In today’s world, pasta is known as one of the most popular foods around the world. In addition to different cooking styles, you will be able to make fresh pasta dough in various shapes and cook it according to your taste. In addition to ordering the tastiest pasta in the restaurant or buying ready-made pasta, you can produce fresh pasta at home! Of course, this will bring a lot of joy and also help you eat healthy foods. In the continuation of the content, we are going to talk to you completely about the steps of making fresh pasta dough and also the history of pasta. So if you are also looking for more information about this delicious food, stay with us until the end of this content.

The history of pasta 

Before we talk about how to make fresh pasta dough, let us give you some background on the history of pasta. You all know that pasta is one of the most popular Italian foods. This food has traveled a long way to come to life in Italy and to be known in all of the world. There are various theories regarding the origin of pasta in Italy. Historians do not have a similar theory in mind regarding the history of Pasta.

Some people say that for the first time after the Arab invasions of Italy in the 8th century, a kind of dried food similar to noodles entered Italy, and this caused the process of pasta production to begin. Some other historians acknowledge that in the 13th century when Marco Polo returned to Italy from China, he brought noodles to Italy as a souvenir. This is what led to the formation of the initial idea of ​​pasta production. Of course, besides these two theories, there are other ideas known as the history of the formation of pasta. It doesn’t matter how pasta was first formed, what matters is that from the 14th century, pasta became a popular food in Italy and around the world and gained many fans.

The beginning of today’s pasta production process

Today, pasta is used in two different types, dry and fresh. Dry pasta gained many fans in the 14th century due to its long shelf life and was known as a suitable food for long sea voyages. Fresh pasta, on the other hand, has attracted the attention of many people due to its lovely taste and texture. In Italian, pasta means dough. In Italy, different types of pasta are prepared using a kind of flour called durum flour. To produce pasta, Italians combine flour with eggs, water, and olive oil and use different machines to form this dough. Currently, there are more than 600 different types of pasta around the world, each of which can be cooked and used in various ways.

Ingredients we need for the production of fresh pasta dough 

After talking about the history and features of pasta, let’s talk about the raw materials we need to produce fresh pasta dough. Dry pasta is indeed easy to prepare and consume, but if you want an original and lovely taste of pasta, you can try fresh pasta dough. Below are the raw materials we need to make this dough. 

• Flour: 4 cups 
• Eggs: 4 pcs 
• Olive oil: 2 tablespoons 
• Salt: 1 teaspoon

Steps of making fresh pasta dough 

After getting information about the raw materials needed to make fresh pasta dough, let’s examine the steps of this process. If you follow the process of producing fresh pasta dough according to the mentioned steps, you can prepare the best quality dough.

The first step for making fresh pasta dough

In the first step, to make fresh pasta dough, you need to mix salt and flour. Next, sift this mixture. Break the eggs in a separate bowl and mix them well. If you don’t like to use 4 eggs, you can reduce the number of eggs and add some water to the mixture. You should not add too much water, because this will make trouble rolling the dough into the shape you want.

The second step for making fresh pasta dough

In the next step of making the fresh pasta dough, after you mixed the eggs well, add them along with some olive oil to the sifted flour mixture and salt. After this, gently grab the dough and knead it with your hands. If you feel that the dough is sticking to your hands, you can add some flour. You need to knead the dough slowly for about 5 minutes so that you can create a smooth dough.

The third step for making fresh pasta dough

In the third step, you need to rest the dough. Cover the dough bowl with plastic wrap and let the mixture rest for about half an hour. After half an hour, the fresh pasta dough should be a little softer and slightly puffy. When you press your fingers into the dough, your fingerprints should stay on the dough.

The fourth step for making fresh pasta dough

In the fourth step in the process of making fresh pasta dough, you need to pour some flour on a flat surface and knead the dough on this flat surface. Open the dough several times completely on the surface and then gather it again. This will make your dough have a good texture.

The fifth step for making fresh pasta dough

After you have done the mentioned steps well, now you can use a rolling pin to completely flatten the dough. Next, you can make the pasta dough into noodles or other shapes you like. After that, pour some flour on the pasta so that they do not stick together. 

The last step

In the last step in the process of making fresh pasta dough, you can cook the pasta. Keep in mind that fresh pasta will only last for two days and it is better to be kept in the refrigerator. The wisest thing for you is to cook the pasta immediately after making it. You will be able to cook these pasta with any kind of sauce you like and enjoy eating them.

Interesting tips about pasta 

• Each region of Italy has its particular pasta.
• Pasta made with durum wheat is very beneficial for the health of the body. 
• The process of producing fresh pasta may take up to 24 hours. 
• There are more than 2000 pasta production companies in Italy. But many residents of this country prefer to make their pasta. 
• In Italy, only semolina flour is used to make dry pasta. 
• Today, companies use a variety of food colors such as green spinach, purple beetroot, red carrot, pumpkin, squid ink, etc. to prepare dry pasta.
• In Italy, each person consumes about 27 kg of pasta every year.
• Italians believe that pasta should not be cut in half while cooking.
• According to the basic recipe for cooking pasta, you should boil each kilogram of pasta in 10 liters of water and salt. 

Conclusion 

In this content, we have provided you with information about the history of pasta and how to cook fresh pasta dough. Of course, you will also have the option to prepare dry pasta. One of the famous brands that produce dry pasta in Iran is the Mana brand. Mana products are very high quality, tasty and fresh, and using them can help you to taste pasta with different sauces.