Semolina & Durum Flour

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kanewbie on 20 Feb 2012 at 13:44

A gift supply of King Midas #1 Semolina is taking up space in my freezer because I do not make pasta and cannot find a lot of "Semolina Bread" recipes that aren't actually "durum flour" breads.  I have one recipe for King Arthur "golden semolina" that mixes about equal parts AP and semolina and one other recipe that uses even less.  Is 50/50 about the maximum ratio of King Midas #1 semolina to AP I can use and still produce a decent textured bread?  Should I just get better at making pasta?

of semolina bread recipes on TFL.  Just type semolina in the seach window. Semolina is made from hard durum wheat by the way.  I grind it finer and call it close enough to durum for my baking :-)

TFL and all its wealth of information is still new to me and I've just realized that the site needs to be explored and "searched" before questions are posted.  What kind of grinder do you use to make the semolina finer? 

coffee grinder works fine if you do not do more than about about a cup at time.  Just remember that Semolina, even though made from hard Durum wheat isn't Durum made from soft Durum wheat.

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varda on 20 Feb 2012 at 16:11

Before I figured out there was a difference between durum and semolina I baked a bunch of durum recipes with semolina for instance the straight dough semolina bread in hamelman and also one with a poolish.   I'm sure they would have tasted different if I had durum flour, but as I recall these came out very well.   So you could try that even if the recipe says "must use extra fancy durum."  -Varda

My first use of semolina in a "semolina" (but actually durum) bread recipe produced pretty loaf that had an oddly moist texture.  I'll try one of Hamelman's recipes.  Thanks.

try flat bread - I haven't made this in awhile and it's very rich, but it definitely does well with semolina.   The picture in the post shows sesame on top, but if you look down in the comments, I also tried a version with za'atar which was even better.  -Varda

Jason's Quick Ciabatta recipe is on my list to be tried.  What ratio of semolina to AP do you use in your pizza dough?  And, I am talking about grainy semolina; in fact because of my 20+ lb supply, semolina is what I always use instead of cornmeal to dust baking sheets or parchment under my doughs.

Semolina –Potato Bread  by Anna

POOLISH:

200 gr   Starter

200 gr    warm water

150 gr    High Gluten  flour ( I use King Arthur Lancelot)

150 gr    Semolina

½  tsp     Active Yeast

Mix with fork, let sit on countertop 8+ hrs.

DOUGH:

The above plus add:

200 gr  warm water

1 tsp     active yeast

300 gr   A/P Flour

½ cup     mashed potatoes (if available, I throw a couple in the microwave for 3 min and mash with water and a bit of salt)

1 T         Olive oil

½  T         Fennel Seeds ( slightly ground)

½  T         Caraway Seeds ( slightly ground)

½  T         Anise (ground)

10 gr      Salt

Mix  and  autolyse 20 minutes

Knead  10 minutes (I use my KA)

Put into slightly oiled container, cover

S+F  every 50 minutes x 2

Last proof in Roemertopf (or other baking vessel) until doubled

 Score and bake covered at 440 degrees  for 20 minutes in Roemertopf, la Cloche etc or without a cover and use steam

Bake at 425 degrees uncovered for another 40 minutes (no steam)

with rye flour and/or wheat rather than semolina. But these three seeds are not overwhelming in these amounts and just give a bit of better taste, imo.  However, if I want to use this bread for other than lunches, ie with beef, pastrami, horseradish cheese, etc.  I omit the caraway seed and fennel and just use anise and substitute peanut oil or grapeseed oil for the olive oil which would be nicer for a p&j sandwich or with Nutella.

The bread I made yesterday, I substituted 50 grams of water with sour cream, gave it a bit more tang.

Happy baking:)

anna