Hand Rolled Pici Pasta (great beginner shape!)

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Homemade pici pasta is one of my absolute favourite pasta shapes to make and eat, it has a wonderful chewy texture that can't be beaten. Pici is a really rustic shape originating in Tuscany and is a hand-rolled spaghetti shape that is often paired with my favourite cacio e pepe sauce. It is so simple to make, all you need is flour, water and olive oil. Rolling the strands take a bit of time but it's worth every minute!

Strands of pici pasta on a wooden cutting board with lots of semolina. Some curled into a nest others lying flat

Hello! This is a really easy to follow guide to making hand rolled pici at home. You don't need a pasta machine or any special equipment and is an amazing fresh pasta shape for beginners. Hand rolled shapes are seriously some of my favourite, I find it a relaxing activity and it's fun to get family and friends involved!

This is an eggless pasta, so perfect if you are vegan. If you would like to make a more traditional egg pasta dough then make sure you check out my easy homemade pasta dough, it's perfect! From there you could make homemade pappardelle or filled pasta shapes easily.

A bench top with a plate of coked pici in a cacio e pepe sauce with caramelized onions. Fry pan above with tongs.

Ingredients

Flour - either '00' or all purpose flour

Water - I like to use room temperature or slightly warm water, it brings the dough together nicely.

Extra Virgin Olive Oil - use anything you have at home.

Semolina - you will need coarse semolina to dust the strands so they don't stick together.

White plate with pici in a cacio e pepe sauce with olives, basil and lemon zest. Fork resting.

Equipment

Scales - You cannot make any kind of pasta from scratch without scales. The weight of the flour and water are so vital to the success.

Rolling pin - although you roll the shape out by hand you need to roll out the pici dough quite thinly first with a rolling pin.

Wooden cutting board - you need to roll onto a wooden board as it creates the grip you need to create long thin strands.

Baking tray - I line a baking tray with parchment paper and lots of coarse semolina for the finished shape.

A pile of pici pasta dusted with lots of semolina on a wooden chopping board.

How to make pici dough

Ingredient measurements and a short tutorial video are in the recipe card below. If you want a quicker and cleaner way to bring the dough together use a food processor! Just place all the ingredients in a food processor and pulse until it forms an even breadcrumb like mixture. Take the blade out then squeeze it all together with your hand and bring out onto a clean work surface to knead.

A hand tipping flour onto bench out of a stainless steel bowl.

Weigh your flour in a large mixing bowl then tip it out onto your bench.

Water being tipped into a well in the flour.

2. Make a well in the middle (I use the bottom of the bowl to do this as it compacts the walls nicely) then pour in the warm water

Olive oil being poured from a measuring spoon into water.

3. Add the olive oil.

A hand mixing the liquid centre with a fork.

4. Whisk the water with a fork, slowly and carefully incorporating the flour from the outside into the middle.

5. Keep mixing until the middle forms a thick paste.

6. Use a bench scraper, a knife or fork to start really mixing the ingredients together fully.

7. You want to get an even shaggy mixture using an up and down cutting motion to break up the chunks.

Two hands bringing the dough mixture together into a ball.

8. Squeeze the mixture in your hands, bringing it into a ball. It will come together I promise!

9. Knead the ball for 4 - 5 minutes.

A ball of dough with bench scraper behind.

10. After 4 - 5 minutes it should look dimpled like this. Wrap up tightly in plastic wrap and rest for 10 minutes.

11. After 10 minutes knead for another 2 - 3 minutes.

12. You should end up with a lovely smooth dough like this. Wrap up again tightly and rest for 30 mins - 1 hour.

Rolling out the pici

Knife cutting the dough ball into 4 pieces.

Use a quarter of the dough at a time, keeping the rest tightly wrapped.

Hands rolling a piece of dough flat with a rolling pin.

2. Roll the piece out until about 3mm thick. The shape really doesn't matter so don't stress about that.

Strips of flat dough on a wooden cutting board with a knife in background.

3. Cut into 1.5cm wide strips with a sharp knife, they will be all different lengths which is fine!

4. Pinch the strip of dough together then with the palms of your hands flat on the board, roll it out from middle to edges.

Two hands rolling the piece of dough out into a long strand.

5. Keep rolling, pulling slightly as you roll from middle to edges.

Hand holding a finished strand of pici pasta.

6. You should end up with a long thin strand. Cut them in half if they get too long when rolling. There are no rules! Repeat with remaining dough.

A hand dusting the strands with semolina.

The key is to dust the long strips with A LOT of coarse semolina to stop them sticking. You can curl them up into nests or store them flat on a tray lined with parchment paper (if you are worried about them sticking).

Storing pici

If cooking straight away

If you plan to cook your pici pretty soon after making them then store them on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. The strands should be well coated with semolina to stop them sticking (the more the better, it comes off when cooked). You can wrap them in little nests or store them flat in a single layer.

If not cooking straight away

The freezer is always my preferred method for storing pasta! Pici cooks from frozen perfectly and you'd never be able to tell! It's easiest to store pici in the freezer in little nests. Wrap the strands around your hand and dust really well with semolina. You'll have four nests or so from one batch of dough.

Place the nests in the freezer uncovered on a sheet tray and freeze for 30 minutes until completely hard. Transfer to an airtight container or freezer bag and then cook from frozen whenever you fancy. The nests come apart in the boiling water.

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Long strands of pici on a wooden cutting board dusted with lots of semolina.

How to cook pici pasta

Cook pici in a large pot of salted water for 2 - 3 minutes.
The texture is really chewy so it won't ever get really soft.
I like to add the cooked pici straight into the sauce with a splash of pasta water and let it gently bubble away for a minute or two to take on flavour and help thicken the pasta sauce.

Want some other hand rolled shapes to try?

Hand rolled shapes are SO fun and I think it's a super fun idea to invite some friends over and do it together! If you know me at all then you know homemade orecchiette is my absolute favourite pasta shape to make and eat. It takes a little practice so for something just as easy as pici try my hand rolled gnocchi sardi. Both of these are made with my semolina pasta dough (made with durum wheat semolina).

Orecchiette on a tray lined with parchment paper.

Pici FAQs

Can you freeze pici?

Yes! I often make it ahead and freeze. When making the nests, sprinkle with lots of coarse semolina and freeze uncovered on a tray straight away. Don't let them get a chance to stick. Once frozen carefully transfer to a container or bag to be cooked from frozen.

Is pici supposed to be this chewy?

Yep! That is part of it's charm! It's a traditional Tuscan pasta, known for it's unique texture. No matter how long you cook it for, pici will have a really chewy bite.

How thin should I roll it?

It really is up to you! Remember it will puff up in the water so go slightly thinner than you think for that reason. Use my photos as a guide. You can make them into lots of shorter pieces too, they don't have to be really long strands.

What sauces are best?

Pici will go with ANYTHING! That addictive chewy texture means it holds up so well in any sauce at all. You could go for a simple cacio e pepe or even any meat ragu like my white pork ragu. It is super delicious paired with my creamy tomato pasta sauce or easy creamy peppery pasta sauce too.

Pici pasta cooked on a white plate in a creamy tomato pasta sauce. Burrata and fresh basil on top and a fork resting in the pasta. — Creamy tomato pasta sauce

Cooked pici pasta on a white plate in a creamy peppery pasta sauce. A fork is twirling into the pasta with crispy sage on top. — Creamy tomato pasta sauce

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