmade Pasta Dough

Ingredients

• 2 cups all purpose flour
• 3 large eggs, room temperature
• pinch of salt

Directions

1. Start off two cups all-purpose flour on a clean area of counter with plenty of space to work it. Use a spoon to make a well in the center and lightly beat three room temperature large eggs with a pinch of salt in a bowl.
2. Pour the lightly beaten eggs into the well and, using a fork, start making a circles to slowly begin incorporating the flour into the eggs. Once most of the flour is incorporated and it begins to be too hard to work any more in with the fork, you can start using your hands.
3. You might not need all two cups of the flour� depending on temperatures the amount needed will change each time you make it.
4. Once you have a ball of dough that�s firm but slightly sticky, move the excess flour out of the way and start kneading the dough with both of your hands. This will take about 10 minutes.
5. Once you�re done kneading it, the dough will be slightly sticky and in a smooth ball. At this stage you have really worked the gluten so the dough needs time to rest for it to develop and relax enough that it will roll out easily. Wrap it in plastic and leave it at room temperature for at least an hour and a half.
6. Once the dough has rested, you can begin rolling it into sheets.
7. Cut your ball of dough into eight similar sized pieces to make it easier to work with in your roller.
8. With your roller on it�s thickest setting, feed one piece of dough through the roller. Fold the piece of dough into thirds as shown and then feed it through the roller on setting 1 again but turn it so one of the unfolded ends goes in first . Continue rolling out the pasta, changing it one setting thinner each time until you�ve reached your desired thickness using your hand to support the dough coming out as it gets longer. You can leave the sheets whole or cut them using a sharp knife into strips in the desired width.
9. You will need to dry your pasta slightly before cooking it, so that it doesn�t all stick together once dropped in the pot. You can use a pasta hanging rack or just hang hangers from cabinet knobs. Fresh pasta only needs to be cooked for 1-3 minutes� once it begins to float in the boiling water, it�s done! You can also dry your pasta out completely on the hangers, store it in airtight containers and keep it in your fridge.