How dried pasta is made
Dried pasta is a dough of just semolina and water, pressed through a die, then dried slowly.
- stations
- 7
- things upstream
- 3
- raw sources
- 2
- steps from the ground
- 2
The short version
A pasta factory mixes semolina from durum wheat with water into a crumbly dough, then kneads and forces it through a die under pressure. The die decides the shape. Cutters slice the strands or tubes to length, and long dryers remove the water at low temperature. Dried pasta keeps for years.
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Mill the durum into semolina
Hard durum wheat is milled to coarse, golden granules called semolina, rather than fine flour. The bran is sifted out, and vitamins and minerals lost in milling may be added back.
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Hydrate into a stiff dough
Semolina and water are mixed in a vacuum chamber into a crumbly mass like damp sand. Eggs can be added for richness but are not required.
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Knead and push through a die
A screw presses and kneads the dough into one mass and forces it through a die. Holes in the die can be round for spaghetti, shaped for macaroni or formed with inserts for fusilli. Most dried pasta is made by extrusion.
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Cut to length
A rotating knife slices short shapes right at the die face. Long strands are hung over rods and cut to size later.
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Pre-dry the surface
Warm air blows over the fresh pasta so its outside sets. This stops the pieces from sticking to each other or sagging.
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Dry slowly in a long chamber
Pasta needs low-temperature drying for several hours in humidity-controlled chambers. Drying too fast leaves cracks that cause it to break in the pot.
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Cool, pack and ship
The brittle pasta is cooled, weighed and boxed or bagged. Dried pasta can be shipped far and has a long shelf life.
Worth repeating
- There are 310 specific pasta forms known by over 1,300 documented names.
- A license for the first pasta factory was issued in Venice in 1740.
- Pasta dough kept in a drying chamber too fast cracks, so factories dry it slowly for hours at low temperature.
Back to the ground
Follow every input upstream and pasta starts as these 2 raw sources.
Open the whole family tree
Keep walking
Sources
Cite this page: "How dried pasta is made." Assembly Line, 2026-11-03. https://assemblyline.org/make/pasta