Homemade Sourdough Pasta
This Homemade Sourdough Pasta is easy and delicious. No need to throw out your sourdough discard, instead make some pasta. Easy and tasty.
One of my fondest memories of my mother-in-law was watching her make her homemade pasta by hand. And the next best thing was eating it. Fettuccine tossed with a homemade Bolognese Sauce is what food dreams are made of!
How to make it
In the stand up mixer (with the flat beaters) or large bowl mix together the sourdough starter and eggs until combined. Add the flour and salt, with the dough hook knead until smooth. This can also be done by hand.
Wrap the dough in plastic and refrigerate 8-12 hours.
Remove from the fridge and let come to room temperature. Divide the dough in 4 parts and roll or put through a machine until it is almost transparent about 2mm.
Flour the dough, then fold into 3 parts like an envelope. With a sharp knife cut into desired thickness.
Dust the board with some flour and place the pasta on top, sprinkle it with a little flour and cover with a clean tea towel, to rest for approximately 30-60 minutes before cooking, be sure it is away from all sources of heat and humidity.
Cook the pasta in boiling salted water until al dente, toss with your favourite sauce or topping. From Mushroom to a Meat Sauce.
What is Semolina flour?
Widely used in Italy, semolina has a very high gluten content. It takes a bit more to work with by hand, but it’s excellent at holding its shape. This is why it is perfect for making bread and pasta!
What is Sourdough Starter Discard?
Making sourdough isn’t hard by any means but it is a process. To begin, you need to start by fermenting the dough (flour and water) naturally over a period of days in a warm area. Eventually, you will discard about half of the starter to leave room to add more flour and water and continue the process. The discarded half once the starter is ready to use, can then be used for all kinds of delicious recipes, like this one or some delicious Sourdough Breakfast Crescent Rolls.
How thin should you roll the dough?
You should roll the dough until it is almost transparent about 2-3mm in thickness. Be sure to keep the dough floured so they don’t stick together. You can either use a machine or roll by hand. I rolled this pasta by hand, I divided the dough into 4 parts to make it easier.
Different Types of Pasta to make
Like any homemade egg pasta you have a large variety of choice. You can make lasagna noodles, fettuccine, linguine, spaghetti, pappardelle and more. Scraps can be cut up and used in soups and stews.
The width for homemade fettuccine is approximately 4 mm, for tagliatelle which are narrower about 2-3 mm and for pappardelle about 5-6 mm.
How long does it take to cook?
Unlike dry boxed pasta which takes anywhere from 8-12 minutes this pasta doesn’t take nearly as long to cook, approximately 3-5 minutes.
How to Store it
The homemade pasta can be stored wrapped in plastic or an airtight container in the fridge for up to 2 days.
How to freeze Homemade Pasta
To freeze the pasta, place the cut or shaped pasta well-spaced on a cookie sheet, then put it in the freezer to harden for a couple of hours. When they are well hardened, put them in freezer safe bags or containers and freeze. When you decide to use them, boil them directly from frozen, stirring often. They may need a minute more to cook.
You can also freeze the dough ball, wrap in plastic and place in a freezer safe bag or container, let the dough thaw in the fridge then bring it to room temperature before rolling out. It will last up to 2-3 months in the freezer.
More Delicious Homemade Pasta Recipes
Simple Two Ingredient Homemade Pasta
Crepe Cannelloni with Cheese & White Sauce
Homemade Potato Gnocchi Recipe
If you are tired of making the same old thing with your discard, then why not try this Homemade Sourdough Pasta, and let me know what you think. Buon Appetito!
Homemade Sourdough Pasta
Ingredients
- ⅓ cup sourdough starter (unfed/discard)
- 2 large eggs
- ⅔ cup semolina flour
- 1 tablespoon semolina flour
- ⅔ cup bread flour
- 2 tablespoons bread flour
- ¾ teaspoon salt
Instructions
- In the stand up mixer (with the flat beaters) or large bowl mix together the sourdough starter and eggs until combined. Add the flour and salt and with the dough hook knead until smooth. This can also be done by hand.
- Wrap the dough in plastic and refrigerate 8-12 hours.
- Remove from the fridge and let come to room temperature. Divide the dough in 4 parts and roll or put through a machine until it is almost transparent about 2mm in thickness.
- Lightly flour the dough, then fold in 3 parts like an envelope. With a sharp knife cut the strips into desired thickness or shapes.
- Dust the board with some flour and place the pasta on top, sprinkle it with a little flour and cover with a clean tea towel, to rest for approximately 30-60 minutes before cooking, be sure it is away from all sources of heat and humidity.
- Cook the pasta in boiling salted water until al dente, about 3-5 minutes, toss with your favourite sauce or topping and serve. Enjoy!
I’m looking forward to making this recipe. Is the thickness for lasagna also 2-3 mm?
Hi Marcy, I would say yes the same, it also depends on your taste whether you like thicker or thinner lasagna noodles, in Italy you can get it very thin or thicker. I personally prefer the thicker noodles. I hope you enjoy it, let me know how it goes. Take care!
thicker is always better. . . . .you can never have enough pasta.. . ..
Hi Marcy, haha I totally agree! Take care.
Hi, so lasagna noodles need to be boiled before making the lasagna?
Hi Karen, it depends, if you use a lot of sauce, then no the sauce should cook it, although if it is quite thick, then use boil first. Let me know. Take care!
A note for anyone measuring by weight- when you click the double or triple button, it only adjusts volume, not grams 🙁 I was trying to throw this together while my two toddlers were running around (and so didn’t want to bother with mental math) and didn’t catch it. I realized what happened when the dough wouldn’t come together and added more flour and starter on the back end…the dough is resting in the fridge now and I’m hoping that the late addition of four and starter doesn’t impact the end result! Otherwise- super excited to try this!
Hi Kelly, sorry about that, hopefully it is ok, some of the older recipes weren’t converted but I just did this one, so it does double and triple using the button. Let me know how it goes. Take care!
Does this need to be left in the fridge over night? Could I make it the same day? What is the purpose of leaving in the fridge over night?
Hi Nicole, leaving it in the fridge overnight is to help it ferment I would chill it for at least an hour before rolling and cutting though. Hope this helps. Take care.
My dough seemed a bit wet. I followed your recipe to the letter, but it was difficult to roll out thinly. I possibly should have used a bit more flour when rolling it out.
Hi Rosalind, yes if it is too wet then a bit more flour is needed. 🙂
Is the semolina flour, or rather the lack of semolina flour, a deal breaker. I’d love to try this recipe soon, but I live rurally, and specialty ingredients are difficult to find. Should I wait until I can access the semolina, or will AP flour work?
My intention is to use it for lasagna, if that matters. Thank you!
Hi Anni, you can substitute with bread flour or AP just make sure it has at least 11%+ protein. Let me know how it goes.