Types of Pasta Dough

When considering pasta dough, there are a few main types, each with its own characteristics and uses. Ultimately, the type of pasta dough you choose depends on the desired pasta shape and the sauce you plan to pair it with..

Soft flours are used in the typical egg yolk doughs — think of that subtle, stretchy/springiness in fettuccine, while hard flours help create shapes in semolina doughs, like orecchiette.

Egg pasta dough

Traditionally, these originated from Northern and some areas of Central Italy.

• Ingredients: Typically made with "00" flour (finely milled soft wheat flour), eggs, and sometimes a pinch of salt.
• Texture and properties: Creates a pliable, elastic, and relatively rich dough that's easy to roll and work with. The eggs provide binding, a silkier texture, and a richer flavor.
• Best for: These tend to be rolled out via a pasta maker or rolling pin into flattened sheets before cutting into individual shapes. Rolled pasta shapes like tagliatelle, fettuccine, lasagne sheets, ravioli, and other filled pastas.

Semolina pasta dough

These doughs originated from Southern and some areas of Central Italy.

• Ingredients: Most doughs are made with a 1:2 ratio of water to flour; no yolks are involved. Doughs need to be kneaded for at least 20 minutes to form enough gluten and yield a toothsome result.
• Texture and properties: Produces a firmer, chewier dough with a slightly coarser texture compared to egg pasta. The higher gluten content in semolina flour provides strength and a more "bouncy" texture.
• Best for: Hand-shaped pasta like orecchiette, cavatelli, cavatelli, trofie, and other shapes that benefit from a well-defined form and potentially a bit more sauce-grabbing surface area.
• It is also commonly used for dried boxed pasta.

Variations and considerations

• Egg yolk pasta dough: Some recipes call for only egg yolks, resulting in a very rich and flavorful dough, often used for delicate pasta shapes.
• Whole wheat pasta dough: Using whole wheat flour adds a nutty flavor and more fiber, but the bran can interfere with gluten development, making the dough more delicate. A blend of whole wheat and all-purpose flour is often recommended for easier handling.
• Gluten-free pasta dough: Many gluten-free flour blends are available, using ingredients like brown rice flour, tapioca starch, and xanthan gum to mimic the texture of traditional pasta dough.
• Coloring pasta: You can add natural color to pasta dough with ingredients like spinach (green), turmeric, tomato paste or pumpkin (yellow/orange), beets (pink/purple), or squid ink (black).