Homemade Pasta Dough-Ravioli

Homemade Pasta Dough (this can be used for any type of fresh pasta, not only for ravioli) This ingredients list is very loose, and you should play with the proportions until you get a nice soft and supple dough. If the dough is very firm and hard to knead – add more egg yolks or water. If the dough is too soft and sticky to knead, add a little more flour until you can work with it. Don’t worry about it much, as long as you can knead the dough until it is smooth and elastic then you will be better than fine. 3 cups of flour 5 egg yolks ½ tsp salt Enough water to make a smooth dough (if needed) Beat the egg yolks and add them and the salt to a mixing bowl already filled with flour. Use your hands and mix to form a dough. If you can’t get all the flour hydrated into a dough, add more water until you can form a nice firm but sticky dough. Knead the dough for about 10 minutes, or until it is smooth and stretchy. Although you can roll out the ravioli sheets immediately, letting the dough rest for 20 minutes or more allows the proteins in the dough to relax and makes rolling much easier. Rest the dough covered under the mixing bowl so it won't dry out too much. Rolling out the Ravioli Pasta Sheets The Basic Ravioli Pasta Process:

Now onto photos of the process!

Start by sifting together flour and a pinch of salt.

Whisk or beat with a fork the 2 eggs, teaspoon of olive oil(cooking oil) and 1 - 2tablespoons of water
Form the flour mixture we sifted earlier into a mound on any flat surface. Then form a well or hole in the center of the mount and pat the sides in so they're stable.

Pour about little by little of the egg, oil and water mixture into the well in the flour.. After you start working the dough you'll add in the rest.

Use two fingers to start mixing the egg mixture into the flour gradually, while supporting the wall of the mound with your other hand. Supporting the mound with your other hand will prevent the wall from collapsing and the egg mixture from leaking all over the place.Note: Don't force the dough to take all of the flour. You'll probably have some flour left over when the dough has come together

After a while it'll start to look like dough! And since I don't yet own a pasta machine (and will be rolling it out by hand) I kneeded it for around 8 - 10 minutes or so, dusting the surface with flour as needed so it won't stick.. Then form the dough into a nice ball.

After forming the dough ball, wrap it pretty tight with plastic wrap and place it in the refrigerator for a least an hour to rest. Don't skip this step!, like any other dough this won't work well without first 'resting' it for a little while.

After removing the dough from the fridge I let it sit for 10 or 15 minutes on the counter so it would be a little easier to work with.. I then cut the dough lengthwise into two pieces so I could roll them out into thin strips.

Then start rolling out the dough, dusting the board and dough lightly with flour as needed, while trying to keep it somewhat in a straight line. If found it can want to roll out into a curve, then apply more pressure to one side of the rolling pin when needed and also move and stretch it a little by hand to keep it straight.Note: The reason we let the dough 'rest' for an hour in the fridge earlier was to allow the gluten proteins to get going so the dough is pliable and doesn't want to tear while we roll it out and work with it..

Once had rolled out the pasta dough to about the thickness of a nickel, trimmed it a little on each end and the sides with my trusty pizza cutter.. I had wrapped the other chunk of dough in plastic wrap so it wouldn't dry out while I worked with the first half.Note: Mid-way through rolling I had cut the dough strip into two pieces since my board is too short, and then finished rolling out each piece. If you have a pretty long counter top, or table, this won't be necessary..

Now fetch the Ravioli Filling, made earlier and place small globs of filling spaced apart enough so we'll be able to close and completely seal each ravioli dumpling.Then whisk or beat together with a fork one egg and a couple tablespoons of water. Use a brush to lightly (don't over due it) brush on the egg wash in the center, outer edge, and in between each of the dumplings. This is the 'glue' that will seal each ravioli together.

Fold over the other half of the pasta and seal each ravioli, while trying to make sure there's no air trapped inside with the filling. Press the edges down good for a tight seal!

Use a pizza cutter again (you could also use a knife) to cut the strips into individual ravioli dumplings. Pick each up and press the edges of each between your fingers to make sure there is a nice tight seal.

You can put them in a freezer bag and into the freezer until you're ready to use them. When ready to cook put the frozen ravioli right into a pot of rapidly boiling water for 4 to 8 minutes or until tender and slop on your favorite marinara or pesto sauce or bolognese sauce....!