Pasta Magic from your Bread Machine

From Ravioli to Fettuccine to Lasagna – your bread machine can do it all with these easy recipes and sauces.

11a - ravioli with pesto and marinara sauce

No, you don’t need a pasta machine. It’s easy to roll out and slice the pasta dough you make in your bread machine using the “Pasta dough” setting. If your machine does not have a specific pasta dough setting, try the basic dough setting and you should get good results, There’s no limit to the shapes and types of pasta you can make, but we’re going to start with some basic styles and some variations.

Pasta is a unique but simple recipe in terms of ingredients. One of the unique ingredients is something called “Semolina” flour. This is also known as pasta flour. Occasionally the semolina flour is blended with all-purpose flour. Eggs are also a common ingredient although there are some recipes that omit them. Another common additive are vegetables like spinach or pureed vegetables like carrots or pumpkin. These vegetables are added to the dough and blended to add both color and flavor to the finished pasta.

Any pasta dough you make can be used immediately or hung over wooden dowels on a rack to dry. You can buy these racks at a cookware store or improvise your own. Store the dried pasta in a sealed plastic bag and use within1 week or 2 weeks if refrigerated. The pasta could last longer depending on how long you allowed it to dry and whether or not you used eggs in the recipes. Pasta with eggs should be used sooner rather than later and is best refrigerated or frozen once it has dried.

There are various ways to shape your pasta including knives, pizza wheels, ravioli wheels, pasta wheels and pasta machines. A pasta machine helps you flatten the dough and can cut it into finer sizes like angel-hair and spaghetti. You can make great pasta without a machine using a rolling pin to flatten the pasta as much as possible, and either knives or roller knives like a pizza wheel or pasta wheel to cut the pasta shape. A pasta wheel works like a pizza wheel but features multiple wheeled blades up to 12 that will cut small and uniform strips.

We’re going to focus on recipes that feature broader strips you can cut with a knife or pizza wheel in case you don’t have the specialized equipment. These pasta styles include ravioli, lasagna and fettuccine. They tend to be broader, flat ribbons of pasta that are easier to cut with hand tools rather than the precision blades of a machine. You will need to also flour your dough occasionally as you roll it out, or wipe some flour on your rolling pin with your hand.

We’re also going to explore sauce recipes and fillers to complete your pasta recipes from dough to table.

 

Lasagna

Lasagna is a traditional recipe made with a number or variations that all feature a broad, flat pasta noodle to create layers in a deep dish or pan. Standard ingredients include a mix of sautéed vegetables, tomato sauce, certain cheeses and/or meats and traditional Italian herbs like oregano, rosemary and thyme. The meat can be omitted to make a traditional marinara. The red pepper flakes in this recipe can also be omitted but the addition of the red pepper will give a slight “fra-diavlo” flavor to the sauce. The noodles are usually boiled before they are layered into the pan and the assembled dish is then baked in an oven. This recipe appears to be fairly complex but most of the ingredients are for the sauce. You can buy a prepared pasta sauce which will simplify both the ingredients and the preparation.

 

Lasagna Dough Recipe:

(Makes 2 pounds of Lasagna dough)

INGREDIENTS:

  • 1 1/2 cups of milk 80° F./27° C.
  • 3/4 cup oil
  • 1 1/2 tsp. salt
  • 4 cups Semolina flour

DIRECTIONS:

Select pasta course. When finished roll out into sheets and cut into wide strips 3 inches wide and 12 inches long. Re-roll trims to make additional strips until you have 16 strips of lasagna noodles.

 

Lasagna Recipe:

(9 Servings)

INGREDIENTS:

  • 12 x 12 x 2 inch baking pan or a standard bread pan
  • 16 strips of 3 inch by 12 inch lasagna noodles

PASTA SAUCE:

(You can substitute 48 ozs. of prepared sauce in a jar)

  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1 onion diced
  • 1 sweet bell pepper diced
  • 3 stalks of celery diced
  • 1 teaspoon minced garlic
  • 32 oz. tomato sauce
  • 16 oz. diced tomatoes (if from a can, drain the tomatoes)
  • 1/2 lb. ground beef and 1/2 lb. ground Italian sausage (optional)
  • 1 teaspoon oregano
  • 1/2 teaspoon rosemary
  • 1/2 teaspoon thyme
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon pepper
  • 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes (optional)

CHEESE FILLING:

  • 1 cup cottage cheese
  • 1/2 cup grated parmesan + a reserved 1/2 cup grated parmesan
  • 1/2 cup grated mozzarella
  • 2 cups ricotta cheese
  • 1 egg

DIRECTIONS:

  1. Brown the ground beef and sausage and drain. Set aside. Sauté the onions, sweet peppers and celery in the olive oil until onions are translucent. Add the minced garlic and sauté for one more minute. Add the tomato sauce, diced tomatoes, the browned ground meats, and the Italian herbs plus optional pepper flakes and bring to a simmer.
  2. In a bowl combine the cottage cheese, 1/2 cup parmesan, mozzarella, ricotta, and egg and blend until combined.
  3. Bring a large pot of water (2 quarts) to a boil and immerse the lasagna noodles. When the noodles are cooked, drain and rinse in cold water so you can handle them.
  4. Preheat oven to 350° F.
  5. Spread a thin layer of tomato sauce in the bottom of the baking pan and top with 4 strips of noodles butted or overlapped one next to the other. Top this first layer with an even layer of 1/3 of the cheese mixture and top the cheese with more sauce and another layer of noodles layered in the opposite direction. Repeat this with succeeding layers until you add the final layer of noodles on top and spread a thin layer of tomato sauce over the top and sprinkle with the remaining half cup of grated parmesan. Cover the pan with foil and bake at 350°F. for 30 minutes on a cookie sheet. The cookie sheet will catch any drips that overflow from the lasagna as it bakes. Remove the foil and bake an additional 15 minutes or until top is lightly browned. Remove from oven and let rest for 10 minutes covered with the foil. Cut into 9 equal squares and serve.

 

Ravioli

There are endless variations for Ravioli. These possibilities include both variations with the ravioli dough and the fillings. Ravioli is traditionally a square about 2 inches wide with a filling sandwiched by dough. The dough variations are made from the addition of various vegetables from beets for a red color and beet flavor, to spinach, basil, carrots and various squashes. All are cooked and mashed and incorporated into the dough.

The traditional fillings are sausage and cheese, but variations on fillings include mixed vegetables, other meats like ham, and seafood like shrimp, mussels, crab or fish.

The fundamental construction of ravioli begins with a sheet of ravioli about 12 x 12 inches square. An egg yolk wash is spread around the edges and crisscrossed to define 36 equal sized 2 inch squares . A teaspoon of the filling is dolloped into the center of each square and another 12 x 12 sheet is placed over the top. The perimeter of the squares are compressed with a thin wooden dowel and then cut with a pizza cutter. The edges are then crimped with a fork all around to create the 2 inch square ravioli. A ravioli roller/cutter can also be used to simplify this step.

 

Spinach Ravioli Dough Recipe:

(Makes 2 pounds of dough for 72 2-inch raviolis)

1 - Ravioli from the bread pan cut in two pieces 3 - ravioli sheet trimmed

INGREDIENTS:

  • 1 cup + 1 tablespoon of water 80° F./27° C.
  • 1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
  • 1 1/2 cups of Semolina flour
  • 2 1/2 cups of all-purpose flour
  • 1 10 oz. package of frozen spinach cooked and drained
  • OR
  • 1 14 oz. can of spinach well drained

DIRECTIONS:

Select pasta dough course. When done, roll out the pasta into sheets and trim into 2 sheets 12 x 12 inches square.

 

Spinach Ravioli with Italian Sausage Recipe:

(Makes enough filling for 72 2-inch raviolis)

4 - ravioli sheet with egg wash saquares and sausage 6 - 2nd ravioli sheet unrolled over ist

INGREDIENTS:

  • 2 pounds mild Italian sausage
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • medium onion finely diced
  • 6 ozs. mushrooms finely diced
  • 1 garlic clove minced

Egg Wash:

  • 1 egg
  • 1 tablespoon water

DIRECTIONS:

  1. Sauté the onion and mushroom in the olive oil until onions are translucent. Add the garlic and stir for 30 seconds. Remove from heat. Combine vegetables with raw sausage in a bowl.
  2. Place a 12 x 12 inch sheet of pasta dough onto a floured surface. Paint the edges with a wash of egg yolk and 1 tablespoon of water. Make a cross hatch of egg yolk on the sheet to describe 36 2-inch squares. With a spoon, dollop a teaspoon of the sausage filling into the center or each square. Take another sheet of 12 x 12 pasta and cover. press down on the outer edges of the large square with a small dowel of your finger tips. Now you need to carefully seal the edges surrounding each dollop of filling. Cut the sheet every two inches with a knife or pizza roller and then crimp the edges all around each ravioli with a fork. These crimps will help the ravioli hold the sauce and seal in the filling when you boil the ravioli. You can cook the ravioli immediately, refrigerate it for up to 3 days or freeze it up to 2 months.
  3. Bring 2 quarts of salted water to a medium boil and add the ravioli a few at a time. When they float to the surface they are done. Plate them and cover the with either your favorite red sauce or a pesto sauce.

8- ravioli sheet cut into individual raviolis 10 - ravioli ready for the pot

 

Pesto Sauce Recipe:

11d - ravioli with pesto and marinara sauce 11a - ravioli with pesto and marinara sauce

INGREDIENTS:

  • 1 cup basil
  • 1 cup olive oil
  • 2 garlic cloves
  • 1/4 cup pistachio nuts
  • 1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1/2 tsp pepper

DIRECTIONS:

Place all ingredients except olive oil in a food processor and process until all is well chopped and incorporated. Drizzle olive oil into processor until incorporated and serve over ravioli or pasta of your choice.

 

Fettuccine

Fettuccine Dough Recipe:

(Makes 2 pounds of fettuccine dough)

INGREDIENTS:

  • 3/4 cup + 1 tablespoon water 80° F./27° C.
  • 4 large eggs room temperature
  • 1 1/2 tablespoons oil
  • 1 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1 1/2 cups Semolina Flour
  • 2 1/2 cups all purpose flour

DIRECTIONS:

Select pasta dough course. When done roll out as thinly as possible with a rolling pin. Slice into 1/4 inch thin strips with a large knife or a pizza wheel. Either hang and dry or reserve for immediate use.

 

Fettuccine Alfredo Recipe:

INGREDIENTS:

  • 1 1/2 cups heavy cream
  • 1 tablespoon butter
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon pepper
  • 1 cup grated Parmesan cheese

DIRECTIONS:

Boil fettuccine in 2 quarts of boiling salted water until cooked. Heat all other ingredients in a sauce pan to a light boil except Parmesan cheese. Toss fettuccine in cream sauce and add Parmesan and continue to toss. Serve.

 

Conclusion

There are numerous other variations that can be served in a variety of ways with different sauces and shapes. The skies the limit and all can be made from these basic pasta recipes.

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5 Comments
  1. Reply
    Annie Stewart September 5, 2015 at 1:32 pm

    I love your site, but I’m not sure what cup size I should be using. I’m in England and we’ve always weighed our ingredients. Can you help please? I’m new to the bread machine and loveing it, I’ve made bread, jam, cake and malt loaf and I’m now making sweet roll dough for Devonshire Splits, to go with my home made jam! Yummy!!
    I would now like to try your cookie dough and pasta.
    Thanking you in anticipation,
    Annie Stewart

    • Reply
      Steve Nubie April 17, 2020 at 12:57 pm

      Hi Annie,
      We have an article on our website about conversions for weights and measures. https://www.breadmakermachines.com/converting-weights-and-measures-for-your-bread-machine-recipes/
      You could also google “converting cups to” and google will often pop up and list all the conversions you might be thinking about. Weighing ingredients is actually the best way to measure ingredients for baking. It’s how the pros do it but most people don’t have a baker’s scale so we default to cups and spoons.
      Hope this helps,
      Steve

    • Reply
      Yuval BarHai September 8, 2015 at 8:13 am

      Hi Annie!

      Each cup is 9 grams. Let us know how your cookie dough and pasta came out 🙂

      • Reply
        Annie Stewart September 12, 2015 at 4:34 pm

        Thank you, I’m back from a holiday now and will be trying the cookie dough first. I will let you know how I get on. Annie.

        • Steve Nubie April 17, 2020 at 12:48 pm

          I hope your cookie come out great. Make sure you have a cookie dough or other dough setting like pasta that will work for cookie dough. A standard dough setting assumes you are making a dough with yeast and has a rising cycle where the dough is subjected to heat for up to an hour to allow the dough to rise. This rising cycle wreaks havoc on cookie dough and pasta dough because most cookie doughs have butter and sometimes eggs as an ingredient especially in pasta dough. You just want the machine to mix and blend the dough, not partially cook it through a rising cycle. Take a quick look at your bread machine instruction manual to make sure you choose the right setting. If all you have is a standard dough setting you can still use that setting but the minute you hear the mixing and kneading cycle is over, remove the dough. That’s when the rising cycle starts with a standard dough or “leavened” dough setting.
          I’m sure your cookies will come out great
          Steve

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