/ck/ - Food & Cooking

[Anonymous No.11318154]

Ok, this is the last time I will make the thread before I pull the trigger on something.

Im looking for a cheap pasta maker to see if it's worth spending more money on something nicer. i'm not looking for abject shit, but something cheap. last time I made the thread I came to the conclusion that all I really need is the roller bit.

This time however, i'm wondering what else can be made with a pasta maker I may not be thinking of?

I heard crackers and pastries before, so that got me thinking, what is the range for a pasta maker I would want in terms of thinness. personally I think if something called for 4mm or thicker I could easily roll it out without the use of a tool, the tool would just make it easier, so I have to ask what range should I be looking at for this? I have one I'm looking at that is .3-2.6 mm, I doubt im going to use the thinner settings, but I can see maybe 1mm being used for noodles, however, lets say I want to make a gram cracker or something, im unsure how thing/thick I would want that.

[Anonymous No.11318161]

>>11318154

cheap pasta makers are fine, I have the exact same one.

the thing is that everything depends on how you prepare the dough, not the instrument you will use to make it into the desired shape

I learned how to make pasta from my grandma and I've been experimenting for at least 15 years.

[Anonymous No.11318162]

how in the actual fuck do you even clean that motherfucker

[Anonymous No.11318168]

>>11318154
Just make tagliatelle and save the money and space

[Anonymous No.11318196]

Pasta makers will only make your pasta more uniform (if the dough is proper), it will not make it easier, faster or better.

[Anonymous No.11318223]

You can't really do too much because the space through which the dough passes is only about 12 cm or so. You can't make big sheets or a pie crust or anything like that. If you want to make noodles, lasagna, filled pastas, and dumplings, then you're good. If you're looking for other, non-traditional uses to justify getting the thing then maybe you don't really want it.

[Anonymous No.11318226]

>>11318196
disagree, it is much faster and easier than rolling out with a pin, also better for many shapes of pasta unless you are willing to roll by hand for a long time until the dough is thin enough

[Anonymous No.11318229]

>>11318162
you don't

[Anonymous No.11318257]

>>11318196
I have fairly large issues with the dough clinging onto the rolling pin along with it bunching up on the surface I have to work, and due the the surfaces texture and gloss, its near fucking impossible to tell if its dough or if was damp in the first place. that and how thin I need to make it for noodles tends to get harder the thinner I make it. If I had more skill or a wooden surface to work on, maybe I wouldn't need a roller at all, but I dont have the money for a better surface, most other aspects I could improve would only be improved for the sake of pasta which at this point i cant justify, and if it makes the process faster, that is also better due to issues with my back and feet, which again it should do.

>>11318223
someone mentioned last thread crackers, which got me thinking of chips, tortilla chips, and also gram crackers,

let's say I wanted to make a crust, I could make the sheets, then fold the sheets over onto themselves like I do with reynolds wrap, then rolling pin the seam, that should be good enough, may not be 100% uniform, but would likely be less work then trying to roll out even close to a uniform thickness.

at least thats how im thinking of something bigger that could be pressed together. but like I said, let's say I wanted to make a gram cracker of sorts, I don't really have one next to me to take my calipers to, but how thick would that be?

also given the size, I think I could roll out crescents with this too, granted an after I roll it out and add butter but it may be possible, given how thick and how thin a pillsbury premade one is.

but i digress, my issue right not isn't about justifying one, its more I have one in mind but if it is good enough for long term use and I don't end up buying something better, I want to make sure its something that that has more uses than just making noodles. I see ones that are 6mm starting but end at .6 and I see ones like this one that start at 2.6 and end at .3mm

[Anonymous No.11318282]

>>11318257
Buy a huge cutting board and/or just use more flour

[Anonymous No.11318283]

>>11318226
Rolling pins and benches are easier to clean than a finicky machine, so it evens out.

[Anonymous No.11318303]

>>11318282
huge cutting board would really only be necessary for noodles, and its cost would be quite a bit more, as for use more flour, sure that could work but I also end up with issues where its a bit to floury and makes soups I put it in clouded if I want the noodles to cook inside the soup.

I think the roller is the best middle ground for my various needs, just want to know what thickness would be good if I wanted to make crackers with it too

>>11318283
pins and benches also tend to cost more over all and cleaning shouldn't be to big an issue, especially if i'm not worried about getting it 100% clean

[Anonymous No.11318309]

>>11318283
its the complete opposite, the machine only needs a quick rinse, benches take much longer to clean, especially if the dough was sticky

[Anonymous No.11318317]

>>11318309
Yum, I can't wait to taste your pasta dusted with mold.

[Anonymous No.11318325]

>>11318257
You'll probably have an easier time with machines that have larger openings. You'll be able to start feeding the dough through the machine earlier, instead of stretching and rolling it beforehand so that it's small enough to fit through a 2.6 mm gap. It seems like it would be a pain to do that with every piece of dough. 6 mm would be easier.

And what would you really need .3 mm dough for? Some kind of dim sum maybe? You definitely wouldn't need it for crackers.

[Anonymous No.11318329]

>>11318309
>quick rinse

[Anonymous No.11318383]

>>11318317
>>11318329
its nonstick, if your dough is rested not a single thing sticks to it. you are probably also worried about botulism when making pickles

[Anonymous No.11318389]

>>11318162
Foot on it, pressure washer out back like a real cuck

[Anonymous No.11318405]

>>11318154
I make these lavash crackers with mine. Don't know how many mm they are but I roll to the #4 setting on my Mercator Atlas machine. Seems like the #1 or 2 setting would be about right for graham crackers because I think they have a heat activated levening agent like baking powder.

[Anonymous No.11318422]

>>11318325
well aware I wouldn't be using .3mm, in fact looking at some more expensive ones, none go that thin so i'm hard pressed to think what that thinness would be used for, however im also on the side of if this is going to do everything i need, it has the least shit warranty and return policy I can see.

>>11318405
good to know, more users and potential mm of what you use it for if you know, having this as a basis will help figure out which one to get.