The simplicity of the hand crank makes it accessible to even the novice pasta maker since it will only go as fast as you crank it, home cooks rarely get flustered or intimidated by the process. You can assemble a manual pasta maker just about anywhere in your kitchen where you can clamp it down on a counter. And, you don’t need to own another appliance (like a stand mixer) to operate them. They are affordable, don’t need to be plugged in, and can be used in peace without the drone of a motor churning while you work. Manual pasta machines: Manual machines have their own charm.The attachments are generally pretty compact and easier to store than manual machines. You can control the speed to fit your comfort level. But, if you already have the stand mixer, electric pasta maker attachments can cut your pasta production time in half (or more!). The attachments are generally more expensive than manual pasta makers, as well. Obviously, in order to use the attachment, you have to first own a KitchenAid mixer (or another stand mixer with the same universal power hub built into the head), which is a significant investment. Electric pasta machines: Unless you are going to invest in a stand-alone electric pasta roller (which is generally very heavy and expensive and more commonly outfitted for restaurants or other commercial production contexts, and, thus, not included in this review), a pasta maker attachment that fits into the power hub of a stand mixer is your best electric option. The slower models also had more friction when cranking, and some of them made pretty awful grinding sounds. On the losing models, the crank slipped out of the insert or got jammed, thus slowing things down. On some machines, this transition was smooth and effortless. On the manual machines, you also have to move the hand crank from one insert to another. Transitions: Once rolled thin, you move the pasta dough from the rollers to the cutter portion of the machine.Another subpar dial had the numbers placed so close together that it was hard to decipher which setting the machine was on at any given time. This significantly slowed down the rolling flow. One particularly problematic machine had the numbers imprinted on the side of the dial instead of on top of it, so you couldn’t read the numbers without craning your neck up and over the machine. The winning machine’s dial was smooth to turn and easy to read. Thickness settings dial: Each machine has a dial to change the distance between the two metal rollers as you roll the dough progressively thinner.The winning machine, the Atlas, had a super stable, tight clamp. The manual models that rocked while rolling (the ones with less stable clamps) took significantly longer to get through a batch of dough. The clamp: The hand-crank machines needed to be clamped onto the counter.Cleanup Tests: After each test, we cleaned the pasta makers by hand per the manufacturers' specifications, identifying any challenges in doing so.Durum Wheat and Water Pasta Test (Winners-Only): We wanted to see how our favorite pasta machines handled, rolled out, and cut an eggless dough.Gluten-Free Pasta Test (Winners-Only): With our favorite models, we made gluten-free pasta to see how they did with a delicate dough made from alternative flour.Thickness Tests: With each model, we used digital calipers to measure the dough thickness at each setting to see how thin each machine could take an intact pasta dough sheet.Angel Hair Pasta Test: With each machine, we rolled and cut angel hair pasta (sometimes called spaghetti, depending on the model) to see how each pasta maker performed with a thinner and narrower noodle strand. We timed how long it took to do this from start to finish.We timed how long it took to do this from start to finish. Fettuccine Test: With each machine, we rolled dough (made from our homemade fresh pasta recipe) to one to two millimeters in thickness and cut it into fettuccine to evaluate each machine’s performance and ease of use.
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