Homemade Spaghetti from Scratch

To start my spaghetti off…. It’s time to grind some flour extra fine. I like to use einkorn wheat for this because it’s an ancient grain that’s non hybridized. It’s a bit tougher than some modern flours once ground, and it’s a little higher in fiber and protein. It’s also easier to digest than some modern wheats, and I always make sure it’s not been sprayed with glyphosates. Now this is MY opinion only — and I haven’t seen real proof of this yet that’s truly definitive….. but an awful lot of people seem to have gluten sensitivity problems these days. It’s an odd thing to my thinking that humans have been eating wheat for thousands of years with little difficulty, but the rise of glyphosate spraying seems to correlate with digestive issues these days. Its a bit suspicious to me, but we already know I’m kind of paranoid anyway.

Bluestone granite grain mill

My basic pasta recipe is

2 cups of sifted flour spooned in and leveled off

3 eggs

1 tsp turmeric

1 tsp black pepper

Pinch of sea salt

1 tbsp olive oil.

If the dough is a bit dry, dribble some water on your fingertips and work it in. If it’s too soggy and wet, add a bit of flour to dry it out some. Use your judgement.

In the mixing bowl

I add this by making a pool of scrambled eggs in the middle of the flour and the spices. I start off blending these in and the dough is kind of dry. I keep working the dough for 10 minutes or so. It might not look like a dough at first, but keep at it until it comes together.

Dough ball wrapped and resting

I wrap the resulting dough ball in plastic wrap and let it sit on the counter to rest. This helps the flour soak up the moisture from the eggs.

The pasta extruder

While the dough is resting for 30 minutes, I assemble the pasta extruder. This one is a cheaper hand operated model that I can use in the event of a power outage. Otherwise I like to use the extruder attachment for the Kirchen Aid mixer. Let me tell you something — if you’re cranking out spaghetti noodles by hand, you’re getting a work out. You must really want some spaghetti for dinner.

If you're interested in one of these extruders, click here

Loading the extruder

I divide the dough into equal parts and load them one at a time into the extruder tube. Screw on the top and start cranking the twist handle down to push out the spaghetti noodles.

Extruding spaghetti

I lay the freshly extruded noodles out on the cutting board and separate them as much as possible so I don’t end up with a clump of boiled dough.

Fresh uncooked pasta

Boiled pasta

Fresh made pasta ain’t like the store bought stuff. This is slightly chewy and it cooks in about 4 minutes…. Almost half the time.

Plated homemade spaghetti

This spaghetti is made with turmeric, black pepper, sea salt, and a little garlic powder for flavor. The topping is homemade marinara, cheese, crushed walnuts, and some pico de gallo. I know what you’re thinking….. pico ain’t Italian, it’s Mexican. But the diced tomatoes, diced onions, jalapeños, red and green bell pepper chunks kind of add a bit of kick to the dish.

Now keep in mind that I’m NOT a little old Italian grandma. I’m just an old ridge running, tobacco chewing, beer swilling hillbilly from western NC. In fact…. There’s probably a number of little Italian grannies who’ve passed on that are probably spinning in their graves right now at the thoughts of me committing such a sacrilege as this. Imagine an old Appalachian having the effrontery to attempt to make anything that’s not biscuits and gravy — or liver mush sandwiches.