POINTERS FOR PERFECT PASTA
The basic
mix
The
basic
combination
of ingredients
for
pasta
is deceptively simple: flour,
liquid
-
which
can
be
just
eggs or a
mixture
of
eggs and
water-
salt
and
sometimes
a
little
vegetable oil.
Not
so
simple
is specifying
the
correct
proportion of flour to liquid- and
that
is
the
critical variable
1
Because flour is
an
unpredictable
substance,
it
is difficult to specify
precisely
the
correct proportion of flour
to liquid
in
a
particular
recipe.
Th
e
moisture
content
of flour varies from
batch
to batch, from day to day and
from one
location
to another. Factors
affecting
its
moisture
cont
ent arc:
growing conditions of the
wheat
(soil
and weather),
milling
procedures, and
humidity
of
the air
where
the flour
is stored. Flour
may
absorb
water
amounting
to as
much
as 10% of
its
weight
on
a
damp
or rainy day.
Watch that ratio
Although
we
have
developed all
th
e
recipes
in
this
booklet
with
care and
test
ed
them
rigorously,
you
have to be
the
judge of
whether
the
flour-to-liquid
ratio is
right
for
the
flour
you're
using.
Each recipe specifies
amount
of flour
and
amount
of
liquid
i you
should
start
out
with
the
quantities
indicated.
Follow
the
instructions
for processing
the
ingredients in
the
work
bowl
of
your
food processor,
with
the
metal
blade.
Then
open
the
cover
of
the
work
16
bowl and try the
pinch
test. It will help
you
tell if the proportions arc right for
your flour.
The pinch test
If
the
pasta
mix
is
right-
neither
too
wet
nor
too dry-
it
will
extrude
smoothly
and
evenly, yielding
pasta
strands
that
don't
stick
together and
don't
have
ragged edges.
If
the
mix
is
too
wet
- too
much
liquid
in
proportion
to
flour-
the
extruded
pasta
strands
will
tend
to
stick
together. You
may
even
have
to
separate
them
by
hand
before cooking
them.
If
the
mix
is too
dry-
too
much
flour
in
porportion
to
liquid-
it
might
not
extrude
at
all, and
it
may
even
damage
the
Pasta Maker.
The
pinch
test
tells
you
when
the
mix
is
just
right
. Take a few granules of
pasta
mix
be
tween
your
thumb
and
forefinger and
pinch
them
into
a flat
pancake
shape.
The
granules
should
hold
together
and
the
separate grains
should
no
longer be visible. It
shouldn't
feel
at
all wet.
It
doesn't
matter
if it's a
little
sticky
as long as
it
doesn't
adhere
to
your
fingers. It's
best
if
you
can't
see
any
areas of dry flour
in
the
ball of pasta mix.
If
the
pinch
test
tells
you
that
the
mix
is too wet, add a
little
flour-
at
most
a
tablespoonful
at
a
tim
e-
to
the
mixture
in
the
work
bowl. Process for
about
20 seconds and
pinch
again.
If
the
mix
is
still
too wet, add a
bit
more
flour, process for 20 seconds
and
pinch
again.
If
the
pinch
test
indicates
that
your
mix
is too dry, add
water
carefully -
no
more
than
a teaspoonful
at
a
time
-
process
and
pinch
again.
It
may
take
a
little
practice to
master
th
e t
echn
ique.
The
reward-
smooth,
perfect pasta every
time
- is
worth
the
effort.
Buying the flour
Because
they
are
distributed
nationally
and available
in
most
parts
of
the
country,
we
recommend
Pillsbury or
Gold Medal flour. As far as
we
know,
th
ese
two
brands are
uniform
throughout
the
United
States. Of
course, you
can
use
your
accustomed
brand,
whether
it's bleached or
unbleached. Just
remember
that
the
recipes
in
this booklet were developed
and
tested
with
the flours
named
above.
With
other
brands, you
may
hav
e to do
more
experimenting
to get a
pasta
mix
that
passes
the
pinch
test.
Measuring the flour, the "triple-s"
technique
M
easurin
g flour correctly is
essential
to
th
e success of
your
pasta.
We
urge
you to always
use
the
following
"triple-s" technique.
S#l-
STIR
Just before
measuring
,
stir
th
e
flour
in
its
container,
inserting
a
tablespoon or
similar
utensil
to
a
depth
of 3 or 4
inch
es and
rotating
it.