Sourdough Discard Pasta

• To a medium sized bowl add the flour, salt, sourdough discard, eggs, olive oil and water. Mix together with your hands until you form a stiff ball of dough. The dough should not be crumbly (if it is, add another teaspoon or two of water) or sticky (if it is, add a Tablespoon or so of flour at a time as needed). Alternatively you can add all the ingredients to a stand mixer and knead together.
• Kneading by hand: Take the palm of your hand and press down in the middle of the dough. Fold it over and repeat the process. Knead for about 10 minutes until a smooth ball forms.

  Kneading with a mixer: Knead for 7-8 minutes until a smooth ball forms.
• Wrap the ball of dough completely in plastic wrap and set aside for an hour. At this point you can also refrigerate the dough for up to a couple days. If you choose to refrigerate the pasta dough, bring it back to room temperature before proceeding with the recipe.
• Prepare a pasta rolling machine and rolling pin. I use these pasta attachments that are compatible with a KitchenAid mixer.

  Cut the dough into 4-6 equal sections. Dust some flour on your counter and use a rolling pin to roll the dough out into a rectangular shape.
• Hand-Rolled Instructions: Flour the countertop and roll the dough out into a thin rectangle shape. If the dough shrinks up, let it rest for a minute and then roll again. The goal is to get the dough very thin. Continue flouring the dough and rolling until you can see your hand through the pasta dough if you lift it up. Use a pizza cutter or sharp knife to cut the dough into long strands of noodles.
• Pasta Machine Instructions: Run a section of flattened pasta through the KitchenAid pasta attachments on setting 1. Change the setting to 3 and run the pasta sheet through the pasta roller again. The pasta sheet will double in size. Repeat the process on setting 4. Cut the pasta sheet in half if needed and place on a floured piece of parchment paper or baking sheet. The flour helps keep the pasta sheets from sticking together if they overlap. Repeat with the remaining sections of dough until all of the dough is flat and ready to be cut.

  Change out the pasta attachment for the spaghetti or fettuccine attachment. Run each pasta sheet through the attachment, cutting the sheet into strips. As the pasta comes out of the machine, hold it in the middle, twist and form a little "nest" of pasta. Place it on lightly floured parchment paper or a baking sheet. Repeat until all of the pasta has been cut.

  At this point you can refrigerate or freeze the cut pasta for up to a day. See recipe notes.
• Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Drop in the pasta and gently stir with tongs or a slotted spoon to keep the strands from sticking. Cook for about 1 minute, just until the noodles float and are al dente. Fresh sourdough pasta cooks quickly, so watch closely and don’t overcook.
• Add your favorite pasta sauce or a little butter and parmesan and coat liberally. Enjoy!