Sourdough Pasta

Homemade sourdough pasta is incredible. The tang of the sourdough starter discard adds a depth of flavor that the average noodle can’t match!

I’m a carb junkie. I freely admit it.

I am my best self when I’ve been eating carbs.

Don’t lie, you’re the same way! You’re here, reading this recipe, after all!

This pasta is guilt-free. It’s lightly fermented and totally homemade from scratch. These are the good carbs “they” talk about!

This sourdough pasta recipe is dedicated to the good carbs.

Rolling fresh sourdough pasta through the pasta cutter.
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Tips + Tricks

No. 1 –> New to sourdough? Need a starter? Check out my super EASY SOURDOUGH STARTER. It’s ready in 24 hours!

No. 2 –> This recipe can be rolled by hand or with a pasta rolling machine. No need for fancy equipment if you don’t have it! If kneading by hand, knead for 10-15 minutes, or until a smooth elastic dough forms. The sourdough discard pasta dough can be rolled with a tenacious hand and a heavy rolling pin!

No. 3 –> As with ALL my recipes, make absolutely sure to measure your flour using the scoop and level method. This involves vigorously stirring the flour in your container or bag, then spooning it into your measuring cup before leveling it off using the back of a knife or spoon handle. This ensures a more consistent result from batch to batch.

No. 4 –> Not all sourdough discards are equal. A fresher, recently fed (within 7 days) sourdough discard will have a much more mild sour flavor than an aged discard been unfed in the back of the fridge for 2-3 weeks. I like to age my sourdough in the fridge for at least 2 weeks after my last addition to get the best tang!

No. 5 –> Because these homemade noodles have so much flavor, one of our favorite ways to eat them is to make a simple garlic butter pasta!

A nest of sourdough noodles on a floured cutting board.

Key Ingredients

Sourdough discard: This recipe is pretty flexible when it comes to starter discard. Use the stuff you’ve been saving in the fridge for a week or use the leftover’s from this morning’s feeding. Just make sure your starter is 100% hydration, and you stir down any bubbles before measuring! Ensure your discard is near room temperature before using, and stir in any hooch that has accumulated on the top, this affects the flavor as well as the hydration level.

Eggs: The yellow yolks of the egg are what gives this dough it’s gorgeous yellow color and tender silky texture.

Flour: I use a high protein all purpose flour in my kitchen for most things. Use flour with ~ 12% protein. This will result in the most consistent results. Calculate protein content as follows:

Grams of Protein / Grams per Serving = _________ X 100 = ______%.
ex: 4g protein /30g per serving =.1333 x 10013.3% protein

Ingredients for homemade sourdough discard pasta noodles.

How To Make Sourdough Pasta

MAKE THE DOUGH:

  1. In the bowl of your stand mixer, add the flour.
  2. Then crack the eggs and add them to the flour. Use a fork to whisk up the eggs and break the yolks. Then add the sourdough discard to the bowl.
  3. Knead with the dough hook for 5-8 minutes or until a silky smooth dough forms. It will be quite tacky at first but as it continues to knead it will firm up. It should be slightly tacky to the touch when done kneading and feel smooth and elastic.
  4. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap (or do like me and use a shower cap!) and set aside for 30 minutes to 3 hours at room temperature, or up to 2 days in the fridge.

ROLL THE DOUGH

  1. Generously flour a clean work surface. Prepare a baking sheet by generously sprinkling with flour, then set aside. If at any point, the dough is sticking to the counter or to the roller, add more flour! Clamp a pasta roller to your counter or table.
  2. Portion the dough into 4-6 pieces. Keep the portions of dough you’re not working in a covered bowl.
  3. Press or roll the dough into an oval-shaped disc, flouring both sides well. Feed this through your pasta roller set on the widest setting.
  4. Continue rolling the pasta dough through the machine as you gradually reduce the thickness of the dough one roll pass at a time. If the dough sticks to the work surface, dust it with flour on both sides. Flour is a good thing here! If the dough gets too long to handle, simply cut the sheet in half. For these photos, I worked with LONG sheets to get the best images, but I generally keep my noodles 10 inches or less, as it’s easier to handle.
  5. Once the dough has reached your desired thickness, sprinkle it with flour again, then transfer the handle to the cutter attachment and feed the sheet through the cutting blades to cut your desired shape (fettuccini or spaghetti) OR leave it as a sheet for lasagna noodles. Sprinkle, or dredge the cut noodles in more flour to prevent sticking.
  6. If you don’t have a pasta drying rack, swirl the cut noodles into pasta nests and place them on the floured baking sheet to dry for at least 30 minutes. I like to turn mine over after 30 minutes and let them dry a further 20-30 minutes.
  7. Repeat with the remaining pieces of dough.

*NOTE: This pasta is a little bit softer than a traditional rolled pasta. If your pasta roller does not want to cut the dough, it’s because your dough is too soft. Knead a bit more flour into the piece you’re working with, then send it through the flat rollers again before attempting to cut sourdough discard noodles.

Batch + Storage Information

Batch:

This sourdough pasta recipe makes about 8 to 10 servings. This recipe can easily be halved or doubled. I like to make large quantities while I’ve got the mess out!

Storage:

Once the sourdough noodles have been rolled, cut, and dried, it can be cooked immediately, stored in the fridge for up to 3 days, or even frozen in an airtight container for up to 3 months.

Sourdough pasta noodles rolled into nests on a floured baking sheet.

How To Cook Homemade Pasta

  1. To cook fresh homemade sourdough pasta, bring a pot of salted water to boil. Add a glug of olive oil to help tame the bubbles.
  2. Add the homemade fresh pasta to the boiling water and cook, stirring often for 3-4 minutes or until cooked to your desired consistency.
  3. Toss the sourdough pasta in your favorite sauce.

Note: Homemade pasta likes to boil over! Watch your pot while cooking the pasta cause it foams up very quickly. I actually like to use a large pot less than half-filled with water for this exact reason.

A nest of sourdough pasta on a floured cutting board.

More Sourdough Recipes To Try

Variations + Substitutions

  • Whole wheat sourdough pasta: Add 1 cup of whole wheat flour in place of 1 cup of unbleached high protein flour.
Overhead view of dried pasta nests.

Stand mixer: I use my KITCHENAID MIXER for so many things. It makes everything much easier – I couldn’t live without it for my baking! I’ve got a bum wrist on my dominant hand which makes kneading quite difficult, having my stand mixer is such a blessing.

Pasta machine: While this pasta recipe can be made without a pasta roller, there’s something really polished about having a pasta roller to do the work. The noodles are consistently rolled and cut. There are manual pasta rollers, which is what I have, and special KitchenAid attachments to automate the process.

If you love this recipe, please give it a star rating or leave a comment below! This helps me to create more content you enjoy!

📖 Printable Recipe

A nest of sourdough pasta on a floured cutting board.

Sourdough Pasta

Allyson Letal
Fresh sourdough pasta is easy to make at home! This 3 ingredient recipe is full of flavor and totally worth the effort.
4.63 from 8 votes
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Rolling Time 45 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 25 minutes
Course Main Dishes, Sourdough
Cuisine Italian
Servings 10 servings
Calories 229 kcal

Ingredients
  

  • 3 cups bread flour or high protein all purpose flour *see note
  • 4 eggs large
  • 1 cup sourdough discard stirred down
  • 1 cup flour for working the dough

Instructions
 

Make the dough with a stand mixer:

  • In the bowl of your stand mixer, add the flour.
  • Then crack the eggs and add them to the flour. Use a fork to whisk up the eggs and break the yolks. Then add the sourdough discard to the bowl.
  • Knead with the dough hook for 5-8 minutes or until a silky smooth dough forms. It will be quite tacky at first but as it continues to knead it will firm up. It should be slightly tacky to the touch when done kneading and feel smooth and elastic.
  • Cover the bowl and set aside to rest for 30 minutes to 3 hours at room temperature, or up to 2 days in the fridge.

Make the dough by hand:

  • Pour flour onto a clean working surface, make a well in the centre of the pile.
  • Crack the eggs into the well, and whisk them to break up the yolks. Add the sourdough discard.
  • Begin mixing the dough slowly scraping flour from the outsides of the well and combining with the egg and sourdough discard. Continue gradually incorporating flour until the liquid dough is thickened, then begin to fold the dough into the flour.
  • Knead the dough for 10-12 minutes, until an elastic dough forms.
  • Place the dough in a clean bowl, cover, and set aside for 30 minutes to 3 hours at room temperature, or up to 2 days in the fridge.

Make the pasta with a pasta machine:

  • Generously flour a clean work surface. Prepare a baking sheet by generously sprinkling with flour, then set aside. If at any point, the dough is sticking to the counter or to the roller, add more flour! Clamp a pasta roller to your counter or table.
  • Portion the dough into 4-6 pieces. Keep the portions of dough you’re not working in a covered bowl.
  • Press or roll the dough into an oval-shaped disc, flouring both sides well. Feed this through your pasta roller set on the widest setting.
  • Continue rolling the pasta dough through the machine as you gradually reduce the thickness of the dough one roll pass at a time. If the dough sticks to the work surface, dust it with flour on both sides. Flour is a good thing here!
  • Once the dough has reached your desired thickness, sprinkle it with flour again, then transfer the handle to the cutter attachment and feed the sheet through the cutting blades to cut your desired shape (fettuccini or spaghetti) OR leave it as a sheet for lasagna noodles. Sprinkle, or dredge the cut noodles in more flour to prevent sticking.
  • If you don’t have a pasta drying rack, swirl the cut noodles into pasta nests and place them on the floured baking sheet to dry for at least 30 minutes. I like to turn mine over after 30 minutes and let them dry a further 20-30 minutes.
  • Repeat with the remaining pieces of dough.

Make the pasta by hand:

  • Generously flour a clean work surface. Prepare a baking sheet by generously sprinkling with flour, then set aside. If at any point, the dough is sticking to the counter or to the roller, add more flour! Clamp a pasta roller to your counter or table.
  • Portion the dough into 4-6 pieces. Keep the portions of dough you’re not working in a covered bowl.
  • Press or roll the dough into an oval-shaped disc, flouring both sides well. Roll the dough until it’s about 1 – 2 mm thick. Add flour to the cutting board and rolling pin as needed to prevent sticking.
  • Once the dough is to your desired thickness, sprinkle it with flour again. Roll the dough into a loose, flat roll, from one short end to the opposite.
  • Slice across the rolled dough with a sharp knife or pizza cutter into even ribbons or strips. Unroll the noodles, sprinkle with flour again!
  • If you don’t have a pasta drying rack, swirl the cut noodles into pasta nests and place them on the floured baking sheet to dry for at least 30 minutes. I like to turn mine over after 30 minutes and let them dry a further 20-30 minutes.
  • Repeat with the remaining pieces of dough.

Cook the pasta:

  • To cook fresh homemade sourdough pasta, bring a pot of salted water to boil. Add a glug of olive oil to help tame the bubbles.
  • Add the homemade fresh pasta to the boiling water and cook, stirring often for 3-4 minutes or until cooked to your desired consistency.
  • Toss the sourdough pasta in your favorite sauce.

Notes

FLOUR: measure your flour using the scoop and level method. This involves vigorously stirring the flour in your container or bag, then spooning it into your measuring cup before leveling it off using the back of a knife or spoon handle

Batch:

This sourdough pasta recipe makes about 8 to 10 servings. This recipe can easily be halved or doubled. I like to make large quantities while I’ve got the mess out!

Storage:

Once the sourdough pasta has been rolled, cut, and dried, it can be cooked immediately, stored in the fridge for up to 3 days, or even frozen in an airtight container for up to 3 months.

Nutrition

Serving: 1gCalories: 229kcalCarbohydrates: 42gProtein: 9gFat: 2gSaturated Fat: 1gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1gMonounsaturated Fat: 1gTrans Fat: 0.01gCholesterol: 65mgSodium: 26mgPotassium: 75mgFiber: 1gSugar: 0.2gVitamin A: 96IUCalcium: 17mgIron: 1mg
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5 Comments

  1. 5 stars
    This was so much fun! Never made pasta before and this recipe was simple with awesome results!
    I do have one question. I chose to make the pasta nests and freeze mine. When I do decide to use them do I just take them out of the freezer and cook them or do I need to defrost them for a period of time first?
    Thanks!!

    1. Hey Shelly, I am not 100% sure on that… They can be frozen, but due to the raw egg, I’m not sure if they can be stored at room temperature even if dried. Sorry I can’t be more help!

    1. Sure! 100% hydration is when your starter is fed equal portions of water and flour by weight. For example, 100g starter, 100g water, and 100g flour.