KitchenAid KSMPEXTA Gourmet Pasta Press, White

The egg pasta recipe in the booklet included just didn't work for me. I just ended up with a sticky mess and sad pasta shapes every single time. I did a bit of research and found that extruders seemed to be happier with drier pasta dough which made sense to me. So now, I use a recipe of durum wheat flour ( fine ground semolina) (400g) and hot water, (140ml or more if needed) kneaded in the KitchenAid first (takes about 10-15 minutes) until it clumps. It mustn't be sticky - the drier, the better. I then roll it all into a stiff ball, wrap it in cling film and let the dough rest for about half an hour on the counter. When I'm ready, I cut up the dough into a bit smaller than golf ball sized pieces and proceed. After realising that a stiffer dough was better, I've since used bread flour but less eggs and again I've had more success than using the recipes. In fact, success every time. That may just be a me problem but it just seems to be better. Clean up can be tricky but I have to confess that I do take apart the die (shaping discs) and scrub them clean with soap and water but am meticulous about drying them immediately after. I've had mine for a few years and I've had no problems doing this even though I know we're not supposed. Anyway, it's a bit of a faff but definitely keeps the five year old inside me happy with her adult playdoh machine!

Love this, so easy to use and easy to clean! Highly recommend!