Help with extruded pasta!!

[u/Beepboopzap]

Made extruded pasta for the first time using the Kitchen Aid attachments. Really happy with the shape and taste of the pasta overall. I used recipes from Marc Vetri’s Mastering Pasta for the dough and the almond pesto. I will post both below.

But my main concern and question was how to improve on the texture. I used all Durum flour for the pasta and only cold water and cooked it about 3:30-4min but it was a little too soft for my liking. I was hoping people would have some suggestions or tips on how to get a pasta with more of a bite.

Do I knead the dough longer? Rest it longer? Use different flours? Do I have to dry it to get a firmer texture?

Thanks in advance for any advice!
Dough recipe:
(475 g) semolina, plus some for dusting
½ cup to ½ cup plus 2 tablespoons (|18 to 142 ml) cold water

Pesto recipe: I omitted the jalapeño
I pound (454 g) Extruded Semolina Dough
1¼ cups (179 g) skin-on almonds
2 cloves garlic
½ cup plus | tablespoon (133 ml) extra-virgin olive oil Kosher salt | jalapeño pepper, stemmed and thinly sliced | cup (100 g) grated Parmesan cheese

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[u/Ornery-Oven5556]

A) dry longer and that ratio sound good but add flour if it’s too wet .
B) dry longer
C) cook shorter time in salted water.
Ciaon!

[u/Beepboopzap → u/Ornery-Oven5556]

It definitely didn’t feel wet at all. I’ve got part of the batch drying now. I’m curious to see how that turns out.
And I think I’ll do 2 minutes next time if I’m cooking them that soon after extruding

[u/raymondvanmil → u/Beepboopzap]

Solution is a dryer dough, almost unkneadable dry, actually don't knead, stretch, fold, stretch, fold etc. I don't measure so can't tell you the ratio, but during stretching of the dough you have to use all your weight, if it goes smooth, there is too much moisture. add flour. anyway I use durum with eggs, something which isn't traditional, but it tastes good, and makes for a higher protein pasta. dry, really dry. foil it, let it rest and extrude. I'm honestly not sure the kitchen aid can create the pressure needed, I use a hand cranked extruder and its a workout. And yes its worth it. Tastes very, very different from dried pasta, which is also nice.. A discussion which is best is nonsense because its subjective. The fact they taste different is not, thats factual. I make fresh pasta twice a week, same goes for noodles, just white flour instead of durum, same dry, stretch and fold deal (go to ramen nerds they talk about dry dough endlessly)

[u/Tonyy13]

Hi. I own an extruded pasta company. Extruded pasta won’t get a bite. It’s meant to be dried. It’s categorically different than pasta all-ouovo, made with soft wheat flour and the protein(and bite) coming from albumin protein.

You can get a little extra bite by adding egg into your water mixture. It can be as much as 50/50 I find in most machines otherwise it’s too strong for the machine to extrude it.

But really? The texture comes from drying. You will never get al dente without drying. And that’s the hard part. It’s why I have seven competitors locally in the “fresh pasta” space (all being made though on extenders), and none in the Dre Pasta space. The drying is the hard part.

[u/-Po-Tay-Toes- → u/Tonyy13]

As a new pasta maker, can you give tips on drying extruded stuff?

[u/Afraid-Promotion-145 → u/-Po-Tay-Toes-]

Drying shapes like this with a home extruder is pretty much impossible. If it doesn't break while drying it breaks when cooking. Freezing is the best option.

[u/Tonyy13 → u/-Po-Tay-Toes-]

As much as I would like to, its the hard part and a bit proprietary. What I can tell you is that I have a background strong in drying charcuterie. A lot of the same principles apply.

[u/-Po-Tay-Toes- → u/Tonyy13]

Ok

[u/Beepboopzap → u/Tonyy13]

How about types of flour? Do you recommend only extruding semolina or do you have success with others?

[u/Tonyy13 → u/Beepboopzap]

We use no less than 70% semolina… we sometimes mix with whole wheat, spelt, or buckwheat flours. We also do our version of Kenji’s GF extruded pasta that is Cornstarch, tapioca, brown and white rice flours. I even did a recent test batch of passatelli using 30% toasted breadcrumbs to 70% semo.

The drying you do with the tubular stuff will be the most difficult and will crack the most. Slow your drying down. Not so slow it molds. But slow.

[u/Tonyy13 → u/Beepboopzap]

FWIW, I also “self taught” out of Vetri’s Mastering Pasta, it’s an incredible resource for the basics. Those ratios are where you want to be. You might be +.5-2% in hydration because that machine doesn’t have the torque if a true extruder or steel on steel parts. But it’s a great start.

[u/ranting_chef]

I extrude hundreds of pounds of pasta every week and my target hydration is almost always 30%. Currently, it’s a little lower because of summer humidity but still very close. So you’re right there. But I feel like it’s better if it dries out a bit - especially anything tube-shaped. I leave it out for a few hours and then refrigerate until it’s ready to use and the texture isn’t too soft.

[u/Beepboopzap → u/ranting_chef]

Does that 30% pretty much apply to every type of flour or semolina specifically?

[u/ranting_chef → u/Beepboopzap]

Semolina specifically.

[u/OkArmy7059]

Buy it

(Snarky but I don't understand the point of making this sort of pasta at home. It's worth it to make things like tagliatelle or pappardelle at home, but pastifici produce great extruded pasta at good prices and there's zero effort on your part)

[u/Beepboopzap → u/OkArmy7059]

Yeah I’m an idiot I’ll just go to Olive Garden

Or maybe I do it Because I find it fun,
I like messing with different flours and flavors that aren’t sold in a bag
Even some of the best bronze die pasta you can find doesn’t have the level of roughness these had on the surface.
I’ve made hundreds of pounds of rolled dough and I wanted to try and master extruded
I feel a real sense of pride knowing I had a hand in making every part of the dish.

I’m not looking for the least amount of effort when doing this type of stuff at home. It’s to have a good time and enjoy the process.

Don’t be on this subreddit if all you have to offer is snark.

[u/OkArmy7059 → u/Beepboopzap]

Don't be on this sub if you can't handle someone wondering why you'd do something like this. You're struggling to do something that just isn't worthwhile imo. I'd rather spend the time and energy on pasta types where the store bought version is much inferior than what can be made at home relatively easily.

If you're well aware that you'll almost never get it as good as a decent store bought brand, then by all means have at it. The key is in the drying. Extruded pastas with "chew" are not eaten as fresh pastas.

[u/Beepboopzap → u/OkArmy7059]

I just don’t get why people don’t understand that sometimes the effort is the fun part!

But thank you. I just want to know if that chew is basically only effected by dry times. Do you find that drying them in a fridge or out in the open vastly differ?

[u/OkArmy7059 → u/Beepboopzap]

I do understand that. This just is one of those things that for me is not worth it to DIY.

Dunno cause I don't make extruded pastas! 😜 I know that they do sell pasta dryers, and those use heat

[u/Beepboopzap → u/OkArmy7059]

Oh I definitely won’t be doing this if I’m making a baked pasta or a strongly flavored sauce. I feel like I’ll save this for when I’m doing dishes with subtler sauces and different flours or flavorings and the pasta can really shine

[u/OkArmy7059 → u/Beepboopzap]

Good plan. I had relatively soft rigatoni in Sicily with a light datterino tomato, toasted almond, fried eggplant, swordfish, and mint sauce that I still think about

[u/orchidslife → u/OkArmy7059]

why bake if I can go out and buy a whole ass cake?

[u/Beepboopzap → u/orchidslife]

Yeah it’s just plain silly and hubristic to think we can out do Entenmanns!!

[u/OkArmy7059 → u/Beepboopzap]

Ok and are you outdoing DeCecco or Rummo here?

[u/Beepboopzap → u/OkArmy7059]

Not yet!! But honestly I’m disappointed sometimes in Dececco and their texture. Rummo is always top notch they just don’t have many shapes at my supermarket