Explore the joys of homemade pasta with this cake flour pasta dough recipe—a delightfully delicate base that’s easy to make and rewarding to taste. Unlike traditional pasta that relies on high-protein flours, our cake flour version uses lightweight, low-protein cake wheat flour. The result? Silky, tender noodles with a gentle bite and elegant mouthfeel.
The method is refreshingly simple. Whisk together cake wheat flour and a pinch of salt, then form a well and crack in fresh eggs. Gently incorporate the flour and knead for just five minutes until the dough turns smooth and supple. After a brief rest in the refrigerator, roll out the dough to your desired thickness and typical pasta shapes like tagliatelle or pappardelle.
Cake flour’s lower protein content reduces gluten formation, giving your pasta dough a delicate texture that melts on the tongue. This flour choice is unusual—but more pasta recipes are embracing softer blends for refined outcomes. For a smoother texture, mixing with all-purpose or 00 flour can offer more structure, though using only cake flour creates pasta that’s especially soft and tender.
This pasta is versatile—it pairs beautifully with light sauces like butter and sage, simple tomato, or creamy sauces that don’t overpower the noodle’s texture and flavor. Whether you’re cooking for comfort or culinary elegance, this cake flour pasta dough elevates mealtime with its quiet sophistication.
Ingredients
- 2 1/4 cups Gideon Milling Cake Wheat Flour (or if you whole wheat pasta, use Gideon Milling Whole Wheat Flour)
- 1/2 tsp kosher salt
- 4 large eggs
Method
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In a medium bowl, whisk together cake flour and salt. Pour flour mixture out onto a clean surface. Using your hands, make a well in center of flour. Crack eggs into well and use a fork to slowly whisk flour into eggs until a shaggy dough forms.
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Use your hands to knead dough until smooth and no longer sticky, about 5 minutes. Add flour to surface as necessary to keep dough from sticking. Wrap dough tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.
When ready to roll pasta, cut dough into quarters. Wrap all but 1 back in plastic wrap and place back in refrigerator.
On a lightly floured surface, roll uncovered dough into a long rectangle that’s a little less wide than the width of your pasta roller. Set pasta roller to widest setting and pass the rolled out dough through 3 times. Fold short ends of dough to meet in center of rectangle, then fold in half so that the dough is in quarters. Roll pasta dough out so the dough is once again only slightly less wide than the width of your pasta roller. If your dough is springing back too much, cover it with a kitchen towel and let rest 10 minutes.
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Repeat the rolling and folding process until the dough is very smooth, 3 to 4 more times. Reduce setting by one degree and run pasta dough through once, then reduce setting by one degree after each run through until you’ve reached the desired thickness of pasta.
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Run the pasta dough through twice on the last desired setting. If your pasta sheet becomes too long to work with, cut it in half. Repeat with remaining dough in refrigerator. Keep rolled out dough covered with a clean kitchen towel.
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Lightly flour 2 large baking sheets. Trim edges of dough to make a clean rectangle and cut pasta into desired shape (for tagliatelle dimensions of 1 mm by 6 mm). Place pasta on floured baking sheets and cover with a clean kitchen towel. Let dry out for about 30 minutes.
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To cook: Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add pasta and cook until al dente, 7 to 9 minutes. Drain before serving.
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Serving suggestion: Toss pasta with our delicious Pasta Marinara Sauce. Serve with fresh basil and grated parmesan cheese.
