Sourdough Pasta Recipe

Learn to make gut-friendly sourdough pasta with our simple recipe. Filled with fermented goodness, sourdough pasta is easy to make and delicious!

You may have heard that properly fermented sourdough bread is better for your gut. But did you know that you can use your sourdough starter to bring these same benefits to pasta?

Why is sourdough pasta so good?

Sourdough is created by fermenting flours in a “starter”. This culture is a unique bio-diverse representation of the place in which it is made.

But sourdough starter doesn’t just foster a healthy community of bacteria for your gut. The fermentation process breaks down “anti-nutritional” phytic acid in wheat, making the minerals in the wheat more available to your body during digestion. The fermentation also goes some way to breaking down the gluten in grains like wheat, rye and spelt.

Gluten is an indigestible protein that many have some sensitivity to. Sourdough bread is often tolerated well by those with a sensitivity to gluten (though it’s important to note it still contains gluten, so it is not suitable for those with a wheat allergy or coeliac’s disease).

So when you make pasta with sourdough starter you turn a carb-heavy staple into a gut-friendly fermented food.

Other benefits of sourdough pasta

But it’s not just all about your guts. Sourdough pasta is a great way to use up sourdough starter discard. And it tastes great!

You can ferment it overnight in the fridge for a full-bodied, complex “sour” flavour. Or try a quick ferment for a milder taste. You can also use whatever flour best suits you, be it wholewheat, spelt, emmer, khorasan or just plain ol’ wheat.

Sourdough Pasta Recipe

Ingredients:

  • 2 eggs
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 300g sourdough starter @ 100% hydration
  • 300g flour

Method:

Whisk eggs with salt. Add starter and flour and work until dough is smooth and uniform.

Cover and leave at room temperature for at least two hours (or until doubled in size). For a well fermented dough, refrigerate overnight.

Shape dough into your favourite pasta shapes. If refrigerated, bring to room temperature before shaping.

For a guide to shaping pasta by hand or with a pasta machine find Mara Ripani’s beautifully photographed guide in Pip Issue 16.

You can cook this pasta fresh – just boil as you would dried pasta, but for only two to three minutes.

You can also dry the pasta and store in a clean airtight jar. It’s best to do this quickly using very thin pasta, as the sourdough will rise if given half the chance! You can use a dehydrator to do this quickly, or simply allow them to air dry.

Would you like more sourdough recipes? Try our sourdough crackers or sourdough crumpets. And if you’re ready to dive right in to the world of sourdough then explore Issue 15 of the magazine.

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