Ingredients

• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 4 large eggs
• 1-2 tablespoon water, if needed

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Cooking Directions

Step 1

To make the pasta dough: Pulse flour and salt in a food processor to blend.

Step 2

Beat eggs in a glass measuring cup with a fork until blended. With the processor running, slowly pour eggs through the feed tube. Stop, then pulse until mixture resembles coarse meal, about 1 minute (when pinched, the dough should cling together). If the mixture seems too dry, add water, 1 teaspoon at a time; if it seems too wet, add flour, 1 teaspoon at a time, pulsing between additions.

Step 3

Turn the dough out onto a work surface and knead into a smooth ball. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

Step 4

To roll and cut the pasta: Cut the pasta dough into 12 equal pieces; cover all but one piece with plastic wrap. Flatten the unwrapped dough with the palm of your hand and pass it through the roller of a pasta machine turned to its widest setting. Fold the dough in half and pass it through the machine again, repeating 6 to 8 times, until the edges are smooth.

Step 5

Pass the dough through successively smaller settings until it is the thickness of a dime. Place on a kitchen towel and let dry for 5 minutes. (Pasta dough is very sensitive to humidity. It should be firm and supple. If it seems sticky, dust with flour.)

Step 6

To make fettuccine or tagliatelle, feed sheets of dough through the 1/4-inch cutter of the pasta machine.

Step 7

To make linguine, feed sheets of dough through the 1/8-inch cutter of the pasta machine.

Step 8

Repeat with remaining dough. (Pasta that is not being cooked immediately may be spread on a baking sheet, between sheets of flour-dusted parchment paper, and refrigerated for up to 6 to 8 hours; freeze for longer storage.)