Chefs: How do I keep the thickness of my ravioli dough consistent?

You’ll have to come up with a tool of some sort. Find a piece of plastic the desired thickness and put parallel strips of that plastic on both sides of your board at a distance just under the width of your rolling pin. The plastic will keep you from rolling your dough any thinner than the plastic and as long as you exert enough force that the pin rolls on the plastic strips the result should consistently be the desired thickness.

I was going to say get a pasta machine, but you seem be against that. If you already have a kitchenaid, (which most restaurants do…) then the pasta attachment can work wonders.

Sorry this isnt the answer you wanted.

A variation on whatthefluther’s method is to wind duct tape around each end of the rolling pin, building it up to the thickness you want the dough (actually, a little thinner than you want the dough since the dough will spring back a bit). That has the advantage of being adjustable for the exact thickness you want.

Without a pasta machine (look for a cheap one used), it’ll be tricky. Harp’s idea is a good workaround.

Yet another variation on Harp and WTF’s suggestions (and what I used before I got my pasta machine) are wide rubber bands (like the kind that comes around bunches of broccoli) on the ends of your rolling pin. It might take several layers to get your desired thickness. Cooking stores actually sell bands to do just this in different thicknesses. They look sort of like those livestrong bracelets. Good luck.

I am telling you get the kitchenaid mixer with the pasta roller it is worth it.

I’m with ya, gooch. I love mine. I use it a couple of times a month.

Kitchen aid rocks. So does the rubber band method (which is how Alton Brown from Good Eats makes his)

@ breed, wanna make some ravioli? pumpkin w/ brown butter and sage? all my brain can think about right now is pumpkin…

@Marcis: I wonder why?