Pile the flour into a mound in a wooden surface, the make a well in the center of it. In a little bowl, lightly beat the eggs with a fork, then pour them into the well together with a generous pinch of salt. Continue beating and gradually drawing in the flour from the borders towards the center.

Once you have a crumbly texture, it’s time to knead. Knead for about 8 minutes until you have a smooth dough. Roll the dough into a ball, cover with cling film and leave to resto for 1 hour in the fridge. The dough will be much more elastic after resting.

Once the dough is rested, it’s time to roll it out with a rolling pin over a lightly dusted wooden surface. Begin rolling the dough starting from the center forward applying pressure. Repeat ⅔ times. Turn the dough a quarter turn and repeat until the sheet becomes thin. Dust the sheet with flour whenever start to stick to the surface or to the rolling pin.

For a simple hand cut, dust the sheet with flour, then take one side and fold a strip about 5 cm, then fold it again over itself until you and with a sharp knife, cut into strips the desired width. Gently lift them in the air and drop on a dishtowel, separated.

The process for Tagliatelle, Fettuccine and Pappardelle it’s the same, just different width:

Tagliolini      1-2 mm

Fettuccine   3-5 mm

Tagliatelle    6-10 mm

Pappardelle 1-3 cm

If you have pasta machine:

Once the dough is rested, cut it in 3. Flatten ones with your fingers so that it can fit through the rollers of the pasta machine (usually nr. 0), then flour it lightly on both side and start to pass it through the widest setting. Fold in half and turn it 90 degree, then roll it through the pasta machine again. Repeat this process folding the sides in and passing it through the widest setting ¾ times, to allow the pasta to become more elastic. Continue to pass the dough through each setting to the second last setting. Remember to flour it lightly on both side every step.

Making tagliatelle and fettuccine is really simple. Place the cutting attachment on your pasta machine, then roll the dough through it, gently lifting the strands as you do so. Gently lift them in the air and drop on a dishtowel, separated.

The only exception is pappardelle that needs to be cut by hand because there is no cutting attachment for them.