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Flavors and Colors of Pasta

Flavors and Colors of Pasta - Pasta Dough Ingredients

Flavoring Agent

 Description Flavor Color
Unbleached White Flour A standard baking flour made from red winter wheat. Unbleached flour has not gone through all the processing that bleached flour has, so it produces a firmer dough. It is lighter than whole wheat flour and produces pasta dough that is easy to work with. Basic pasta Creamy beige

Semolina Flour

 Flour that is finely ground from hard durum winter wheat. Semolina flour is used to make most dried pastas. It contains a fair amount of gluten, which provides elasticity to the dough, allowing the dough to be formed into a large variety of shapes. Basic pasta Creamy beige

Whole Wheat Flour

 Flour made from whole wheat grain. Whole wheat flour is available in several different grinds and will provide heavier textured pasta than the unbleached flour. The coarser grinds are best used for flat noodles, whereas, the finer grinds can be used for most any shapes. Additional water is generally required when using whole wheat flour. Nuttier than basic pasta Medium tan to light brown
Buckwheat Flour Flour made form buckwheat seeds, which have been toasted. This is a heavy flour that produces dough that is tender but slightly gritty. To lighten its texture and provide smoother dough, it is sometimes mixed with lighter flour, such as unbleached white or fine ground whole wheat. The dough cracks easily so it is best used for thick wide noodles. Strong nutty flavor Light to medium brown
Corn Flour Flour made from corn, which provides a pasta that is wheat and gluten free. Corn flour produces a product that can be used by consumers that have an intolerance to wheat products. It provides a flavorful pasta alternative. The texture of pasta made from corn flour can be slightly grainier than wheat pasta. Corn Bright yellow
Oat Flour High-fiber flour made from oats. It has a coarse texture and can be used in the same manner that coarsely ground whole wheat flour is used for making pasta. Nutty Tan to medium brown
Brown Rice Flour Flour made from rice that has only the inedible hull removed. This flour is high in fiber and resembles pasta dough made from whole wheat flour, except the dough made from brown rice flour is a little stickier. Pasta dough made with brown rice flour works best for making flat noodles. Slightly sweet Tan to light brown
Rice Flour Flour finely milled from non-glutinous rice. Rice flour is used to make thin white translucent Chinese noodles. The noodles are deep-fried to produce crunchy strands, or soaked in warm water and then added to soups or used in stir-frying. Mild Translucent white
Mung Bean Threads Mung bean threads produce a gelatin-like noodle that has a translucent appearance. It is cooked and used in the same manner as rice flour noodles. The noodles are often called bean threads or cellophane noodles and are widely used in Asian cooking. Flavorless, absorbs the flavor of the foods it is combined with Translucent white
Corn Meal Used to add nutrition and a distinct flavor to pasta. Corn meal is always mixed sparingly with flour so the pasta dough does not become too grainy. If the dough is too grainy it becomes difficult to roll out or extrude from a machine. Corn meal dough works best for making flat noodles.

Color Note: The amount and type of corn meal added will determine how much affect it will have on the color. The corn meal may just add specks of yellow, white or blue to the color.		 Corn The type of flour used in making the dough determines the base color. See: Color Note.