Another Basic

Fresh Egg Pasta (V)
Ingredients

2 3/4 cups soft wheat flour or fine semolina flour
you may use more if the flour or atmoshpere is not very dry
4 large eggs

Preparation

Making dough:
You may make this by hand by mounding the flour in the center of a cool dry work surface. Make a well in the middle of the flour and add beaten eggs to the mound. Working from the outside of the mound to the inside, incorporate all the egg into the flour and then knead until smooth. You may also use a food processor. Place flour in processor. Add eggs. Using on/off turns, blend until clumps of moist dough form (do not process into ball). Turn dough out onto lightly floured work surface; shape into ball. Knead until smooth, sprinkling lightly with flour if sticking, about 3 minutes. With either method, wrap in plastic and let rest at room temperature at least 20 minutes and up to 2 hours.

Rolling dough into sheets:
Cut dough into 8 equal pieces. Cover with plastic wrap. Again you may work the dough by hand using a rolling pin or with a machine. With the machine, set it to widest setting. Flatten 1 dough piece into rectangle; run through machine. Fold in half crosswise (end to end) and run through again. Continue, adjusting machine to narrower settings after every 2 passes and dusting with flour as needed to keep from sticking, until pasta sheet is 22 inches long (scant 1/16 inch thick). Place sheet on lightly floured work surface; cover with plastic. Repeat with remaining pasta pieces. If you work the dough by hand use a similar method with the pin replacing the machine.

Cutting dough into strands:
Uncover sheets and let stand until slightly dry but still pliable, about 20 minutes. Again by hand use a ruler to set your scale for cutting. Fit machine with appropriate cutter and run sheets through, cutting into tagliolini (1/8 inch wide), tagliatelle (1/4 inch wide), fettuccine (1/2 inch wide), or pappardelle (3/4 inch wide) and dusting with flour to keep from sticking. Cut strands crosswise into desired lengths. Using floured hands, toss strands to separate; spread out on towels. You may also leave the sheets whole for lasagna or manicotti or cut into squares for tortellini or ravioli.
Cook pasta in pot of boiling salted water. The water should taste like sea water, until just tender, stirring occasionally, 3 to 5 minutes. Drain. Fresh pasta cools quickly so be prepared to use it immediately.