Making pasta by hand instead of with a machine can be a little intimidating. From the outside it seems like a labor-intensive process that only Italian nonnas have perfected. But with the right knowledge and a little practice anyone can make the perfect pasta dough at home. For the best results (with minimal effort) you should use the volcano method.
| Channel | Publish Date | Thumbnail & View Count | Actions |
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 Jamie Oliver | 2013-06-01 09:30:40 |  3,464,546 Views |
Perfect pasta dough with Gennaro
With this traditional approach to pasta making you take your finely ground flour (and clean hands) and build a hill that resembles a volcano. Make a large indentation or well in the center to mix in your eggs. The technique is called fontana (fountain) in Italian probably because the shape resembles the fountains you find in many squares in the European country.
Now that your volcano is formed and your eggs are in place you can stir them with a fork or your fingertips before slowly adding some flour from the sides. It’s important that no liquid runs out as you mix so you’ll want to get flour from all the edges of your crater rather than just one side which will help keep the integrity of the well intact. It won’t take long for the dough to come together; keep kneading until it forms a smooth elastic ball. As easy as it is it’s worth understanding how this process produces flawless pasta.
To some the volcano method of making pasta may seem like overkill. You might think “I just want to cook some spaghetti. Why can’t I just mix the flour and eggs in a bowl and avoid making a mess on the counter?” But there’s solid logic behind this ingenious technique. As Roberto Aita chef and owner of Aita a trattoria in Brooklyn New York explains it allows for better control over the moisture content of the dough resulting in dough with a consistent texture. “By touching it you can see and feel the amount of liquid going in and stop adding water at just the right moment” he told Epicurious.
