Tagliatelle & Pappardelle Width Standards

Cut from a rolled sfoglia (egg-pasta sheet) approximately 1.5–2 mm thick for tagliatelle and 1.5–2.5 mm thick for pappardelle. The sheet is dusted with semolina, loosely rolled into a cylinder, and cross-cut with a chef's knife at the target width; alternatively cut on a machine with appropriate attachment.

1. 1Roll the sfoglia to the correct thickness: setting 4–5 (approx. 1.5 mm) on a standard Imperia machine for both formats.
2. 2Dust the sheet generously with semolina flour to prevent sticking during the roll-and-cut.
3. 3Loosely roll the sheet into a flat cylinder approximately 10 cm wide; do not press hard or the layers will stick.
4. 4Using a sharp, long chef's knife and a single downward motion (not a sawing motion), cut the cylinder crosswise: every 8 mm for tagliatelle, every 20–30 mm for pappardelle.
5. 5Immediately unfurl each cut section and drape the ribbons over a pasta rack or bunch them loosely into nests on a semolina-dusted tray.
6. 6Cook in heavily salted boiling water for 2–3 minutes from fresh; 4–5 minutes from dried or rested. The pasta is done when it loses its floury center but still has a slight firmness at the core.
7. 7Finish in the sauce with a splash of pasta water; the wide surface area of pappardelle requires a more robust final toss than tagliatelle.

• For hand-rolling on a mattarello, the sheet should be rolled thin enough to be nearly translucent — the flour-dusted surface is what prevents sticking, not a thick layer of dough.
• The fluted pasta wheel (rotella dentata) is used to give pappardelle a decorative crimped border; a straight pizza cutter or knife produces a plain edge.
• Nests should be loosely formed and left to dry 15–30 minutes at room temperature before cooking or storage; tight nests lead to clumping in the water.
• To cut machine-style: the tagliatelle attachment on most Italian machines cuts at ~6.5 mm; for strict Bologna 8 mm, hand-cutting is more accurate.

• Fettuccine

  Effectively the Roman name for tagliatelle; traditionally 6–7 mm wide rather than 8 mm, and cut from a slightly thicker sheet. The two are interchangeable in most sauces.

• Mafaldine (mafalde corte)

  Wide wavy-edged pasta that approximates pappardelle's width but has a ruffled border all along both edges; machine-made.

• Dried egg pappardelle

  Acceptable substitute for pappardelle; thicker than fresh and needs 8–10 minutes to cook; avoid for delicate sauces.

• Fresh lasagna sheet torn into strips

  Emergency substitute for pappardelle; irregular edges approximate hand-torn stracci.

• Pasta Sheet Thickness Grades

  The sfoglia must be rolled to the correct machine setting before ribbon widths can be cut.

• Hand-Torn Pasta (Strappare)

  Strappare tears the same sfoglia into irregular pieces rather than cutting precise ribbons; related technique, opposite aesthetic.

• Tagliolini

  The thin sibling of tagliatelle, cut at 2–3 mm from a thinner sheet (setting 6–7); used in broth or with delicate butter sauces.

• Maltagliati

  Irregular triangular pieces cut from the same sfoglia scraps; the predecessor to both tagliatelle and pappardelle in rustic practice.

1. 1.Camera di Commercio di Bologna — Certificato del tagliatelle originale (1972), archived standard
2. 2.Hazan, Marcella — Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking (Knopf, 1992)
3. 3.Pasta Grannies, Vicky Bennison — Pasta Grannies: The Official Cookbook (Hardie Grant, 2019)
4. 4.Del Conte, Anna — Gastronomy of Italy (Pavilion, 2004)
5. 5.Bugialli, Giuliano — The Fine Art of Italian Cooking (Times Books, 1977)

Confidence: high