I made Nick Malgieri's Semolina Sesame Braid from The Modern Baker this weekend. You can read about it here. I wasn't crazy about this bread. It was OK, but didn't impress me that much. I found the same thing to be true of the semolina recipes in BBA.
Which has me wondering: am I not trying the right recipes, or could it be I just don't like semolina bread?
I know some of you have made it using sourdough starter, and that I might like that better. But to be honest, I'm not racing to try another semolina recipe. Unless anyone has a great semolina bread that differs significantly and pleasantly from NM's and PR's recipes.
I love the BBA's Pane Siciliano.
The crust and crumb look a lot like your braid, so it might rate similarly.
It's nowhere near 95% hydration, though.
I don't think NM's is supposed to be so high, either. He only gives volumetric measurements, so it's impossible to really tell. But there's no way to braid a dough that wet without a lot of extra flour.
I didn't care for PR's Pane Siciliano, either. So maybe I'm just not a semolina guy.
Leader's "Local Breads" has a nice chapter on pane di Altamura, the DOC bread of Altamura. It's a semolina sourdough. I like the sandwich-loaf (pane in cassetta, p 251 in LB) version of pane Altamura the best.
Leader's Pane di Altamura is a bread that's defeated me on three different occasions. I fear it.
How did it defeat you? FYI, the Altamura pane in cassetta isn't sourdough, so it's a tad easier than the big altamura loaf.
I'll second the motion for Pane Siciliano from BBA. However, I also have to say that ever since I made my own semolina recipe that is a sourdough, I have not baked Pane Siciliano. I think it's true of most breads though... sourdough is just plain better. It sounds like you just aren't a semolina kind of guy though, gaaarp.
What don't you like about the breads? Please explain? I have made many different kinds of semolina breads inculding Pane Siciliano from BBA.
Nick
Nick,
I don't care for the taste or texture of bread made with semolina.
Hi, gaaarp.
I haven't been that fond of the semolina breads i've baked from "Bread" and BBA) either. However, I have liked sourdough breads with 20-25% durum flour subbed for AP or BF.
Earlier this week I baked a sourdough Italian bread with 20% durum flour that everyone (10 votes) thought was fabulous. It was based on the formula in this post: Sourdough Italian Bread and Sandwich Rolls.
I made the following modifications:
1. Used AP rather than BF.
2. Substituted 20% durum flour for an equal amount of AP.
3. I mixed entirely by hand. (Mix all ingredients except salt and biga. Autolyse x 20 min. Add biga and salt. S&F in the bowl -30 strokes x 3 every 20 minutes. Rest 45 min. S&F on the board. Repeat rest x 45 min and another S&F on the board. Proceed with bulk fermentation, etc.)
David
David,
Thanks for the recipe. This looks good enough to make me want to give semolina one last try. When I finish the Breads section in The Modern Baker I'll have a few weeks before we start the next section, so maybe I'll try it then.
Phyl
David,
Finally, an edible semolia bread! Thanks for the recipe. I suspect it's the combination of the biga and relatively small percentage of semolina flour that made it palatable to me.
Thanks again, David.
A couple of my relatives claim the SD Italian Bread is "the best bread (I) make." I don't agree, but chacun a son gout, as we Americans say.
David
You are not alone in feeling underwhelmed by this type of bread. I've made a recipe using a biga... it was enjoyed by others and looked beautiful, but was not my favorite. I decided to save the sesame seeds for other recipes and skip the semolina. paulav