FRESH PASTA SQUARES

Fresh Pasta Squares image

Categories Gourmet

Yield Makes about 24 (3 1/2-inch) squares

Number Of Ingredients 8

1 cup cake flour (not self-rising)
1/4 cup all-purpose flour plus additional for kneading
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 large egg yolks
1 1/2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
4 tablespoons water
Special Equipment
a pasta maker

Steps:

Make dough:
Blend all ingredients in a food processor until mixture just begins to form a ball. Knead dough on a lightly floured surface, incorporating only as much additional flour as necessary to keep dough from sticking, until smooth and elastic, 6 to 8 minutes. Wrap dough in plastic wrap and let stand 1 hour.
Roll out dough:
Set smooth rollers of pasta machine at widest setting. Cut dough into 4 pieces and keep 3 pieces covered. Flatten unwrapped piece of dough into a rectangle and feed through rollers. Fold rectangle in half and feed through rollers 8 more times, folding in half each time and dusting with flour as necessary to prevent sticking.
Turn dial to next (narrower) setting and feed dough through without folding. Continue to feed dough through without folding, making space between rollers narrower each time, until narrowest setting is used. Cut rolled-out dough into 31/2-inch squares. Gather trimmings into a ball and wrap in plastic wrap. Transfer squares to a wax-paper-lined baking sheet and cover with plastic wrap. Roll out and cut remaining dough in same manner, then repeat with trimmings.