Customer Reviews

KitchenAid KPRA Pasta Roller Attachment for Stand Mixers

5 star:		(243)
4 star:		(41)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(7)
1 star:		(18)

 

 

I have had every kind of pasta roller - the chrome manual kind, the one that does everything (mixes, extrudes) and now this. I LOVE it. I love having my hands free to hold the dough going in and coming out and not having the manual roller shift all over the place. I am amazed how thin I can make the dough - tissue paper-thin. My only complaint, and I make it for the sake of completeness, is the fact that it took SEVERAL batches of dough (the first of which I was willing to sacrifice) to "clean" it out. I noticed what looked like metallic deposits all over my dough, especially on the edges. This was very distressing to me. I tried wiping the roller with a towel (for about an hour), I tried rubbing it with olive oil and I tried dusting it with flour, all of which helped, but it was ridiculous how much time I had to spend and how many batches of dough I had to waste (about four)! Overall, however, I am very pleased, but I think they should include in the instructions a statement to the effect that you should expect to see the deposits and how to clean it, or they should make sure it's cleaner before sending it out!

I highly recommend this attachment.
This attachment is very well made (Made in Italy). It attaches, detaches and cleans up easily, and most importantly, it works very well. This device only makes flat pasta so if you want rigatoni or penne, you'll be disappointed. I've made fettuccine and ravioli. After you've eaten home made semolina pasta, box pasta will never measure up. Be aware that making fettuccine is not that difficult but fresh ravioli is another story...it's quite a bit of work even with this machine. Making the filling and stuffing and sealing each ravioli is laborious. However, prior to getting this device, I used to use a hand crank machine. That's just way too much work. These rollers make the job manageable. The roller makes very consistent pasta, even when you use the thin settings.

My suggestion for a good pasta recipe is :
2 cups Semolina flour
1 cup unbleached flour
3 eggs
½ teaspoon of salt
6 tablespoons of water (most recipes say 3 but that just doesn't work well.)
*Some recipes like the one that comes in the box with this attachment, recommend the use of oil. I have not tried that approach yet. It probably works fine too, you be the judge.

** Some process advice: mix the 2 flours in the Kitchen aid bowl using the paddle beater. Mix the eggs and water together with a whisk and slowly add them to the mixer while in motion on setting 2. After the big, kind if hard dough ball forms, stop and change over to the dough hook for a couple of minutes. If you make ravioli, you'll want flexible dough or you'll get cracking. If the dough cracks or if air is captured inside during the sealing process, they are garbage as they will come apart in the boiling water.

To get dough flexible enough that it doesn't crack while making the ravioli, be sure to cover the dough between the first and second rollings and not let it sit longer that 30 minutes. Here's where the oil recipes may have an advantage...also, a light coating of water will help make a good seal.

I also picked up the Villaware 10-Square Ravioli Maker from Amazon. It is a metal and plastic form that helps you make 10-2.5 inch square rav's at one time. It works well but 2.5 inch rav's are a bit small. You will also have a tough time getiing a sheet of rolled pasta out of the rollers that is wide enough to cover the form as the rollers are close to the same width as the form.

Good luck!

I decided to purchase this attachment instead of the other Kitchenaid pasta attachment (plates + food grinder) because I wanted to be able to make any kind of pasta: spinach, semolina, whole wheat, egg-free etc, and not be confined to a small number of recipes that were sure to work well with the plates. It has worked like a charm. Even the egg-free spinach pasta, which was very dry and crumbly to start, came out perfect.

The widest setting on the roller works to knead/roll the dough until its pliable enough to continue. Its amazing how such flaky dough can become so evenly mixed with minimal effort. From this point, its just a few more settings until you've got angel-hair thin dough. It is important to use the cutter before the ends of your dough dry out, lest they will clog the cutter.

Pasta is my favorite food, and this contraption makes it possible to make my own healthy, delicious pasta recipes at home, quickly!

I ran one ball of dough through the machine and I was done. No metal shavings, no grease, no discolored parts. I have only had my machine for 3 months so perhaps the manufacturer has listened to the complaints of those who purchased their machines longer ago and who had problems. A success story for quality control and buyer feedback??

A couple of tips. I thought that a low speed setting for the mixer would be most appropriate. Bad idea. I find that the best speed settings for the roller and slicing attachments are 3 or 4. If you go slower, you get a less regular texture. Too much quicker and the dough tears.

Not documented in the booklet that comes with the device is that you can widen the rollers a bit extra if you go clockwise a bit past 1. This is where I start my rolling. I usually put the ball of dough through this setting 2-3 times, folding it in half before each re-roll.

I then narrow the rollers 2 notches for each subsequent rolling until the desired thickness is achieved. I use the following settings for different types of pasta:
Ravioli - 4
Linguini - 6
Fetuccini - 5
'Broken Noodles' - 5

You can go thinner for things like angel hair pasta, but I usually prefer heartier pastas which Tuscan-inspired sauces.

Take note - if you are making pasta for a group larger than 3-4, or are otherwise not planning on taking it directly from the roller to boiling water, you will need a good pasta rack/dryer unless you have acres of counter space. If you attempt to accumulate your pasta in a 'pile' before cooking, you get a big blob of pasta-ish dough and you will need to completely re-roll it. Laying the pasta in a flat, single layer, is an option but I do not have that much counter space. I therefore use a pasta dryer to hang the pasta for a few minutes to a couple of hours until I am ready to boil it.

Updated June 3, 2009 - We have been using this now for just shy of 5 years and it still works very well. The device has been easy to maintain, there has been no build up of gunk even though you cannot wash it in soap and water, and the rollers are still spinning evenly despite semi-regular use.

Updated June 2010 - Still going strong!

I've been rolling and cutting pasta the old fashioned way for 20 years - I'd mix it in a food processor, and then roll it out with a rolling pin and cut it with a pizza cutter. After hubby-dear bought me a cobalt blue KA mixer for Christmas, though, I decided that I wanted a pasta roller set. ...didn't let me think about it too long, either - I ordered it on Friday, and received it on Monday.

This little contraption is so much FUN! I mix my dough either in the food processor or in the bread machine, let it rest under a bowl for about 30 minutes or so, cut it into 4 - 6 pieces, flatten it out as much as I can with my hands, sprinkle it with flour, and run it through the "wringer". A few times through at progressively thinner settings, and, voila! Perfectly rolled pasta that's tender and delicious. (The resting period is a secret to tender pasta). A light sprinkling with flour before each trip through the roller or cutter is excellent insurance against sticking. Cleaning is a breeze - just a wipe down and it's done. If by some chance a bit of dough DOES stick in the roller or cutter, the supplied brush or a toothpick pops it right out.

It's fun to make a plain dough and a green spinich dough, roll them out separately, then run them back through the roller back to back. You can get a very pretty two-toned laminated pasta that way that's green on one side and white on the other.

Overall, I've been very pleased with the KitchenAid Pasta Roller/Cutter attachments, and would recommend the set to anyone. Just be sure (a) to flatten the dough with your hands as much as possible before feeing it through the rollers, so as not to overstrain the motor, and (b) sprinkle the dough with flour before each trip thought the roller or cutter.

Great pasta that's fun to eat, and fun to make!

This is, without a doubt, my favorite KitchenAid attachment. If you like to make fresh pasta, these rollers are well worth the money.

The pasta roller attachment works in the same way a manual pasta machine does. You pass the dough through the roller set until the desired thickness is achieved. Then you pass the strips of dough through cutters for either fettuccine or angel hair. This joy of using these rollers is that you don't have to crank a machine by hand or find a surface to clamp it down to.

I have been making fresh pasta for over 35 years and I have used several different methods. The KitchenAid roller attachment is the best that I have used. It is fast and effortless and clean-up is a breeze (a cleaning brush is included). The documentation that comes with the attachment is clear and easy to understand.

There is one minor flaw with the roller unit. The thickness it is set for does not always align with the marks on the adjustment wheel. This is NOT a critical problem. You can clearly see and feel the thickness of the dough and you can easily adjust the thickness accordingly. Also, if you turn the adjustment handle all the way around a couple of times the problem will correct itself. My hand cranked Atlas machine has the same minor flaw and it has NEVER affected the final outcome of my pasta. In my opinion, this problem is so minor that I will not mark the product down for it.

Overall I think that this is a well made and easy to use product. Making fresh pasta on the spur of the moment is effortless.

If you are looking for a pasta attachment for your Kitchen-Aid mixer this is the one to buy. I use mine very frequently and am very happy with the ease and results. If you are used to using a manual roller pasta maker, this makes things so much easier. No need to look for a table to clamp the roller to anymore. Get the dough consistancy right and you are in business. I use Semolina flour and an egg with a little olive oil. (Hint) If you fold the edges of the dough in while you are rolling, it makes for less waste and cleaner edges on the pasta. This pasta maker is superior to the frustrating Kitchen-Aid pasta maker #SNFGA.

EXCELLENT product. The only drawback is that not everyone has the luxury to own a $200 plus motor to power this. I do. My Mom used to make several batches of fresh Chinese egg noodles and Won Ton Mein for the family. We are lucky to be 5 children, so each of us helped Mom crank turn her manual pasta roller. Now, 25 years later, I showed this marvel to Mom, and now we are making pasta again at home!!! Mom usually doesn't accept well the new technology gadgets, so I told Mom, I am getting this pasta roller, it looks exactly like the one she owned, but it is just separated in 3 pieces and it uses an electric turner. She loves it to her amaze, we ended up making 3 batches in a row the first day. The recipe booklet is fine. One suggestion, don't bother to use the flat beater to mix the ingredients initially. Don't get that spoiled. Do the initial mixing with a long and narrow wood spatula or spoon, or with your hands. The flat beater tends to splash the flour out (yes the pouring shield helps, but the less gadgets the easier the cleanup after). When you do the initial mixing by hand you can really tell if your pasta mix is too wet or too dry. Mom said to try to make little clumps, and if it sticks together and if it does not stick to your finger, it is the right wetness. It only takes a few minutes to do the initial mixing, I do it in the mixer's bowl, inside my kitchen sink, call me a neat freak. Then I let the dough hook finish the rest, usually up to 6 minutes (not 3 as written on the booklet). Then I finish kneeding by hand. Mom said to throw the dough against the kitchen counter or floor, the more you throw it, the better. I found it is easier to throw it than to try kneeding it with your knuckles. ENJOY. Get one.

Ya gotta love this three piece attachment set. The roller set is truly like having an extra set of hands. It not only does the cranking for you (vs hand cranking) but you feed the dough in from the top and gravity takes over pulling it through (vs pulling it through laterally on a hand crank machine). It really is like having another person helping you prepare the pasta dough.

The cutters work very well, too. I would encourage you to run at least two batches of dough through each set of cutters and throwing away the resultant noodles before actually using the cutters in making pasta to eat. This will get out the fine metal shavings in the cutters. From then on you're good to go. Also, I invested another $15 at Amazon for a simple wooden pasta rack. Well worth the money and much more elegant than hanging your noodles over the back of a chair. Enjoy!

I first saw this attachment for the Kitchen Aide mixer on Mario Batali's cooking show on television and knew I had to have it. I have used the hand cranked pasta machine ever since I first started making pasta, and as the Italian Food Host at BellaOnline, I have made a lot of pasta in my time. This attachment makes rolling and cutting pasta so much easier and quicker, there is no longer any excuse not to make fresh pasta. I found the attachment very easy to use, and cleaning up was simply a wipe down with a damp cloth. If you already have the table mixer and like making fresh pasta, then I highly recommend buying this roller attachment.