Making Fresh Pasta (picture heavy)

Fresh pasta is easier to make than one would think. That is, if you have a pasta machine. I tried making fresh pasta by hand, its not too fun. So when I told my mom about my experience, she decided to get me a machine for my birthday. If you're planning on making pasta often, I would definitely suggest a machine. The machine rolls out the dough for you and makes it thin. It also cuts the dough into strips for you, depending on your model. My machine came with two cut options: fettuccine and spaghetti. This is the model I have and it works great:

CucinaPro Imperia Pasta Machine

When using a machine, make sure to use lots of flour so the dough doesn't stick to any of the rollers. Also, don't wash the machine. A quick pass with a dry cloth to get rid of the excess flour will suffice.

This is the recipe I use, I found it on Allrecipes.com and altered it to my liking:

Ingredients

2 egg, beaten
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup water
2 teaspoons olive oil

Directions

In a medium sized bowl, combine flour and salt. Make a well in the flour, add the slightly beaten egg, and mix. Mixture should form a stiff dough. If needed, stir in 1 to 2 tablespoons water. (I usually put the dough in my kitchenaid mixer for a couple minutes, then knead it enough to be able to form a ball.)
Form the dough into a ball and place it in a bowl. Cover with a clean, dry dish towel and let rest for about 20 minutes.
With a pasta machine or by hand roll dough out to desired thinness. Use machine or knife to cut into strips of desired width.

Yield: For me, this makes enough for two plates of pasta with some leftovers.

Also - fresh pasta, takes less time to cook than dried pasta.

My handy mixer

Putting in all the ingredients and scrambling the egg/water mixture up a bit

All the ingredients being mixed

At this point I usually take the bowl off the mixer and start kneading in the bowl to get all the flour on the bottom. Once the flour is incorporated, I take the dough out of the bowl and knead it on the counter.

Once it becomes a smooth ball I put it back in the mixer bowl

Let it rest with a towel on top. I dampen the towel slightly, so the dough doesn't dry out.

Take about 1/4 of your ball, roll it down a bit so it will catch in the roller and you won't chance breaking the machine.

I usually do two or three passes at each setting, decreasing the thickness gradually. For the fettuccine, I went a little thicker than I would have if I was making spaghetti noodles.

I also fold the sides in occasionally on the thicker settings because the dough will spread out with each pass.