Final answer:
When making pasta, the dough should rest to relax the gluten strands, making it easier to roll out into thin sheets. Without resting, the dough is too elastic and difficult to work with, and the finished pasta texture would not be ideal.
Step-by-step explanation:
When making pasta, you must allow the dough to rest, or its elasticity will make it too difficult to roll out into thin sheets. The correct answer is a) Rest. Allowing the pasta dough to rest is a crucial step in the pasta-making process because it gives the gluten strands, which are formed during the kneading process, time to relax. This makes the dough less elastic and easier to roll out. Without this resting period, the dough would be very springy and would keep shrinking back, which would make it almost impossible to work with when trying to achieve thin sheets of pasta necessary for many pasta dishes.
Furthermore, resting the dough can also improve the texture of the finished pasta, giving it a more desirable bite and chewiness. A common resting time for pasta dough is about 30 minutes at room temperature, but this can vary depending on the recipe and the humidity of the environment. Skipping this step can result in tough pasta with an unpleasant texture. Therefore, be sure not to rush the process and give the dough the time it needs.