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Hi Melissa,
What a coincidence. Yesterday I decided to make whole wheat pasta from durum wheat ground in our Mockmill 200. Let’s just say it was a learning experience. I probably should have double milled it as after I already had the eggs in I discovered it was coarse like semolina. I was trying to make the dough in the food processor with the plastic dough blade and that didn’t work well, at all. We did manage to roll and cook some and it tasted good and the texture was ok. So we wrapped up the rest of the dough and put it in the fridge overnight.
Any time I’ve placed a grain order the emmer hasn’t been in stock. I would like to try it for pasta based on your results.
The food processor is the way to go for the dough, but use the metal blade. I use 50/50, spelt and AP strong unbleachedwhite. Had the same issue with grinding my spelt, the problem being that if you don’t grind it fine enough your pasta wants to rip from the rough particles. Finer flour will give you a nice texture and you can roll it quite thin if you want.
Randy, That’s what I found as well. I almost think it is easier to make the dough by hand on a board than to use an appliance. The feel of the dough is simpler to control by hand. Next time. Pasta tasted better than any commercial whole grain pasta that we’ve bought.
Keith
@KeithG2965 @rlfrancisco I’d echo what Randy said about getting the flour as fine as possible. I don’t need to double mill anything but beans and corn, but maybe I’m more aggressive with the mill setting. Definitely do what works for you. I have heard that freezing durum helps with double milling – the flour is cooler for the second pass so it doesn’t jam up. This advice came from a professional baker who mills a lot at once.
For mixing the dough, sometimes I use my stand mixer, sometimes the food processor (metal blade for me too!) and sometimes I get it all mixed up in a bowl.
The more pasta I’m making, the more likely I am to use machines for mixing or rolling 
Keith, I’m glad your pasta came out delicious!
Hi, I’m curious about the water. My standard 00 flour pasta recipes only use eggs, salt, and a little oil. Is there something about the emmer that requires water or is this just a preference?
Emmer will absorb more liquid than Tipo 00, but there is no specific reason for the liquid to be water. You can use eggs as the only hydration if you want.
The addition of water might relate to the specific texture and gluten structure of emmer. It tends to absorb moisture differently compared to 00 flour.
And this could impact the dough’s elasticity, hence the inclusion of water. It might also be a preference to achieve the right consistency. By the way, have you checked out MK Library? They often have great insights into alternative flours like emmer and fantastic recipes to explore different pasta variations.