Homemade Semolina Pasta Dough (How To Make Fresh Pasta)

We have tested DOZENS of fresh pasta recipes and, honestly, never met one we didn’t like. This recipe, however, has become the one. It’s the never-fail, easy-to-make, endless pasta-bilities fresh Italian pasta dough that practically dances from our plates to our bellies.

I have included instructions for the ultra-speedy stand-mixer (or food-processor) methods or to prepare everything the old-fashioned way – by hand.

This fresh Italian pasta recipe will transport you right to nonna’s cozy, Italian kitchen. This recipe can be used to make various pasta shapes including fettuccine, pappardelle, ravioli, lasagna noodles, farfalle, tube pastas like rigatoni and paccheri and more.

For a simple Italian red sauce to serve with your pasta, make this recipe with our Quick San Marzano Tomato Sauce.

This is a long post packed with everything I know about making fresh pasta. Feel free to skip ahead to the recipe, or find just what you're looking for in the table of contents:

What Type of Flour Is Used For Fresh Homemade Pasta?

In this recipe, we are using equal parts of two types of flour. Combining these flours results in a pasta dough that is easy to work with – malleable but resilient – with great structure. This recipe will result in a perfectly shaped pasta that won’t disintegrate in your boiling water and will keep a delicious al dente bite. 

• Semolina Flour – Semolina flour is a coarsely ground flour made from durum, a variety of hard wheat. This type of flour creates strong gluten but is not as elastic as other wheat flours you may be more accustomed to working with. This doughs stiff texture helps this pasta keep its shape. Semolina’s signature yellow color and fine sandy texture add to this dough’s rich color and ultra-sauce-clinging ability. 
• All-Purpose or Bread Flour – Bread flour (also known as strong or hard flour) is less often found in pasta recipes. However, I have found it to work wonders. With a higher protein (and therefore, higher gluten) content than all-purpose flour, bread flour lends to this pasta’s characteristic chew. You can absolutely use all-purpose flour, resulting in a slightly different texture, if that’s what you have available. You are also welcome to substitute the more traditional 00 flour. That being said, 00 flour will result in a softer dough that will require a bit of extra kneading. For this recipe, I have omitted 00 flour due to its difficulty to be found in The States and its varying protein content. 

Egg Pasta Verses Semolina Pasta: What's the Difference?

This recipe is a combination of the two styles of pasta: egg and semolina. With this method, the dough benefits from the eggs' rich, silky mouthfeel AND the semolina's sturdier texture. I have had great success using this dough for filled pastas, lasagnas and fun shapes typically extruded shapes like bowties and tube-shaped pastas.

Chef's Note: Egg Verses Extruder - In the world of fresh pastas, there are 2 major categories. The first is egg and flour based pastas, which are typically hand rolled with a shorter shelf life (think ravioli or fresh fettuccine). The second is extruded pastas, that are made from shelf-stable semolina and water doughs that are shaped when pushed (extruded) through a brass die - (think shapes like rigatoni and macaroni).

Six, Golden Yolks

The hero of restaurant-quality pasta at home is without a doubt: egg yolks. This semolina pasta dough recipe calls for a lot of egg yolks (about six in total, one accompanied by its white) but will be absolutely worth the pasta’s rich, silky texture. I recommend using the highest quality eggs you can find. Local, farm-fresh eggs will provide you with a more flavorful and brilliantly colored dough. These carefully-sourced eggs are far superior, but sometimes run a bit smaller than those you find in a common grocery store.

For this recipe, I suggest one whole egg and five yolks – based off of the large eggs most common in US kitchens. However, as always, I recommend weighing your ingredients for the best results. When weighing, you may need to add an extra yolk to accommodate for smaller eggs. For the best results, use room temperature eggs for this recipe.

To Salt or not to Salt?

Ahh, a kitchen controversy. Should you put salt directly into your homemade pasta dough, or let a salty-hot-water bath do all your seasoning? I’ve certainly tried both ways and, ultimately, I do not add salt to my pasta dough. I do, however, salt my pasta water HEAVILY. Not quite ocean-level salinity, but close. You, of course, are welcome to experiment with a pinch of salt in your dough, but I recommend treading lightly. Over-salted semolina noodles are a total bummer.

How To Make Simple Semolina Pasta

While making your own pasta may seem like a daunting task, let us assure you that it is a simple process with glorious results. No matter what kind of pasta you want to make, the fresh stuff is always better than the boxed stuff. Below, we have included two easy step-by-step videos to make pasta dough using a Kitchenaid stand mixer or completely by hand. Check it out!

How To Make Homemade Pasta by Hand Video (Psst…Mixer Instructions Below!)

Making great fresh pasta by hand can be done anytime and any place. All you need is the few, simple ingredients, a fork and a bench scraper. If you are a first time pasta maker, I recommend using this method to get a feel for the dough texture and moisture content. To make this semolina pasta dough recipe by hand, follow this basic technique:

Step By Step

1. Sift or whisk flours together and mound them onto a clean work surface. With your hand, make a well in the center of the flour.
2. Add egg yolks and one whole egg into the center of the well. Then, add a little water. The amount of water you will need will vary from batch to batch depending on many factors including your specific brands of flour (we love Bob’s Red Mill), your eggs, and the humidity of your own kitchen. Start with about one tablespoon of water and increase the water content, as needed.
3. Use a fork to whisk the water and egg mixture in a circular motion. Once combined, slowly start whisking flour into the center of the well. Continue to pull flour from the edges of the well into the center. A thick, paste-like dough will form. Once most of the pasta flour is incorporated and the dough begins to come together, switch from using the fork to the bench scraper. Scrape the dough up from your work surface and fold it over itself. Use the bench scraper to evenly distribute the flour throughout the shaggy dough. If the dough is too dry to come together, drizzle a little additional water and continue to combine with the bench scraper. You want to have a dough that is easily pliable, but not sticky. If sticky, the dough has too much excess moisture and a little additional flour can be added.
4. With your hands pull the dough together and use the mass of dough to pick up any stray scraps of dough or loose flour on your work surface. Knead briefly until the dough is cohesive and shape into a ball. Allow the ball of dough to rest, covered in plastic or a damp towel until ready to be shaped.

How to Make Homemade Pasta with a Kitchenaide Mixer (or Food Processor) Video

To speed up the pasta making process, this recipe can be made in a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment or a food processor fitted with the blade attachment. When using equipment to make pasta dough, be very careful not to strain the machine’s motor. I recommend using the machine to mix the dough just until it begins to come together. Then, turn the dough out onto a clean work surface and finish the last moments of kneading by hand.

Step By Step

1. Combine the flours in the bowl of a stand mixer or food processor. Process briefly to mix the flours together.
2. Then add egg yolks and whole egg one at a time mixing to incorporate each egg/yolk before proceeding. In the stand mixer, you can do this while mixing the dough on medium-low speed. In a food processor, add each yolk separately and pulse to process the dough between each addition.
3. Next, drizzle in a small amount of water. The amount of water you will need will vary from batch to batch depending on many factors including your specific brands of flour (we love Bob’s Red Mill), your eggs, and the humidity of your own kitchen. Start with about one tablespoon of water and increase the water content, as needed. The goal is to add in enough water that the dough starts to come together into a ball. Once the dough begins to come together, remove the Semolina Pasta Dough from the machine and transfer to a clean work surface.
4. With your hands pull the dough together and use the mass of dough to pick up any stray scraps of dough or loose flour on your work surface. You want to have a dough that is not crumbly and easily pliable, but not sticky. If sticky, the dough has too much excess moisture and a little additional flour can be added. Knead briefly until the dough is smooth and shape into a ball. Allow the ball of dough to rest, covered in plastic or a damp kitchen towel until ready to be shaped. (More on this below!)

Rolling & Shaping The Pasta Dough: Ravioli, Noodles and Bow Ties, Oh My!

Now comes the fun! My favorite part of making this Semolina Pasta Dough recipe is, by far, the endless pasta-abilities and infinite shapes that can be created with handmade pasta dough.

From long strands of semolina noodles (like fettuccine and spaghetti), to bite-sized delights (like farfalle and garganelli) to precious parcels like (ravioli and tortellini) – this dough can do it all! But first, the dough must be divided and sheeted (rolled). This can be done by hand with a rolling pin, or using a pasta machine.

Personally, I prefer using a pasta machine for speed and thin, even sheets of pasta. I use a standard hand-crank machine (the common Marcato Atlas 150) that has assisted me in hundreds of pasta courses over the past eight, or so, years. However, electric pasta machines (or even the Kitchenaide pasta roller attachment) can be great, as well. Here’s my process for sheeting the pasta dough on a machine:

Sheeting The Pasta Dough With A Rolling Pin

Sheeting the Semolina Pasta Dough by hand is also quite possible. I recommend following the same steps as when sheeting the pasta dough with a machine (folding, and shaping into a rectangle). However, instead of using the machine, simply continue to roll the dough with a rolling pin.

Roll the dough mainly in one direction to elongate it into a narrow sheet. Occasionally, I like to roll the dough outward, towards each corner, to help keep its rectangular shape. When rolling by hand, be careful to sheet the dough thinly. If the dough is resisting rolling or springing back – cover the rolled dough with a damp kitchen towel or plastic wrap and allow it to rest for 10 – 15 minutes before continuing.

How Thick (Or Thin) To Sheet Your Pasta

How thick or thin you want your pasta is up to you but, generally speaking, I prefer thicker, chewier pastas (about 1.5 millimeters thick) when I am making fork-stabbing pasta shapes (like bowties, paccheri, maltagliati, etc.).

For lasagna noodles or pastas that I will run through the machine’s tagliatelle, fettuccine, or spaghetti attachments I usually opt for a medium thickness of about 1 millimeter.

Finally, when I am making filled pastas (like agnolotti, ravioli, and the like) I prefer pasta that is sheeted thinly at about .6 – .8 millimeters. Keep in mind that when making filled pastas, there will be two layers of dough sealed together that will ultimately be twice as thick as your rolled pasta setting.

Choosing a Pasta Shape

This versatile Semolina Pasta Dough is destined for dozens of shapes, sauces, and toppings. There are thousands of shaping options and frankly, much too many to list here. Don’t let this list limit you! If you can dream it, you can do it! Here are some of the common shapes I make with this recipe:

• Spaghetti – Try homemade spaghetti with our simple San Marzano Tomato Sauce or our lovely Spaghetti al Pesto!
• Fettuccine – Perfect for cream based sauces like this one in our Never Better Sun-Dried Tomato Alfredo with Chicken recipe!
• Pappardelle - These wide noodles are perfect for a hearty bolognese and require no special equipment to make!
• Farfalle (AKA Bowties) – When in doubt, put a bow on it! Check out our Creamy Cajun-Style Farfalle with Andouille Sausage
• Rigatoni – Little tubes of chewy perfection! Try rolling your rigatoni on a gnocchi board or even a sushi mat to achieve those sauce-catching ridges! Try it with our 'Nduja Vodka Sauce Pasta!
• Paccheri – Like Rigatoni’s wider, chewier cousin – perfect for hearty meat sauces! 
• Ravioli - Try our recipes for Italian Four Cheese Ravioli of Ravioli Primavera.
• Agnolotti – This little pillow inspired pasta shape has a built in pocket to hold more sauce! (& We all know how much we love pockets!) 
• Lasagna - Nothing beats silky sheets of fresh pasta layered with sauce and cheese!

Here are a few of our pasta shaping tutorials:

Drying The Fresh Pasta

Once shaped, the pasta needs to be dried, at least briefly before cooking. During the drying process, the pasta become porous and allows the pasta shapes to bind beautifully with the sauce. There are lots of fancy drying racks and screens available, but they’re not entirely necessary.

I typically dry my pasta on a sheet pan dusted in semolina flour. For long noodles, I’ve been known to hang dry the pasta from clothing hangers on cabinet knobs all over my kitchen. However, a simple pasta nest works fine, too – just be sure to dust the cut noodles in additional flour to prevent sticking.

Jacuzzi Time: How To Cook Fresh Pasta

Homemade semolina pasta cooks in just a couple minutes in boiling water – much faster than it’s dried, shelf-dwelling counterpart. Make sure to use a large pot when boiling. You want your pasta water to keep at a constant rolling boil as you add your pasta to it. If your pot is too small, the addition of your pasta will cool your water and disrupt the boil. 

I like to pull my pasta out of the water just a smidge before perfect doneness (never rinsing) and finish the last moments of cooking directly in the sauce. (Seriously, throw your colander away. This method is a game changer!) If my recipe calls for a little starchy pasta water in the sauce, I’ll usually add another sprinkle of semolina flour into my boiling water to up the starchiness and help my sauces thicken and hug to my pasta. 

How To Tell If Pasta Is Done

The best way to tell if your pasta is cooked is to taste it. So, I’m begging you, please stop throwing your pasta at the wall! I’m not sure how that quirky trend came to be but it’s not a method we recommend. Pasta that sticks to a wall (or anything) is gummy and overdone.

Perfectly cooked pasta is chewy, toothsome, holds it’s shape and doesn’t break down when stirred into sauce. When bitten into, the pasta shape should be evenly colored and the flour should look hydrated throughout. Be careful not to overcook either! The pasta can always be cooked a couple of minutes more when stirred directly in the sauce. (Add a splash of pasta water if additional liquid is needed) Just taste it! I promise.

How To Store Fresh Pasta Dough

Once you become familiar with the process of making Semolina Pasta Dough from scratch, you can have fresh pasta on the table in well under an hour. However, this recipe can also be made ahead of time to make dinner even easier. Fresh pasta dough can be tightly wrapped in plastic and kept in the refrigerator until ready to use for 2 – 3 days. Furthermore, frozen pasta dough can be kept, twice-wrapped, in the freezer for 2 – 3 months. I often cut the dough recipe in quarters and wrap individual portions for freezing and faster thawing.

I recommend freezing the dough, instead of freezing already shaped pasta pieces. Uncooked shaped pasta can be frozen. However, it has a much shorter lifespan. For the highest-quality results, I recommend eating shapes pasta within a few days of freezing.