Sourdough Pasta by Hand

If you’re like me, and you’ve been doing phenomenal with fresh milled sourdough bread, you’re going to want to make more things with this awesome ferment. That’s where TRUE sourdough pasta comes in.

True Sourdough?

Yes. The difference between a “discard” recipe and a true sourdough recipe is the bulk fermentation. When all the flour in the recipe goes through the bulk fermentation, we get added benefits:

1. It’s way easier to digest. When the dough has time to ferment, it basically starts breaking itself down—so your gut doesn’t have to work so hard. It’s like giving your belly a little vacation.
2. No more pasta bloat. You know that heavy, sluggish feeling after a bowl of regular pasta? Yeah, this isn’t that. I feel light, satisfied, and not like I need a nap afterward.
3. Better for blood sugar. The longer ferment slows down how your body processes the carbs, so you don’t get that spike-then-crash rollercoaster. Huge win for energy (and mood!).
4. You get more from your grains. Sourdough unlocks the good stuff—like magnesium and zinc—that would otherwise be trapped in the grain. You’re getting more nutrition without changing a thing. Just time.
5. The flavor is next-level. It’s not sour like sourdough bread, just nutty and rich in the best way. You can really taste the grain, especially if you’re using fresh flour. It’s pasta with actual personality.

Ingredients

• 250 g durum or Kamut milled fine (2 cups of flour)
• 4 large eggs (approx 200 grams)
• 50 grams of stiff starter

Directions

• Mill the flour
• Mix the flour, eggs and starter together.
• Let rest 30 minutes and knead the dough a few minutes by hand or by dough hook in your mixer.
• Let the dough ferment on the counter for 4-6 hours in the summer (a warmer kitchen) or 6-12 hours in winter (or a cooler kitchen. If you like, you can put the dough into the fridge and let it slow ferment for 24-72 hours. I did 24 hours and it was glorious!
• Let the dough come to room temperature so it’s easier to roll out.
• Coat the dough lightly with flour just enough to make it not sticky. Roll it with a rolling pin or a roller attachment for your mixer or other manual pasta roller.
• Work your way to the thinnest setting desired one step at a time. Be sure to run the dough through the roller at least 2 times on each setting before moving to the next setting. Do not skip numbers! I prefer to roll the dough through in opposite directions for best results.
• When the dough is your desired thickness, cut it in a cutter of choice or use a pasta bicycle or very sharp knife to cut. If cutting with a knife, you must flour it well and use a gentle hand as to not press the pasta together. Unroll it immediately after slicing.
• Freezing pasta: you can shape the pasta into nests and freeze them on a cookie sheet before placing them into a freezer bag.
• Drying pasta: you can dry on a pasta drying rack such as this one, or you can use a dehydrator such as my Excalibur 9 tray. How long? Till it’s fully dry and crispy. Never go by someone else’s time.

Pasta drying rack

Excalibur dehydrator

Pasta roller cutter for Zacme mixers

Pasta roller cutter for kitchenaid mixers

If you prefer a standalone roller cutter, this is the one I recommend:

Marcato Atlas 150 pasta maker

Cooking the Pasta

We cook the pasta the same way we cook any other. In salted boiling water. The time will vary depending on whether it’s fresh, frozen, or dried.

Cooking fresh pasta takes about 30 seconds to a minute. It’s quick since it’s already hydrated.

Frozen pasta can be brought to room temperature before cooking, and it’ll cook like fresh pasta OR you can drop the frozen nests directly into the water. It’ll take an extra minute or so for it to fully cook.

Dehydrated or dried pasta takes about the same length of time to cook as dry pasta from the store, if not slightly longer due to the whole grains taking a little longer to absorb the moisture before cooking.

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