The migration of water, and the influence of water content and heating rate on the rheological and structural formation of pasta dough were investigated. During heating, the local water content was measured in the center of the samples with a fiber optic NIR-instrument. The rheology of the heat-treated samples was studied by tensile tests. Young's modulus, the stress at maximum load and the energy to break point were calculated. The microstructure of the samples was characterized by confocal laser scanning microscopy, and the parameters were quantified by image analysis. No migration of water inside the samples could be found, and both the water content and the heating rate affected the structural and rheological properties of the samples.