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Hi Bold Bakers!
Pasta is one of my main food groups! If you ask me, a well-balanced diet includes a healthy amount of veggies, fruit, protein, plenty of dessert, and lots and lots of pasta. And that includes my new Hand-Rolled Pici Pasta recipe
Have you ever made homemade pasta? It seems harder than it really is, maybe because it’s so easy to pick up a box at your grocery store! Take my 2 Ingredient Homemade Pasta, for example. It’s flour, fresh eggs, and a little elbow grease when using your rolling pin.
But I have a new pasta obsession! Pici pasta is 100% hand-made—even the rolling. And the ingredients are simple too! You only need 4 things: flour, salt, olive oil, and water. That’s right. No eggs.
If you haven’t tried making homemade pasta before, I really recommend giving this pici pasta a go. It’s simple, delicious, and just as satisfying to make as it is to eat!
What Is Pici Pasta?
Who doesn’t like spaghetti, right? Picci pasta is essentially the same as those boxes of pantry staples, except they’re fat, uneven, and perfect. Because it is all hand-rolled, every little bite has a different texture, bringing your dish to a different level!
Some people call the pasta rustic because of how easy it is to make without any equipment, but I think some of the best dishes are made that way. You can make pici just the way you and your loved ones love—thick or thin, long or short, and covered in any sauce you can imagine.
What You Need To Make Pici Pasta
- Measuring cups and spoons
- Mixing bowl
How To Make Pici Pasta
With just a few ingredients and no equipment beyond measuring tools and a bowl, you can make delicious pasta. Here’s how you make homemade pici pasta (and don’t forget to get the full recipe with measurements, on the page down below):
- To make the pasta dough, start by mixing the flour and salt in a large bowl.
- Add in the oil and ¾ of the water to the flour. Mix with either a wooden spoon or your hand to form a dough. Trust your gut here: if it seems like it needs more liquid, add the remaining water, little by little. You want JUST enough water so your dough can form into a ball and clean the bowl.
- Turn out your dough on a LIGHTLY floured surface and knead until it is smooth. This should take around 2 minutes. Cover the dough with a damp kitchen towel and let it rest for 20-30 minutes.
- After letting it rest, roll the dough on a very lightly floured surface until it is 1/4-inch thick. Cover it again with a towel to prevent it from drying out.
- Now comes the fun part! Using a sharp knife, cut a piece of the pasta dough. On a large surface, roll the piece outwards, using both your hands, to roll a noodle as thin as you can. (Watch the video above!) Keep doing this with the remaining dough. Don’t worry if the pieces are the same length or thickness.
- To cook the pici pasta, bring a large pot of water to boil and add a generous pinch of salt.
- Once boiling, drop the pici into the water and cook for 2-3 minutes (fresh pasta takes less time to cook than the boxed, dried kind). Once the noodles float to the top, turn the heat off and let them sit for about 30-60 seconds, then drain.
Gemma’s Pro Chef Tips For Making Pici Pasta
- These noodles are NOT supposed to be uniform, and all the same thickness, so don’t worry if they are thin and thick. That’s what’s make them beautiful!
- I know we want to flour our work surface, but the less flour you use makes it so much easier to roll the noodles.
- These noodles plump when you cook them, so try to roll them as thin as possible.
- Once you roll the noodles, put them on a tray with Semolina flour. Semolina doesn’t weigh down the pasta like flour, AND it stops it from sticking together on the tray once stored for a period.
- I don’t recommend mixing the dough more than 24 hours before you want to roll them.
- To serve, I heat a pan over low heat and add a little cream and my favorite Urbani Black Truffle and Mushroom, salt, pepper, garlic, and parmesan. Fold into the pasta and cook a little to thicken the sauce. Serve immediately and go straight to pasta heaven!
How Do I Store Homemade Pici Pasta?
Once cooked, you can store leftover pici pasta in an airtight container in the fridge for two to three days.
Make More Pasta!
- 2-Ingredient Homemade Pasta
- 3-Ingredient Gluten-Free Pasta
- 3-Ingredient Whole Wheat
- Homemade Gnocchi
And don’t forget to buy my Bigger Bolder Baking Cookbook!
Full (and printable) recipe below!
Try These Recipes!
Watch The Recipe Video!
Hand-Rolled Pici Pasta Recipe
Ingredients
- 3 cups (15oz/426g) strong white bread flour
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 225ml- 250ml (rouglhy 1 cup) water
Instructions
Making the Pici Pasta Dough:
- In a large bowl mix together the flour and salt.
- Add in the oil and ¾ of the water to the flour and mix with a wooden spoon or by hand to form your dough. If the dough seems like it needs more liquid add the remaining water little by little. You want JUST enough water for your dough to form a ball and clean the bowl.
- Turn the dough onto a LIGHLY floured surface and knead until it is smooth, roughly 2 minutes. Cover with a damp kitchen towel and allow to rest for 20-30 minutes.
- On a very lighly floured surface, roll the dough until it is ¼ inch thick. Cover again with a towel to prevent it from drying out.
Shaping the Pici Pasta:
- So this next part is really fun, with a skarp knife cut a piece off the pasta dough. On a large, surface roll your strip outwards, with both palms of your hands, applying pressure evenly and pushing out, rolling the noodle as thin as you can. (Watch the video above for tips). They will be all different lengths and thickness but that is exactly what it's supposed to be. Place on a tray dusted with a little flour or semolina. Repeat until all the dough is used.
- Cook them straight away, or store them spaced apart lengthways on a floured tray, covered with clingfilm, and refrigerate for no more than 24 hours.
To Cook the Pici Pasta:
- Bring a large pot of water to the boil and add a generous pinch of salt.
- Drop the pici into the salted boiling water and cook for 2-3 minutes, until all the noodles float to the top. (tip Once they all rise to the top I turn off the heat and just let the noodles sit there for another 30-60 seconds just to make sure they are done, then drain)
- I heat a seperate pan over low heat and add the noodles, little cream and my favorite Urbani Black Truffle and Mushroom , salt, pepper, garlic and parmesan. Gently stir to coat and heat a little to thicken the sauce. Serve immediately and go straight to homemade pasta heaven.
Another brilliant recipe Gemma. Seems so easy. Big noodle fan myself. Usually Späzle. Might have to change the sauce, don’t think I get ingredients in the uk. I’ll have a look. Thank you for sharing all your fantastic recipes with us. Never looked back since I first watched you making the traditional English Muffins. They are on my to bake list every other day. 😊. X
Hi Gemma, looks great.! Can you make it in to different shapes?
hi, gemma!
can i use whole wheat flour instead?
Couldn’t wait to try this recipe, Gemma, but patiently waited for my order of Urbani Black Truffle and Mushroom to arrive. I followed your recipe and video exactly, and as promised, the flavor was amazing! Both hubby and I loved it (hubs said “this is what you want to eat when you’re really hungry!”) Mine turned out a bit bigger than yours. I’ll have to practice my pasta rolling & twirling skills; they were definitely too thick to swirl like you and Kevin did. Thanks again for another fabulous recipe. I can always count on you for easy to follow… Read more »
Hi Gemma, can I substitute anything for the semolina, because I don’t have any right now, and this looks too good to wait for semolina to be delivered.
Pici is a specialty of Siena
Hi Gemma, today I had no idea what to cook for lunch for my kids and I tried this pasta. It was very easy to make and it is so delicious! Howewer I made it on the sweet side. In Hungary we have a very similar pasta (we put egg and mashed potato in it kinda like italian gnocci) and we eat it sweet. Coated with toasted breadcrumbs and with a lot of sour cream or creme fresh and powdered sugar. I ‘ve sent you a photo of it. My kids named this snake pasta 😊 Anyway thanks for the… Read more »
Hi Gemma, looks great. Definitely will try, especially as you say it can be made with All Purpose Flour as well. By the way, Italians would pronounce this as “peachy”. CI is a soft c.
Can this be made with 00 flour?