Semolina pasta dough

Prep time 15 mins

Makes about 500g

Difficulty 2

“Think shapes like pici, cavatelli, trofie and orecchiette; this dough is an absolute beauty to have up your sleeve as you don’t need any fancy kit, or even eggs for that matter,” says Scott McComas-Williams of Sydney's Ragazzi. “Just some good quality flour, a bit of water and your hands!”

This recipe originally appeared in the Pasta edition of Eatable magazine, on sale here in print and digital.

200g fine semolina

200g tipo ‘00’ flour

1. Start by mixing the two flours together in a large bowl, then make a little well in the middle. Slowly pour 180ml cold water in, gently mixing it together until you’ve formed a rough dough, then pour it out onto the bench.

2. Because this dough won’t be going through a pasta machine and getting laminated, we have to knead it really well: work the heels of your hands into the dough back and forth. If you find the dough is a little crumbly or shaggy, add a spritz of water to the dough. Keep kneading for about ten minutes, your arms will be tired! Unlike bread dough, you can’t really over knead pasta dough, but it can dry out, so don’t be afraid to wet your hands a little if you need to keep it pliable. Your dough will be ready when it feels strong and bouncy. Wrap it up and put it aside to rest for at least half an hour – this will rest the gluten and hydrate the dough properly.