5 Tips for Working with Fresh Pasta

Use flour on the rolling pin, the pasta when it begins to stick, your work surface . . . anything the pasta touches (including your hands) can be floured.

Pro Tip: Keep a small bowl of flour at your workstation so you aren’t digging into the bag and making a mess.

Whether you're rolling by hand, using an extruder, or forming with a tool, once the desired shape is achieved, keep the pieces from touching so they won’t have anything to stick to.

Pro Tip: When making strand pasta, gently lift the pasta and shake it out on your work surface before setting it down on a plate or tray.

Allowing your shaped pasta to rest and dry slightly is a good thing. This process, called curing, keeps pasta from sticking together and keeps sheets of pasta from tearing when cutting and manipulating.

Pro Tip: A 15-minute period of rest really helps the gluten network relax and the pasta continue to hydrate.

Fresh pasta is softer than dried, especially after cooking. You don’t have to put it directly into sauce (although you can!), but whatever you do, don’t let it sit in the colander.

Pro Tip: Put the pasta directly into your sauce or gently toss it with oil or butter to ensure all the pieces stay separate.

Chances are, you’ll be working one piece of dough at a time. This means the rest has to stay supple until you get to it. Before it’s ready to dry, help the pasta dough pieces you aren’t working with stay soft until you’re ready to use them.

Pro Tip: While rolling out pasta or cutting shapes, be sure to use a damp towel on top of the pasta to prevent the pieces from sticking to each other and from cracking/drying.