Pasta

Pasta comes in two forms: fresh pasta, made from eggs and relatively low-gluten flour (all-purpose flour generally works fine for this kind of pasta), which is typically cooked shortly after making, and dried pasta, made from high-gluten flour (usually from durum wheat) and water and suitable for long storage. Fresh egg pasta can also be dried, but it becomes brittle and breaks easily.

Flat pasta ribbons, such as fettuccine, linguine, and pappardelle, are made with fresh egg pasta dough that is ideally rolled out by hand with a rolling pin and gently stretched to the appropriate thickness. This hand method yields a better result than a pasta machine, because it creates a slightly rougher surface texture that encourages sauces to cling.