About Rolling Fresh Pasta

1. Attach the pasta machine to the work surface. Divide the dough into six portions. Use your hands to flatten one piece of dough; keep the others covered with an inverted bowl or with plastic wrap. Dust the piece of dough with flour. Put the rollers at the widest setting.

2. Pass the dough through the rollers without pulling or stretching it at the other end. Drape the rolled out dough strip over your hands, keeping your thumbs in the air to avoid puncturing it.

3. Fold the dough strip into thirds as you would a letter overlapping the top third then the bottom third over the middle portion to make a rectangular shape. Dust the strip very lightly with flour on one side the other side remains unfloured so that it will adhere to itself when the pasta is folded again). Dough containing vegetable puree will require considerably more flour.

4. Feed the dough strip through the first setting at least six times, each time folding the dough into thirds, pressing out the air, passing it through the rollers, and dusting the strip with flour.

5. Set rollers at the next notch. Flour the strip lightly on both sides to prevent the dough sticking to the rollers. Feed the dough through once, collection it at the other end. A fairly well-shaped rectangular strip will form. Mend any breaks by pinching the pasta together.

6. Feed the flattened piece of dough through the rollers once at each remaining setting (unless preparing trenette, spaghetti, and spaghetti all chitarra, which are rolled only up to the next to last notch). If the dough begins to stick, dust it lightly with flour.

7. When the sheet of pasta has passed through the rollers for the last time, collect it carefully in your hands and unfold it to its full length, keeping your thumbs in the air. Roll out the other five portions of dough in the same way. If you intend to make filled pasta, roll out only one strip of dough at a time as the dough must be very soft to seal properly.

8. Lay the strips on dry dish towels for 5-10 minutes, keeping them covered with more dry dish towels, until the dough has dried slightly. Do not leave the past to dry for too long or it will become brittle and impossible to cut.