Semolina Pasta Dough

This type of pasta dough is made with durum wheat semolina and water and is a Southern Italian speciality. Plus, because there are no eggs in the recipe, it's easier to preserve. 

---

This dough is absolutely perfect for making any kind of pasta shapes such as orecchiette, trofie, fusilli, cavatelli, culurgiones and many more, the possibilities are endless.

Serves: 2

Ingredients

• 200 g of fine durum wheat semolina + extra 
• 100 ml of warm water 

Method

1. To start add the semolina into a bowl and slowly add in the warm water  and stir with a fork.
2. As soon you have a kind of crumble dough, transfer the mixture onto your worktable and using both hands knead the dough, stretching it and folding it back. If the dough is a little sticky, add a pinch of semolina and knead again until it's less sticky; vice versa if the dough is too dry add one or two tsp of water in the dough and keep kneading. Remember, if you add too much semolina to the dough it will become very dry and impossible to work with, so add semolina only if you need it and if the dough is too wet to work with.
3. Knead the dough for about 8  to 10 mins. The dough is ready when is nice and smooth with a little bounce back if you poke it.  It should feel like playdough.
4. At this point cover the dough with cling film and let it rest for 30 mins in the fridge. This helps to hydrate the flour and strengthen the gluten. 
5. Your pasta dough is now ready and you can roll it out and shape it to whatever shape you like. ​
6. Click here to watch how Chef Francesco makes 6 traditional shapes of pasta using this semolina pasta dough recipe.

TIP. If you are not going to cook your pasta right away, transfer it on a large clean tray, sprinkle extra semolina on the tray and on top of the pasta to avoid sticking. Wrap the tray with cling film and keep it refrigerated up to 48 hours.​

Back to recipes