First Semolina Rimacinata, Thanks Abe!
Abe, is always coming up with interesting breads. He and Alan have talked up 100% Durum Flour bread. I finally gave it a try.
I haven’t sliced it yet, but will post crumb shot when I do. Semolina Rimacinata (remilled Semolina) is very fine ground and interesting to work with. It is much different from typical wheat. As I worked with the dough (100% Durum flour) it felt like something I remembered in the past. It just came to me. It feels like pasta dough. It also feels a lot like soft Play Dough, it really does. I started with 60% hydration and held out 5%. It felt dry in hand so the final hydration was 65%.
The dough is very supple, smooth, and silky. But the gluten is much more fragile than typical wheat. I was able to patiently stretch the dough out in order to laminate. It was actually laminated twice, it worked so well. It didn’t mind slow and gentle stretching but it didn’t handle normal bench kneading well. Pushing my hand into the dough would damage the gluten skin. I elected to roll up the dough (both ways) instead of stretch and folds. Since this was my first time with Durum flour, I’m not sure it was handled properly, but it seemed to take the handling mentioned well.
The Caputo flour was imported from Italy and can be sourced from Amazon.
Now, the real test. It will be sliced tomorrow and taste evaluation and crumb shot will be posted then.
I’m learning new things, and loving it...
Danny
OH! As a comparison, here is a shot of 3 loaves that were baked today. The 2 loaves on each end are 100% home milled Hard Red Wheat. The middle loaf is the durum bread. All loaves are identical in weight. The durum bread rose higher than the others.
Dan
...shining through the bold bake with a dark crust. Looks very inviting. Good oven spring and the scoring opened up very nicely. All-in-all a very successful bake. As for the taste do not expect your typical sourdough flavour but rather a creamy slightly sweet taste. Usually a closed but soft crumb. You might be a bit uninspired at first because the taste is subtle not like the usual sourdough you're after. But toast it up and have it with olive oil and appreciate the transformation.
Thanks, Abe. Even though I have never tasted Durum bread, I consider it a naturally sweet style bread just like Maurizio’s Oat Porridge SD. It was refreshed 3 times in a row and was careful to use the levain before it fell.
Dan
Dan, if the Semolina flour package doesn't say "whole grain" or "integrale", then it is in all probability a refined, ie mostly branless/germless, flour along the lines of All Purpose or bread flour in terms of extraction rate/ash content. So that could be one reason it rose/sprung more than the 100% whole grain loaves.
Since you're a home-miller, if you find a source for decently priced whole durum berries, pls lemme know. I've seen them online at www.rainydayfoods.com, but that's more than what I want to pay.
I have home-milled a lot of Kamut. And it is said that Kamut is a lot like durum, but I've never home-milled durum.
Both durum and Kamut make a yellow flour, and the berries are "vitreous", meaning a bit glassy and translucent.
so far, I've never achieved a decent loaf bread from 100% Kamut, but 100% kamut can make good pizza and flatbread. (My source for Kamut is clnf.org, and I get free shipping with a group order over $400, living in a city on one of their truck's delivery routes, about $27 for a 25 pound bag.)
Dave, I have no idea why Durum berries are so high. But here is a good source, if you want to purchase a large amount. https://pleasanthillgrain.com/buy-durum-wheat-for-sale-bucket
Breadtopia is a good source for smaller amounts. Also, it is nice that the price per pound differs little on the weight increase or decrease. https://breadtopia.com/store/organic-durum-berries/
Rainy Day is the cheapest (counting shipping), but Breadtopia sells organic if that matters to you. I did get bugs in some grain from Breadtopia. I froze the grain and later enjoyed the extra protein. LOL
Dan
The slice was moist and soft. The flavor mild with a hint of sweetness. There are no sour notes, which IMO is a good thing. A buttered slice had a very pleasant bite with a slightly moderate chew. No where near tough or chewy, as typical SD. And not rubbery at all. I have yet to try it toasted, but Abe highly recommends it.
The next durum bread will be Pane cafone (Neapolitan peasant bread) - original Italian recipe.
This bread is a keeper.
Dan
Very successful bakes Dan. Interesting how the Durum loaf has that beautiful yellow colour showing on the top but not so much on the inside.
Benny
Benny, maybe baking it a little less in order to reduce the internal temp might manifest that beautiful creamy yellow crumb. Not Sure...
Mini just shared that too much heat can drive out flavor.
This is typical of a 100% durum flour bread from crumb shot to taste report.
Successful bake! Now try it toasted :)
Sliced thin, well toasted, and slathered with butter. Add a cup of fresh ground coffee and your day is off to a great start. Very nice indeed!
Dan
by Abe, Brad (breadforfun?), and David Snyder. All trying to figure out the secrets of the iconic pane di altamura. Back in early 2016. Maybe some folks prior, but that was what I understood was the driving engine.
I was just along for the ride as I really like semolina based breads. http://www.thefreshloaf.com/node/45441/pane-di-altamura-alfanso-style