TAKE 2 eggs and about 7 ounces (200g) of unbleached plain flour.
Pour the flour on to a working surface, shape it into a mound, and make a well in the centre of the mound. Put the whole eggs into the well. Beat the eggs lightly with a fork for a minute or two. Start mixing flour into the eggs with a circular motion, drawing the flour from the inside wall of the well.
Use one hand for mixing, the other for supporting the outside wall of the well, lest it collapse and let the eggs run through. When the eggs cease to be runny, tumble the rest of the flour over them and, working with palms and finger-tips, push and squeeze the eggs and flour until they are a well-combined but somewhat crumbly paste. If the eggs are very large, or have exceptional flour-absorption qualities, the mass may be on the moist and sticky side. Add as much flour as the mass will absorb without becoming stiff and dry, but do not exceed 4 and a half ounces (130g) of flour to each egg.
The smooth steel rollers at one end of the machine knead, roll out and thin the dough. The first setting, at which the rollers are widest apart, is for kneading.
Pull off a piece of the egg-and-flour mass about the size of a lemon. Feed the mass through the rollers eight to 10 times, until it is smooth and elastic.
Each time, after you knead it, fold it over and turn it before feeding it through the rollers again, so it will be evenly kneaded.
Shift the rollers to the next setting and pass the kneaded dough through. Do not fold the dough. Lower the setting again, and feed through once more.
Go down all the settings, feeding the dough once through each setting until it is thoroughly thinned out. If the dough is sticky, dust it lightly with flour.
For noodles, allow the pasta to dry on a clean towel for at least 15 minutes (I would think this an absolute minimum in our climate). Before cutting, trim the dough to a workable length, no more than 24 inches.