Machine for making pasta at home. Homemade pasta? Now it's easy

13.01.2016

While wandering around the Internet, I came across an interesting collection of special devices or devices for making homemade pasta (pasta), varieties of which are very rarely found on supermarket shelves.

I will not consider portable machines for making homemade noodles and pasta. We will talk about more extraordinary devices for making everyone’s favorite pasta.

Bigolaro (bigolari or bigolarista (Torchio per Pasta - Italian pasta press)) is a manual press, mainly made of bronze, with specific attachments for the production of a “thick” type of spaghetti - Gargati and tubular pasta Rigatoni, related by the common name bigolari.

This type of paste was invented by the Italian Francesco Bottene in 1875 and was patented under the name “New Machine for Making Homemade Pasta.” However, there is a legend that a similar machine for making pasta was already developed in 1604 by a pasta merchant from the Italian city of Padua. And in fact, since then, this type of pasta has been given the name bigolari (from Italian bigat), which means caterpillar in local language.

Maybe, in particular, that’s why the new machine was popularly called Bigolaro, and the craftsman who used it to produce bigolari pasta was nicknamed bigolarista. The main feature of the pasta from this press is its texture, which was “rough”, allowing it to hold the sauce well.

Due to the relatively high cost of a new device for making pasta, not everyone could afford it, so families invited a specialist with his own personal machine to make pasta of the Gargati and Rigatoni variety. So bigolarista, fixing his pasta press on a bench, squeezed out the required amount of long pasta from the dough that the owners of the house gave him.

Here is the process of extracting pasta from this tool in the video:

Using this device, you can produce pasta from any dough weighing almost 0.5 kg at a time. Nowadays, such a press can be bought from the descendants of Francesco Bottene in the company “Bottene”, which is located in the city of Vicenza (Italy) or from the Chinese on AliExpress.

Corzetti stampae or corzetti stamp is a fresh homemade pasta that looks like a thin circle of embossed dough, made with special wooden stamps in a variety of patterns. The pattern, in addition to its interesting appearance, holds the sauce well thanks to its ribbed surface. This type of pasta is typical for the cuisine of Liguria in Italy.

The process of preparing stamped pasta corzetti stampae consists of successive steps: rolling out the dough in a thin layer; cutting round plates; plates are embossed with a special wooden stamp on both sides.

The pasta made in this way is first dried a little, and then boiled in a large amount of salted water.

Italian dumplings

Gnocchi (Italian: gnocchi) are Italian oval-shaped dumplings that have been prepared for 2000 years. They are considered the prototype of all other types of dumplings known in the world. And they became widespread during the expansion of the Roman Empire into European countries.

Most often, wheat flour is used to prepare them, but semolina, eggs, different types of cheese, spinach and bread crumbs are also added. Served as a first course with the addition of cheese, tomato sauce or pesto.

The word “gnocchi” itself, according to some assumptions, comes from the Italian “nocchio”, which means wooden branch, or “nocca” - fist.

Delicious and beautiful food will not leave anyone indifferent, because when contemplating an appetizing dish with an amazing aroma, it is very difficult to resist giving free rein to your emotions and saturating your body with blissful food. Everyone has their own concept of tasty and healthy food, and most often it is expressed by the place where a person or an entire nation lives. For example, for one people it is acceptable to eat fried grasshoppers and other insects every day, but for another, just the thought of such food causes disgust, and they prefer to see vegetable and meat dishes on their table. But there is a delicacy that is equally loved in all corners of our planet. This food is called pasta, although many prefer to call it the old fashioned way, noodles.

Faithful helpers in the kitchen

Nowadays, every housewife's kitchen is equipped with all kinds of devices that help her prepare various dishes in a minimum amount of time. Food processors, blenders, juicers, mini-bakeries and many other modern kitchen aids have become an integral part in the process of preparing various culinary masterpieces. Among the large list of kitchen appliances, a pasta machine occupies an important place. With its help, you can roll out dough not only for making noodles, but also for ravioli, lasagna, and some desserts.

Find yours

Many consumers are interested in the question of what a pasta making machine should be like in order for it to be considered as profitable and useful as possible. Unfortunately, there is no clear answer to this question because there are a huge number of different machines from different manufacturers that differ significantly from each other. The choice in this case remains with each buyer, so to speak, who liked what more. But nevertheless, it would be useful to understand the types of these kitchen appliances, which will help you make the right purchase in the future.

So, there are these types of the above-mentioned machines: electric, mechanical and automatic. Almost each type has its own advantages and disadvantages, which determine the functionality of the equipment. The fundamentally important differences between such machines can be seen only by examining and studying in detail each type separately.

Electricity to the rescue!

The electric multifunctional machine has excellent characteristics that help in the preparation of flour products. All such machines differ significantly from each other in color and size, but almost each of them operates from a 220 V network. The housings and all internal components of electric machines are made of durable stainless materials, which allows you to extend the service life of the equipment.

Using these machines, you can roll out dough of different thicknesses, depending on the manufacturer, generally it varies from 0.2 to 2.2 mm, and the width of the dough is up to 150 mm. As for the noodles, they can also be of different widths - from 2 to 6.5 mm.

Some electric machines have additional attachments for preparing various types of food. Typically, the attachments are made of very durable plastic and are easily mounted to the machine.

If we talk about the advantages and disadvantages of electric machines, it can be noted that with a lot of advantages, it has only one minor drawback - its weight, which can sometimes reach 8 kg.

That's how automatic it is!

The automatic pasta machine is the best example of the species. After all, it allows you to simplify the process of preparing pasta and other flour products as much as possible. All that is needed is just to add the necessary ingredients and set the appropriate cooking parameters. Such a machine itself will knead the dough to the desired consistency, which completely eliminates the undesirable consequences of cooking, which often arise from incorrect actions when working with other representatives of the species.

Also, automatic machines have excellent technical characteristics that ensure almost continuous operation of the device, which allows them to be used in small businesses for the production of pasta. They roll out dough in a matter of minutes and have a capacity of 12 kg per hour. This miracle of technology will help provide the whole family and relatives with flour products for a long time.

If we talk in general about the characteristics of automatic machines, they operate on a 220 V network, and the productivity and types of paste produced depend entirely on the specified parameters of the devices. Basically, such equipment is equipped with a lot of functions, which makes it universal. For example, a machine for making pasta and ravioli allows you to prepare not only the usual noodles, but also wonderful dumplings. Many consumers really appreciate this feature in automatic machines, because it makes it possible to produce a large amount of product in a short time.

Unfortunately, along with the above-mentioned advantages, this machine also has disadvantages. These include the fairly high cost of this wonderful technology, although some people do not consider the price a disadvantage, arguing that a good and high-quality product cannot be cheap.

Handmade is always respected

Available to everyone and most often used, due to its affordability in the price category, a mechanical pasta making machine receives varied reviews on its use. Yes, of course, it’s hard to compare a manual machine with an automatic or electric one, but nevertheless, in this category you can find worthy representatives of the species, with the help of which you can prepare excellent dough dishes.

One of the most popular representatives of mechanical products is the Redmond pasta machine. It has good external data and excellent technical characteristics. Thanks to the stainless steel from which the machine is made, it can serve for many years without succumbing to corrosion. An anti-slip stand with rubberized feet allows you to firmly fix the device to the work surface. Despite the fact that the machine has a manual control mechanism, you do not need to put a lot of effort into it to rotate the handle, since the rotations are carried out with great ease. It also has fairly compact dimensions and light weight, only 2.82 kg, which allows you to store the assistant on the kitchen shelf.

Speaking about all the positive features of this technology, for which it is valued by many people, one cannot fail to mention its functional features, which, without exaggeration, are considered unsurpassed. The machine has 9 modes, allows you to roll out dough of various thicknesses, as well as cut noodles of different sizes. For example, to prepare tagliatelle, thin slices are made, 2 mm thick, and for fettuccine - 6 mm. And that's just for making pasta, but the machine also excels at rolling out dough for ravioli and lasagna. A lot more cooking tips and many recipes can be found in the brochures that come with each set of mechanical machines.

Achieving Excellence

The beauty of the world around us is its impermanence; everything in it undergoes transformation and change in order to achieve perfection. And this applies to almost all areas of human activity. Therefore, it is not surprising that all human-made products are constantly updated, taking into account the new wishes of users. The machine has also undergone changes, making it possible to prepare pasta at home. If previously you could only use it to roll out dough for ravioli, now, thanks to a special attachment, you can form them.

You no longer need to waste time making ravioli or dumplings for a long time; all you need to do is put the minced meat between two sheets of dough and turn the handle of the machine. The output is very appetizing products of perfect shape, which will need to be cut into squares, since they come out in the form of a continuous ribbon. You can not only feed your family with such delicious food, but also surprise your guests with your culinary talent.

Both carrot and stick

The Redmond mechanical pasta making machine receives not only positive but also negative consumer reviews. Many people are completely satisfied with such a machine and do not want to change anything about it, but there are also those who would like to make changes for the better. For example, the handle is attached without a lock, and there is always a possibility of it slipping. It can also be very difficult to understand the operating modes of the machine, since all the necessary markings are not clearly marked. Some people complain that sometimes the dough being rolled out breaks.

Also, a mechanical machine for making pasta and ravioli has mixed reviews. Namely, that it is very difficult to make dough for ravioli that would meet the requirements. It has to be passed through the machine many times to get the desired result, and this takes a lot of time and effort. Although it cannot be said that many consumers leave such reviews, they mostly speak positively about the quality of the product.

Most people choose this type of machine for cooking all kinds of food because of its compactness, affordability and energy independence.

Feel like a chef

Having examined all types of machines for preparing all kinds of culinary delights from dough, we can conclude that they all deserve the title of the best. Indeed, despite some disadvantages, such machines still find their fans and are very popular. It doesn’t matter what kind of machine you have in your kitchen, electric, automatic or mechanical - the main thing is that you can use it to prepare very tasty dishes.

If, making pasta, ravioli, or simply rolling out dough in your kitchen using any of these miracles of technology, you feel like a chef, then the choice of machine is, without a doubt, made correctly!

Today we will talk about a modern and useful kitchen appliance for every housewife - a pasta machine or noodle cutter, as it is also called.

What associations do we have when we mention pasta? Of course, sunny Italy. However, if we turn to the history of this wonderful product, it turns out that the roots should be sought in the East, namely in China.

Since ancient times, in the East the nutritional properties of noodles have been valued, and according to many beliefs and rituals it was believed that eating noodles prolongs life and brings happiness.

It is quite obvious that people began to dry pieces of dough in order to stock up on the product for future use. This was needed primarily by tavern owners, as well as travelers. The development of the Maritime Republics in the territory of modern Italy contributed to an increase in trade and maritime transport, and accordingly the tradition of drying pasta spread through this area with great speed.

Since the 16th century, the construction of factories for processing wheat and making pasta began throughout Italy: they produced products such as vermicelli (Italian - worm), trenette (perhaps the most traditional form of Italian pasta), fidelini (a type of pasta slightly thicker than vermicelli) , lasagna, as well as the shells, butterflies, spirals and feathers we know.

In connection with the start of industrial production of pasta, their cost decreased and this product became available to ordinary citizens.

As for Russia, the first pasta factory was opened in the 18th century in Odessa. The technological process was quite complex, and a large share was manual labor.

Today, pasta is prepared in all corners of the world, but in our minds this product is most often associated with Italian cuisine. And it is not surprising that the world famous brand for the production of home pasta machines is the Italian brand Marcato.

The founder of the company, Italian Othello Marcato, opened his own production of equipment for preparing food at home in 1938.

Now it is a large company that has won recognition all over the world due to the quality of its products. Since all accessories, as well as the Marcato pasta machines themselves, are produced exclusively in Italy, the company can rightfully be proud of its products with the “Made in Italy 100%” label, which the Italians themselves value so much.

All components of Marcato noodle cutters are made of a special metal alloy that is safe for health. The machines are easy to wash after use.

New models of pasta machines traditionally take part in international exhibitions, winning recognition from new fans. This is facilitated by the absolutely affordable price level of the products, combined with the high quality of Marcato products.
In Russia, the official representative of the Marcato brand is the ReeHouse Group.

We will begin our acquaintance with Marcato products with the simplest and most convenient pasta machine for home use, Regina.

This machine allows you to prepare 5 types of products: vermicelli, pasta, curls and horns in two sizes. The finished dough is placed in a special container, we turn the handle and we get homemade pasta! Before cooking, it is recommended to dry the resulting product on a towel.

A bestseller is the Atlas 150 pasta machine (Marcato Atlas).

This machine is equipped with a very useful accessory - a roller for thinly rolling out dough, the width of which is 15 cm. The roller has 9 positions for adjusting the thickness of the dough. Also on this machine you can prepare two types of noodles: 2.2 mm and 6.6 mm wide.

If desired, you can purchase an electric drive for the Pastadrive pasta machine.

Another very useful accessory that can be purchased in addition to the Atlas 150 pasta machine is a ravioli attachment (Marcato Ravioli).

Using this attachment, you will have the opportunity to prepare a truly Italian dish, Ravioli - an analogue of Russian and Ukrainian dumplings. Ravioli have a square shape with a curly edge. The filling can be absolutely anything (meat, fish, poultry, vegetables, fruits). They can be boiled or fried. In this case, it is appropriate to serve them with broth or soup.

The Marcato ravioli attachment allows you to prepare 4*4cm squares of dough, 3 squares in a row.

The most versatile is the set for pasta and ravioli Multipast 150 (Marcato Multipast).

The set includes 6 attachments that allow you to cook pasta types such as lasagne (sheets), noodles, spaghetti, ravioli and regginetti (wavy flat).

If you really want to make your own pasta, you need to purchase a Takapasta pasta dryer.

This dryer is made from high-quality, health-safe plastic and has 15 hangers. Allows you to dry pasta, noodles, lasagna before heat treatment.

The final element that will allow you to enjoy the cooking process and, of course, the result, is the Pastabike pasta cutter.

The noodle cutter allows you to cut rolled out dough into shapes: for cookies, ravioli, bows, etc. The cutting width can be adjusted by rearranging the cutting discs.

The Marcato factory also has something to offer professional chefs. combines the best that Marcato has to offer.

Performs three main functions: kneading dough, rolling and cutting.

According to the technical characteristics, the machine meets the requirements of professional chefs and is designed for continuous use throughout the day. It has a high level of productivity - 12 kg of paste per hour.

The design of the pasta machine, which Italian specialists worked on, allows you to install it in the hall and cook pasta in front of the guests.

The popularity of Italian cuisine is growing year by year, contributing to the growth of interest in kitchen appliances that make it possible to bring to life the most daring Italian recipes.

We are sure that the products manufactured by the world famous company Marcato Spa will not leave any housewife indifferent. And if a Marcato pasta machine appears in your kitchen, it will be a great reason to surprise and delight your loved ones with delicious dishes!

To start the production of pasta, a small amount of money is required, which makes it accessible to everyone. The price of equipment for the production of pasta allows you to start a home business from $300. The basic model of a pasta machine, along with its accompanying equipment, is quite cheap.

If you make simple calculations, you will notice that even in the first month there is a chance of obtaining an acceptable level of profitability. But good profitability alone is not enough to achieve tangible profits. Therefore, over time, it is worth thinking about more productive pasta machines, which we will also consider.

Mini equipment for the production of pasta

Successful production of pasta at home primarily depends on equipment. The standard equipment includes all kinds of forming attachments (dies). But if you wish, of course, you can purchase additional components in order to expand the range of manufactured goods.

The line for the production of pasta at home is equipped with the following equipment:

1. Pasta machine. Has wide modernized capabilities.
2. Vibrating sieve. Necessary for sifting flour.
3. Oven. It is used for drying.
4. Packer. You will need a semi-automatic packer with a dispenser to prepare finished products for display.

All this, of course, will be enough to allow you to start producing high-quality pasta and selling it on the market. In the pasta business there is no need to make a complex business plan. Everything is extremely simple. A bag of premium flour can be purchased at a wholesale price of $22.00. And if you divide it by kilograms, you get an average of 44 centers.

Today's retail price of pasta on the market is seventy-four cents per kilogram. Having made simple calculations, you can see that the estimated profit is 68% of the initially invested funds.

Operating principle of the machine

A pasta machine operates through a significant number of production steps. For example, the dough can be kneaded directly in the machine, which will require minor equipment upgrades. If the correct machine model was initially selected, it can be upgraded with special screws to maintain the kneading capability.

After the dough is completely ready, it should be placed in a cool place for a certain period of time. Then the dough should be rolled out with a roller, and also fed into the receiving tray of the machine, which was previously modernized for the production of pasta. Thanks to the wide possibilities of modernization, pasta can be created of any complexity and shape.

Raw materials for production

When starting to produce food, it is extremely important to first carefully study the recipe. Flour should be used only of the highest quality, because it has a significant gluten content in its composition. This is an important indicator in pasta, because it must have a special texture. In the vast majority of cases, experts use first-class flour. It is distinguished not only by its softness, but also by its fine grinding. If you want to produce pasta that is not too hard, then you definitely need to use plain flour.

As for the ingredients and recipe for the production of pasta using a special machine, here you can use the products as raw materials:

• egg yolk;
• rice flour;
• semolina flour.
• premium wheat flour.

Different compositions and recipes allow you to expand the range of finished products.

In the production of pasta, it is important to add natural dyes (food grade) in order to create a colored dough. This move makes it possible to make the produced pasta more competitive and attractive in the market. By looking at the table of natural food colors, you can use colors that are convenient and always on hand.

Increased production capacity

After a significant base of regular customers has been developed, and sales markets have been established, another problem may arise - the performance indicator of the line. This means it's time to expand your business. It's time to think about the mandatory increase in production capacity. This is a natural process when sales volumes increase. To solve this problem, you can, for example, buy a new, more expensive machine with good performance.

High expert assessment of the equipment used for the production of pasta from the manufacturer of the Marcato Ristorantica brand. The company produces high-performance machines that create not only pasta, but also noodles and spaghetti. The entire production process occurs virtually automatically. The cost of Marcato Ristorantica machines reaches $4,375.

With a machine like this, you can easily set up a continuous production process that produces about twelve kilograms of formed products in just one hour. This is already a full-fledged mini-machine for producing pasta with decent performance for starting a small business.

Benefits of a business idea

Making pasta using a machine at home is a truly ideal business idea that does not require a significant amount of investment. Pasta belongs to the category of consumer class for which there will always be demand. Today, pasta enjoys a significant amount of popularity among consumers around the world. Consequently, finding customers to sell manufactured products (at a fairly reasonable price) is quite realistic and easy.

A distinctive feature of pasta is its long shelf life. There is no need to spend money on creating special storage conditions or transportation. Consequently, maintenance costs will be minimal. Creating a pasta production business is an excellent way to earn money even for those who do not have any significant amount of available funds. The simplicity and convenience of organizing this type of business is possible even for housewives.

This business idea is one of the most attractive today. Taking into account minor capital investments and a 68 percent profitability level, the pasta business pays for itself. Besides all of the above, the business organization principle has a simple concept and is easy to implement.

Is homemade pasta easy and simple?

Homemade pasta is an easy-to-prepare, tasty and satisfying dish, which, however, is not so often found in Russia. The reason for this is the lack of habit of preparing such dishes and quite fair fears that the pasta machine will become another unnecessary gadget that will be rarely used, and the rest of the time will only take up space. In addition, domestic consumers are accustomed to dry pasta (secca) and practically never encounter fresh pasta (fresca) in everyday life. But these are fundamentally different products. Since pasta making machines have not previously appeared on the iXBT pages, in our testing today we will not only talk about the device itself (this is a Redmond RKA-PM1 manual drive machine), but also pay some attention to the rules for making pasta.

Characteristics

Equipment

The pasta machine comes in a cardboard box, decorated in the same Redmond design: black and burgundy color scheme and colorful illustrations. Having examined the box, you can find out that the machine allows you to change the thickness of the rolled dough, and can also cut the noodles in two ways (thin cutting 2 mm - tagliatelle, or thick cutting 6 mm - fettuccine).

However, we give the designer of this particular box a “failure”: a single photograph of the finished dish placed on the box depicts an unknown dish like “pasta with meat”, and the pasta depicted in the illustration was clearly not produced using the RKA-PM1. It’s difficult to explain such a blunder other than simple laziness and unwillingness to take a photo of the product yourself.

Opening the box, inside you can find:

• the pasta making machine itself (including a removable handle and attachment to the work surface);
• manual;
• service book;
• promotional materials.

As we can see, there is nothing superfluous.

At first sight

Visually, the Redmond RKA-PM1 pasta machine makes an extremely positive impression. The device is quite weighty, thanks to which it immediately acquires a certain “solidity” in the eyes of the user, and shiny stainless steel enhances this impression.

The machine is attached to the working surface (table) using a special mechanism, which will certainly resemble the installation of a conventional manual meat grinder. To fix the machine on the table, just insert the bracket into the hole and tighten the mechanism with a screw. Noteworthy is the fact that the hole on the body is significantly larger than the diameter of the fastening bracket. At the same time, the bracket has a recess with a notch that prevents it from jumping out of the body during operation.

This mounting method is widespread for pasta machines and allows you to securely mount the device on any suitable surface. By the way, about suitable surfaces: it is clear that such a pasta machine can only be used on a regular table, or a tabletop with a strongly protruding edge: for reliable fastening you will need at least 6 cm. For additional grip on the work surface, the machine has rubberized legs. They will also protect the table from possible scratches.

The handle with which the mechanism is rotated is simply inserted into the appropriate hole (for rolling out dough or cutting noodles). Once installed, the handle is not secured in anything and noticeably “plays”, which is quite sad: I would like to see at least minimal protection against its spontaneous falling out. For example, a latch on a spring-loaded ball.

Instructions and recipe book

The instructions for the pasta machine are a small brochure (10 pages), printed on high-quality glossy paper. The contents of the brochure are standard: description of the device, rules of operation and maintenance, warranty obligations. Separate sections contain information regarding the preparation of the dough, as well as the preparation and storage of homemade pasta.

The second brochure, bearing the proud name “Recipe Book,” in fact consists of 50% advertising materials. Subtracting them, the bottom line is only five recipes: homemade noodles, soba, fettuccine, spaghetti, chocolate noodles. The recipes are provided with a detailed description of the cooking process and colorful photographs.

Control

Not much can be said about device control.

The main control is the distance regulator between the rolling rollers. To select the desired dough thickness, you need to pull out the knob, then turn it to the desired mark and release. The locking pin will fit into one of the holes, after which the movable roller will be fixed. A total of 9 positions are available, corresponding to different dough thicknesses. The markings on the regulator are not neat: it can be difficult, and sometimes even impossible, to understand exactly what position it is in (especially in the middle positions - from 4 to 7).

The selection of the rotating element (dough rollers/fine slicing/coarse slicing) is carried out by installing the rotating handle in the corresponding slot.

Exploitation

Before the first use, the pasta machine does not require any special actions: the device is ready for use immediately. The developer recommends wiping the machine with a soft, dry cloth or a medium-hard brush. It is recommended to pass a small amount of dough through the cleaning rollers several times (which should then, of course, be thrown away).

The process of rolling out the dough is quite simple: a piece of dough of the appropriate size should be passed through the rollers at the maximum set width (position 1 on the regulator). If the dough needs to be made thinner, the regulator must be sequentially set to positions 2-9, rolling the dough with each change of position.

To cut noodles, the prepared dough should be cut into layers about 25 cm in length, and then pass these layers through cutting rollers.

Caring for a pasta machine does not require the use of water. The remaining dough should be cleaned off with a dry brush or wooden stick. It is recommended to periodically lubricate the device rollers with vegetable oil.

Testing

Objective tests

In this article, we are forced to skip this section, since there were no professional paste manufacturers among our testers, and it is not possible to evaluate the performance of the device in any other way except with the help of a specially trained person. Let's just say that the width of one layer of dough is 14.5 cm, but then it all depends on the skill of the cook.

Lyrical digression

Secondly, this is the composition. Pasta dough consists of flour and water. Egg paste - made from flour, water and eggs. The remaining additives are optional, so they are not of primary interest to us as part of testing.

As part of testing, we prepared several types of pasta:

• homemade noodles with egg and spinach;
• homemade noodles with egg and tomato;
• soba (made from wheat and buckwheat flour);
• chocolate noodles (with cocoa powder).

All of it turned out to be of equally high quality, so we will not evaluate the recipes separately (especially since the rules for kneading the dough are the same in all cases). For those interested, below are the recipes we used.

(photos below are for illustrative purposes only and may not correspond to the text)

Homemade noodles with egg and spinach

• flour - 350 g
• egg - 100 g (2 pcs.)
• vegetable oil - 20 ml
• water - 50 ml (the water count also includes boiled spinach pureed through a sieve or chopped in a blender)

Homemade noodles with tomato

• flour - 100 g
• egg - 1 pc.
• tomato paste or pureed tomato - 1 teaspoon.

The proportion of 100 grams of flour per egg is a classic - it is considered optimal for making homemade pasta.

Soba

• wheat flour - 250 g
• buckwheat flour 100 g
• water - 100 ml

Chocolate noodles

• wheat flour - 200 g
• egg - 50 g (1 pc.)
• cocoa - 40 g
• vanilla - 2 g
• water - 70 ml

So how is the dough kneaded?

The flour is sifted through a sieve, after which a “well” is formed from it - a depression is created in the center of the pile of flour into which an egg is driven. The future dough is mixed. If the recipe uses water or other additives, they are introduced slowly with continuous stirring. Knead the dough until smooth, after which it should be rolled into a ball, wrapped tightly in cling film and left at room temperature for 30-40 minutes.

Is the pasta dough easy to knead? Not good. The finished dough is very dense, so if you plan to prepare pasta in large quantities, we strongly recommend using an electric dough kneader. Also note that the dough is not salted.

The rested dough is cut into pieces of suitable size and lightly rolled out using a rolling pin.

Then it’s time for the pasta machine. The sheets of dough are passed through the rollers: approximately three times at the “first” (maximum) width (until it is completely uniform and begins to pass without effort), plus once each time the thickness is reduced. So, if we need pasta with a conditional “thickness of 4”, then the dough will have to be passed through a pasta machine about six times. Plus once at the cutting stage.

Alas, mistakes are inevitable for beginning pasta makers. We were no exception: in the process, you must not only remember to set the rollers to maximum thickness when starting to roll out the next piece of dough, but also pay attention to the correct folding of the finished sheets, sprinkle the finished pasta with flour, monitor the structure of the dough (the temperature in the room is too high or Excess moisture in the dough can cause the noodles to stick together when cutting).

Once we completely turned the roller in the opposite direction, thereby completely sealing the insides of the machine with dough. I had to use wooden skewers to clean it.

In general, as in the preparation of any other dish involving flour, there are nuances, and there are many of them. However, we cannot help but note that the second experience of using a pasta machine turned out to be much less frightening than the first acquaintance with the device, and possible losses relate mainly to the time spent: it is quite difficult to spoil the pasta, but to spend an extra half hour or hour due to typical “rookie mistakes” are very easy.

The finished pasta is slightly dried directly on the table or on a special tray, after which it is stored in the refrigerator for up to five days, and in the freezer for four months.

You only need to cook this pasta for a very short time: usually 60-90 seconds, in plenty of salted water. During this time, the eggs and flour protein will have time to “set”. And within a couple of minutes after the start of cooking, the pasta will begin to boil and become loose.

conclusions

Using the RKA-PM1 pasta machine left us with an extremely positive experience. The pasta turned out equally good regardless of the recipes chosen, and even minor incidents such as an accidentally dropped pen did not darken our joy either from the process or from the result. This kitchen gadget is ideal for preparing pasta “for one dinner.”

For those who are going to prepare significant volumes of pasta and freeze it “in reserve,” we strongly recommend that you consider a dough kneading machine. Although labor-intensive kneading of dough is not a direct characteristic of a pasta machine, it would not be out of place to mention it in the context of this review.

pros

• compactness
• energy independence

Minuses

• handle fastening without locking
• unclear marking of operating modes