How does good pasta dough feel to the touch?
Pasta dough should be smooth in texture and be only slightly sticky.  When kneading it out and folding it over onto itself, it should not readily re-stick to itself, but rather require a bit more kneading to do so.  It should feel slightly tacky (less so than a post-it note) but not aggressively stick to your hands or the counter.  If you get it too dry and it refuses to stick to itself, add a few drops of water.



My pasta method is based on the well method, but in a bowl to avoid making a mess, and adding flour as I go to avoid wasting any.  Start by cracking as many eggs as you want into the bowl, about one per person you'll be serving.  Scramble with a fork.  Gradually add in flour in amounts about equal to the amount of egg, and mix well with the fork--adding too much flour at once, especially early, can result in "pasta sand" which is a difficult condition to recover from.  The dough will go from the consistency of oatmeal, to a paste, to cookie dough.

At some point, the dough will become too solid and the fork will stop being an effective tool--you'll just be pushing a solid mass around the bowl.  At this point it's probably still way too wet, so dump another good amount of flour on top and get in there with your hands.  Once it gets a little less sticky you can dump it onto your counter.  Continue to knead and work in flour until it reaches the consistency described above.  Wrap in plastic wrap and let it rest for 30-60 minutes.

You'll know you've gotten it just right if it barely requires any flour, if any, when rolling.  If you find yourself having to apply flour on every roll, you left it too wet.  It's still perfectly edible, it's just a huge hassle and might turn out a little gummy.  Another thing to look for is that as you roll it thinner, the edges will crack slightly.  If you got it too dry and it wants to crack all over, or is struggling to go through the machine, you can loosen it up with a bit of water--wiping one side with a wet finger should be enough.

If you get the dough to the proper consistency, you won't need to do anything fancy when drying it.  I just lay it out on cookie sheets.  It's okay if it sticks to itself a bit, it'll come apart again in the water.