How to Dry Fresh Pasta: Perforated Trays, Sizes and Lids

Fresh pasta left in a bowl or sealed into a tub sweats, sticks to itself and turns claggy inside the hour. The fix is air reaching the pasta from underneath as well as above, which is what a perforated tray gives you. This guide covers how to dry fresh pasta in one, which of our two sizes suits your kitchen, and whether you need the lid.

Why Fresh Pasta Sticks Together

Freshly cut pasta is wet on the surface. Pile it in a solid container and the bottom layer stays damp while the top dries, and that damp layer is the one that welds together. Italian pasta makers rest their production in perforated trays for this reason. Holes through the base and all four walls let air move around every piece, so the whole batch loses surface moisture at the same rate.

How to Dry Fresh Pasta in a Perforated Tray

The method is short, and most of it is about not overfilling the tray.

1. Dust the base of the tray lightly with semolina. Coarse semolina stops wet dough gripping the surface and lets the pasta lift off cleanly once it has firmed up.
2. Lay long shapes such as tagliatelle and pappardelle in loose nests. Spread short shapes such as garganelli, trofie and orecchiette across the base in a single layer.
3. Give it twenty minutes if the pasta is going straight into a pan. An hour or two firms the surface enough to bag or freeze the pieces without them fusing.
4. Add a little more semolina between layers if you need to stack shapes in the same tray, and keep the layers loose.

Gnocchi gain the most from the ventilation, because they stick more readily than any other shape. If you are making them, our gnocchi guide covers the dough, and a perforated tray is the place to rest them before they are cooked or frozen. The same tray goes from worktop to freezer, so nothing has to be decanted along the way.

30 x 40cm or 60 x 40cm?

Both trays are made in Italy by Genus Dei from food-grade PE-HD, are 10cm deep and stack on a raised external base. The difference is the footprint, and it decides where the tray can live.

The 30 x 40 is the one for most people. It sits on the worktop beside a pasta machine and slides onto a domestic fridge shelf, though it is worth checking your shelf depth if your fridge is on the narrow side. Delis and small restaurant kitchens use this size too, often three or four deep in a stack.

The 60 x 40 is a large tray, and it will not fit a domestic fridge. It is a Euronorm size, which matters because it is often assumed to be gastronorm and it is not: a 60 x 40 tray will not sit in gastronorm racking or counter openings. Measure the shelving, trolleys or cold room racking you plan to use before you order.

Do You Need a Lid?

A perforated tray leaves whatever is in it open to the room. If a batch is going to sit on the bench, wait in the fridge next to everything else, or sit at the bottom of a stack, the lid keeps dust, flies and anything knocked off a shelf out of it, and protects the pasta from being crushed.

The lid does not seal the tray, and neither piece is airtight. Air still moves through the perforations with the lid on, so the pasta carries on drying. That means there is nothing to time: cover the tray when you want it protected, lift the lid off when you want it out of the way, and the drying looks after itself either way.

When you stack trays, one lid on top of the stack is enough. A further tray will also sit on top of a lid if you would rather cover each layer. The 30 x 40 tray and lid set and the 60 x 40 tray and lid set are both sold together, and the tray and lid are also available on their own.

Other Jobs for a Perforated Tray

Once one is in the kitchen it rarely stays pasta-only. Washed salad, herbs and blanched vegetables drain in it instead of sitting in their own runoff. Herbs, chillies and sliced mushrooms air-dry in it, and baked goods cool in it without the undersides going soft. Anything you would otherwise spread across a tea towel on the worktop can go into a tray that stacks.

Not for Proofing Pizza Dough

These trays are sometimes sold as perforated dough boxes, so we will be straight about it: they are the wrong choice for proofing pizza dough. Dough balls need their humidity held in. The perforations let it escape, the surface skins over, and a wet dough settles into the holes and tears when you lift it out. A perforated tray does earn its place for knocking the heat out of freshly mixed dough or a short ventilated rest. For a bulk rise or a cold ferment, use the solid 30 x 40 dough box and lid, or the solid 60 x 40 set if you are proofing at volume. Our Genus Dei dough box guide covers those in detail. Perforated and solid boxes share the same profile, so you can mix them in one stack.

Which Tray Should You Buy?

If you make pasta at home, buy the 30 x 40 tray, and add the lid if it will ever wait somewhere it could be knocked or collect dust. If you are producing at volume with a cold room to fill, the 60 x 40 is the size to look at, after you have measured your racking. For everything in between, the full range sits in dough boxes, drying trays and lids, and if you prefer to hang long pasta to dry, the pasta drying racks are the other option.

Shop the 30 x 40 Tray Shop the 60 x 40 Tray Browse Dough Boxes and Trays

Common Questions

How long should fresh pasta dry in the tray?

Around twenty minutes if it is going straight into a pan. Allow an hour or two if you are bagging or freezing it, so the surface firms up and the pieces do not fuse.

Can I put a perforated tray in the freezer?

Yes. The tray is rated from -40°C to +80°C, so pasta can go from the worktop into the freezer in the same tray. Neither the tray nor the lid is airtight, so bag the pasta once it is frozen solid if it is staying there for a while.

Do I need a lid for every tray in a stack?

No. The trays stack directly on each other, so one lid on top of the stack is enough.

Will the 60 x 40 tray fit in a domestic fridge?

Almost certainly not. It is a professional Euronorm size made for cold rooms and commercial refrigeration, so the 30 x 40 is the one for a home kitchen.

Can I use it for pizza dough?

Not for proofing. Perforations let the humidity out, so a solid dough box and lid is the right choice for a bulk rise or cold ferment.

How do I clean a perforated tray?

Wash it by hand in warm soapy water and keep it away from direct flame. The smooth surface wipes clean easily and does not hold odours or stain from dough.