Homemade Pasta

To Make the Dough: Pour flour in a mound. Make a well in the center of flour. Pour whole eggs, egg yolks, and salt into well. Use a fork to mix. Knead dough with hands until all is incorporated into a dough ball.

Wrap ball of dough tightly in plastic wrap and rest on countertop for 30 minutes.

To Roll the Pasta: Put down a sheet of parchment paper and dust lightly with flour. Cut dough into quarters. Set one quarter on work surface and re-wrap remaining dough. Flatten the quarter of dough into an oblong shape about 1/2 inch thick.

Set pasta maker to widest setting and pass dough 3 times through the machine at this setting.

Place dough on a lightly floured work surface. Fold both ends in so that they meet at the center of the dough, and then fold the dough in half where the end points meet, trying not to incorporate too much air into the folds. Flatten dough to 1/2-inch thick. Pass through the rollers 3 additional times.

Reduce the setting by 1 notch and repeat. Continue passing the dough through the rollers, reducing the thickness by 1 setting each time until it reaches the desired thickness. It should now be very delicate and elastic to the touch and slightly translucent.

Place rolled dough onto a work surface or baking sheet lightly dusted with flour or on parchment paper. Sprinkle with flour or line with parchment between folds to prevent sticking.

Cover dough with plastic wrap or a kitchen towel to prevent drying, then repeat steps with remaining dough quarters. 

To Cut Noodles: Adjust pasta machine to noodle setting of your choice. Working one dough segment at a time, feed dough through the pasta cutter. 

Divide the cut noodles into individual portions, dust lightly with flour, and curl into a nest. Place on parchment-lined rimmed baking sheet and gently cover with kitchen towel until ready to cook. Pasta can be frozen directly on the baking sheet, transferred to a zipper-lock freezer bag, and stored in the freezer for up to three weeks before cooking. Cook frozen pasta directly from the freezer.

To Cook: Bring a large pot of salted water to a rolling boil. Add pasta, stir gently with a wooden spoon, chopsticks, or a cooking fork, and cook, tasting at regular intervals until noodles are just set with a definite bite, about 1 1/2 to 2 minutes. Drain, toss with sauce, and serve.