Spicy Pepper Infused Pasta Dough Recipe

Hot pepper infused pasta dough with great flavor and spice.

Ingredients:

160-170 g 00 flour

3 egg yolks

1 whole egg

20 g hot sauce (the thicker, the better)

*Try out my ghost pepper hot sauce recipe for this one

AP flour or fine semolina for dusting

Tools needed:

Small mixing bowl x 2

Large mixing bowl

Kitchen scale

Rolling pin

Pasta machine

Sharp knife

Baking sheet

How to make it:

For the hot sauce getting added to the dough, I found that using a thicker sauce generates a better texture, structured dough that won’t add too much moisture. Thinner sauces tend to hydrate the sauce a little too much and don’t add much flavor or heat to the finished dough.

Cracking the whole eggs and removing the yolks one by one is easier and quicker.

Crack open 1 egg into one mixing bowl and the other three to the other bowl. Using your hands, scoop out the 3 yolks placing them in the bowl with the singular egg yolk. Whisk the eggs together until incorporated.

Weigh out your flour in your mixing bowl and make a well in the middle of the flour. I like to mix the dough in a bowl, but you can do it on the cutting board if desired. Add the eggs and hot sauce and mix the ingredients together to form a shaggy dough.

Place the roughly mixed dough to your work table with some flour for dusting purposes in a small bowl next to you if needed. I use unbleached AP flour, fine semolina works great too.

Knead the dough for 5-6 minutes. If the dough is too sticky, add more flour. Keep in mind that the more the dough is kneaded, the less sticky it becomes unless the dough is too hydrated. Once the dough is kneaded and the gluten has formed, I like to roll the dough lightly on the table for a minute or two to smoothen out the surface of the dough. The proteins in the flour should be well strengthened by now and needs to relax for 30 minutes. I like to place a small mixing bowl over the dough instead of using plastic wrap.

Once the dough is rested, cut it into thirds. Keep any portion of the dough that isn’t being rolled out covered so it does not dry out.

Use your palm of your hand to flatten the dough to about a 1/4 inch thick so it goes somewhat easily through the thickest setting on the pasta machine. When ready, crank the rollers while dusting the with flour and lightly flour both sides of the dough.

Run the dough through the machine and fold the dough into thirds as shown in the photos above. Repeat this process 3 times total. I use a rolling pin to flatten the dough out some after it gets folded so it easily fits in the rollers. The point of this step is to strength the dough more, laminating it for structure and to help square the ends.

Now it’s time to run the dough through the rollers taking it down a notch each time until you get to the second to last setting. On this setting, dust the dough on both sides if needed and keep the machine floured. Run the dough through and square off the ends if desired and cut the pasta dough sheet in half. If you’re using a die to cut the pasta sheet, attach it to the machine now an dust it whole cranking the cutters. In this post, I have my tagliolini die on the machine. This recipe works great if you’re making lasagna, ravioli, orecchiette and other pasta shapes.

Carefully feed the pasta sheet through the dies and dust the noodles with flour. Set the noodles on a plate while you roll and cut the rest of the dough.

I love the feel of homemade pasta. You can feel the hard work that goes into it all.

I have a pasta drying rack I use if I'm not immediately going to be cooking off the noodles. Otherwise, you can portion out the dough as it gets cut in ziptop bags and freeze for a month or so and use as desired. In my video, I show how to make a quick and easy pasta with fresh asparagus, garlic and tomatoes using butter, cheese an pasta water for a nice sauce.

Enjoy!

Logan