Sourdough Spaghetti
Fresh spaghetti is a different animal from the dried box — softer, faster to cook, and better suited to simple sauces than to anything heavy. Made with discard it picks up just enough tang to stand up to garlic and chilli.
Ingredients
Dough
- 1 batch sourdough pasta dough (200g 00 flour, 100g discard, 2 eggs, ½ tsp salt)
To finish
- Semolina flour, for dusting
- Garlic, chilli, good olive oil and parsley
Method
- Prepare the dough. Make and rest the sourdough pasta dough as directed.
- Roll. Roll each quarter to the third-thinnest setting, around 1.5mm. Spaghetti wants slightly more body than ribbon shapes so the strands hold their round-ish section.
- Dry the sheets. Rest the sheets on a floured cloth for 10 to 15 minutes until the surface is faintly leathery. Damp sheets clog a spaghetti cutter instantly.
- Cut. Pass each sheet through the spaghetti attachment. Without a machine, dust heavily, roll the sheet loosely and cut it into the narrowest ribbons you can manage.
- Separate and nest. Toss the strands with semolina, shake them out, and coil into loose nests on a dusted tray.
- Cook fast. Boil in well-salted water for just 2 minutes. Fresh spaghetti is done far sooner than you expect — start tasting at 90 seconds.
- Finish in the pan. Warm the garlic and chilli gently in oil, add the drained spaghetti with a splash of cooking water, and toss hard for 30 seconds until the sauce clings.
No starter yet?
Every recipe here begins with a live culture. You can buy sourdough starter from us — lab-verified, active in about two hours, free UK delivery. Then keep the discard for pasta.
FAQ
How long does fresh spaghetti take to cook?
About two minutes, sometimes less. Fresh pasta is already hydrated, unlike dried, so it needs only to heat through and lose its raw floury edge. Start tasting at ninety seconds.
Can I make spaghetti without the machine attachment?
Yes, though the strands will be more ribbon-like than round. Dust a rested sheet heavily with semolina, roll it into a loose flat coil and slice as narrowly as you can, then shake the strands out immediately.
Why did my strands stick together?
The sheet was too damp when cut, or was not dusted enough afterwards. Let the sheets firm up for ten to fifteen minutes before cutting, and toss the cut strands in semolina straight away.
Can I dry fresh spaghetti for storage?
Yes. Hang the nests or drape strands over a rack until snap-dry, which takes 12 to 24 hours, then store in an airtight container for up to a month. Dried strands need about three minutes to cook.
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