After living in Italy, I’m spoiled for a genuine dish of pasta. It should be flavorful yet complementary to the seasonings. It needs to be the right shape to absorb the sauce. It can’t be too chewy or too mushy. Oh, it’s quite a dilemma.
To further complicate issues, America doesn’t use the same kind of flour as Europeans. What? I thought flour was flour? Well, it turns out that there is a difference in the variety of wheat ground into flour. You can read more about wheat berries here.
For this recipe, I was experimenting to find the perfect whole wheat pasta recipe. And I nailed it.
First, you will need hard red and hard white wheat berries. Using your Vitamix Dry Grains container, grind the wheat berries into flour. Add one pinch of salt to the flour and 1 tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil.
Then, add half a cup of water and mix. At this point, stop mixing with your stand mixer, spoon, or fork; it’s time to get your hands into the dough. Add one additional tablespoon of water at a time until the dough holds together.
Knead for approximately five to ten minutes until the dough feels smooth to your hands (you should feel a difference). Knead by folding the dough in half, turning one quarter of a turn, then folding in half again. Repeat until done kneading.
Cover and let sit on your counter for at least 30 minutes. Then shape as desired, either using a pasta machine or by hand.
To make pasta by hand, create a piece about the size of your finger. Place it on the counter; hold the end with one hand, and use the heel of your other hand to gradually roll out the dough into a thinner piece, like linguine.
Boil in salted water for 2-4 minutes until al dente.
Homemade Whole Wheat Pasta From Scratch
Homemade whole wheat pasta made from wheat berries, kneaded and shaped by hand, made with lots of love!
Ingredients
- ½ cup hard red wheat berries
- ½ cup hard white wheat berries
- ½ cup water, plus an additional ½ cup
- 1 pinch salt
- 1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
Instructions
- Grind the hard red and hard white wheat berries in the Vitamix Dry Grains container on high for one minute until a smooth flour is formed.
- Add the flour, salt, olive oil, and ½ cup water to a bowl and mix.
- Using your hands, gradually add an additional tablespoon of water at a time until the dough sticks together.
- Knead for 5-10 minutes until smooth, then let cover the bowl with a kitchen towel and let rest on the counter for at least 30 minutes.
- Bring a large pot of salted water to boil.
- Shape pasta as desired, and boil for 2-4 minutes until al dente.
Notes
To make pasta by hand, create a piece about the size of your finger. Place it on the counter; hold the end with one hand, and use the heel of your other hand to gradually roll out the dough into a thinner piece, like linguine.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 4 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 162Total Fat: 4gSaturated Fat: 1gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 3gCholesterol: 0mgSodium: 36mgCarbohydrates: 28gFiber: 6gSugar: 2gProtein: 6g
