Semolina Pasta Dough (Lidia Bastianich)

By zircon50

Ingredients

• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 cup semolina flour
• 1 egg
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 cups water, tepid

Preparation

Step 1

In a bowl stir the two flours together until blended. Pile the flour mixture into a mound on a marble or wooden surface. Form a well in the center of the mound all the way down to the surface. Place beaten eggs and salt in the well.

Gradually pour in 1 cup of the water, beating constantly with a fork until well blended. Continue beating the egg mixture, gradually working the flour from the sides of the well into the egg mixture. As you work the egg mixture will become thick and the size of the well will expand.

Continue beating until there is just a thin ring of flour around the egg mixture and the dough becomes too stiff to mix with a fork. If the dough becomes too thick to mix with a fork before the flour is almost all incorporated, drizzle a tiny amount of the remaining warm water over the egg mixture and continue mixing. It is possible you will not need any additional water.

Work the remaining flour into the dough with your hands, just until a rough, firm dough is formed. Rub your hands together to remove as much of the dough as possible and add that to the rest of the dough. Shape the dough into a rough ball and set it aside.

Sprinkle your hands liberally with flour, rubbing them together to remove any remaining scraps of dough from your skin. With a knife, loosen any dough and flour from the work surface. Pass these scrapings through a sieve and discard the scraps in the sieve. Make sure your hands are clean and flour them lightly.

Knead the dough, using the sieved flour, and more all-purpose flour if necessary, to prevent the dough from sticking to your hands and the surface.

Place the dough in a small bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Let the dough rest at least one hour at room temperature, or up to 1 day in the refrigerator before rolling and shaping the pasta. If the dough has been refrigerated, let it stand at room temperature at least 1 hour before rolling and shaping.