Roman-Style Gnocchi, which flour?

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DanAyo on 8 Jul 2021 at 13:14

I would like to make Roman-Style Gnocchi for the first time. Every recipe I’ve found states “Semolina Flour”. I have Caputo Semolina Rimacinata on hand. I am wondering if a coarser ground semolina is best. I haven’t found an article online to settle this.

If a coarser grind is necessary I may have enough durum berries on hand to mill. Is that a viable option? I want to make it with the proper ingredients, so that I can taste it as it is meant to be.

Can anyone help?

Thanks,
Danny

The flour is cooked, so the difference in grind becomes inconsequential.

In the video recipe (complete with grating inflections) he seems to be using a standard coarse semolina, although your Caputo rimacinata should be a fine substitute.

The recipe is essentially a savoury choux / bignè thing...

Thanks,  Mike. I was concerned that semolina (coarse grind) had most if not all of the endosperm removed.

A few reviewers mentioned that the baked produce was slimy. Not sure if they used an improper flour or not, though.

Coarse flour is the result of milling hard wheat, and Durum is the hardest wheat of all meaning the endosperm fractures into large particles. Ultimately, semolina (semola) is really any non-wholemeal grain that is of a very coarse texture, although commonly semolina is just simply durum flour.

Any flour from Italy labelled "Semola" should be perfect, since this word legally denotes a max. ash content of .90% which includes "semola rimacinata" and so it falls under the same legal bracket. Therefore the extraction would be equivalent between those types and be composed of mostly endosperm derived from a bolting rate of about 50% or so I think.

Sliminess sounds indicative of high extraction, i.e. the wrong flour...

 

Thanks for the detail specific info. The Rimacinata just delivered. Plan to make the Roman-Style Gnocchi to morrow.

The recipe calls for 1.5 cups of Semolina Flour. Since all recipes refer to the flour as Semolina Flour it is believed that the Durum is coarse ground. I plan to use Semolina Rimacinata, which in ground fine. Here is my dilemma.

Roman Style Gnocchi - semolina rimacinata

NOTE - according to King Arthur Flour

https://www.kingarthurbaking.com/learn/ingredient-weight-chart

Durum Flour (Semolina Rimacinata) 1 cup = 124g
Semolina Flour (coarse ground) 1 cup weighs 163g

My initial thought is to use 163 x 1.5 (245g Rimacinata)

 

If I had made this before I could mix to consistency, but unfortunately I have no experience to work from.

Appreciate any help,
Danny

Thanks, Lance, I am reviewing Marcella’s recipe now. Boy! The estimated hydration of various Roman-Style Gnocchi vary quite a bite. I plan to shoot for the consistency of mashed potatoes when they finish cooking in the pot.

When researching Flours milled from Durum Wheat, the waters are extra cloudy. There is all sorts of disagreeing information out there.  But the consensus I draw is the Semolina Flour is milled course with much if not all of the components of the berry left in. Whereas Durum Flour is milled very fine and much of the berry components have been sifted out.

I am thinking that Caputo Semolina Rimacinata is Semolina Flour (most of the berry left in), but it is milled (twice milled) to a find grind. If my thoughts are correct, Semolina Rimacinata is a sort of hybrid Semolina/Durum Flour. Mike sent me the spec sheet a year or so but I haven’t located it. If these assumptions are correct I expect the Semolina Rimacinata will have a high ash content.

I found the following. It confirms a large percentage of ash content.

Humidity14.50% +/- 1.0%
Proteins13.0% +/- 0.50%
Ash0.88% +/- 0.02%

I am going to try to get Mike to weigh in.

Since I’ve never had Roman-Style Gnocchi before, I have no idea if these came out proper or not. The outside is slightly crunchy and the insides are a little more creamy than mashed potatoes. The flavor is unlike anything I can compare them to. The semolina and also the Parmesan Reggiano cast a distinct flavor on the dish. Next time, I may go rogue and use sharp cheddar instead. May throw in some chives or something similar.

The mixture was cooked much longer than instructed, ~25 min. It never did get super thick. I attribute that to the 1 to 6 ratio of flour to milk. Next time, maybe 1 to 5. It is a straight forward and simple dish to make.

NOTE - cheddar Italian Cheese was added to the top before putting in the oven. Next time the cheese topping will be left off until the tops of the gnocchi have browned a bit. Hopefully this will make the top crust even more crunchy.

 Gnocchi Alla Romano

https://www.seriouseats.com/roman-semolina-gnocchi-alla-romana-recipe

  • 1455g         6 cups milk (NOTE - may reduce milk to 1225g)
  • 5g               Kosher salt
  • 245g           1 1/2 cups semolina flour
  • 43g + 43g   6 tablespoons butter, divided, plus more for greasing
  • 100g + __   1 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano, plus more for grating
  • 42g              3 egg yolks, lightly beaten 

I appreciate the help from everyone who replied.

Danny

That Serious Eats formula is a lot higher hydration than All Recipes.  6 cups milk to 1.5 cups semolina, versus 3 cups milk to 1.25 cups semolina for All Recipes.

Yes Dave, and on top of that the weights for coarse vs fine grind vary quite a bit.

Durum Flour (Semolina Rimacinata) 1 cup = 124g
Semolina Flour (coarse ground) 1 cup weighs 163g

My initial thought is to use 163 x 1.5 (245g Rimacinata)

I Think I’ll have to play this by ear until it is dialed in. The consistency of this type of gnocchi is unusual, but interesting.

Have you tried milling store-bought semolina into a finer flour and baking with it?

What's your local grocery store price for semolina?    I pay $5 for 4 pounds of Swad brand (gritty) semolina at my nearest Indian grocery.  

I looked at your Caputo link to Amazon, and it is $3/pound (free delivery if the total order is over $25).

Looks great!  Coarse American-style semolina, for example Bob's Red Mill, is fine.  Agree with mwilson that because the grain is cooked, the coarser texture is OK.  Better, in fact, in my opinion because of nicer mouth feel, for my palate. 

 

Next try Parisian gnocchi, excellent entree.  It's more or less choux pastry with cheese.  

 

This was made with coarse semolina, it would also work with rimacinata. 

Sem Man, I called BRM and they told me their semolina was not coarse ground. Is your BRM gritty?

Caroline , I used the same flour you linked.

Maybe next time I’ll use 50% Caputo Semolina Rimacinata and 50% home milled whole durum. Also reduce the liquid a little.

How would you describe the texture and mouth feel of properly cooked Roman Gnoccki?

I don't think Bob's Red Mill knows what they are talking about, sorry to put it that way.   I have experience with two grinds of semolina: Bob's Red Mill which for me is coarse, and rimacinata.  I use rimacinata mainly for bread, and coarse for cooked non-bread items.  

 

 

@Dan, Perhaps the reason BRM said their semolina is not a Coarse grind, is because it is a Medium grind of semolina.

There are at least two grinds, maybe 3,  of the gritty version of semolina, Medium grind, and Coarse grind.   These are in addition to the smooth flour "durum flour" or "semola rimacinata" that we know about here.

What BRM "effectively" told you when they said their semolina is NOT the "Coarse" grind, is that it is the MEDIUM grind of the gritty version.  

Here is evidence of at least two levels of the gritty grinds:  https://www.thespruceeats.com/easy-semolina-flour-substitute-4142772

According to that web page, it is the medium grind that is common in grocery stores.  

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At least some USA-based millers use the phrase "FANCY durum flour" or "EXTRA FANCY durum flour" to indicate the flour-y grind that we know as semola rimacinata.  Examples:

https://www.generalmillscf.com/products/category/flour/durum-and-semolina/extra-fancy-durum-patent-flour-enriched-50lb

https://www.generalmillscf.com/products/category/flour/durum-and-semolina/sperry-extra-fancy-untreated

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Golden Temple brand, owned by Smucker's, uses the phrase "No. 1 Fine" to indicate a  refined flour-y type in the yellow/green bag:

https://www.walmart.ca/en/ip/golden-temple-no1-fine-durum-atta/6000188765352

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HTH

+1.

Plus semolina is not necessarily durum, as I learned the hard way by buying one made from regular wheat! I posted a picture in the semolina CB at that point, it's quite obvious from the colour, especially when comparing side by side. Useful for loading loaves or pizza into the oven anyway.

With a name like “Semolina Man” he ought to know…

The Bob’s Red Mill Semolina is considerably coarser ground. I’d call it slightly gritty.
Caputo Semolina Rimacinata is much finer ground, like a fine powder.