100% Semolina Bread.

Submitted by foolishpoolish on July 27, 2009 - 6:30pm

While taking stock of flour the other day, I came across a bag of 'Farina Semola di Grano Duro' which I had previously bought for making pasta (I think...) I figured it might be suitable for making semolina bread. Never having worked with 100% semolina before, I wasn't sure what to expect but I wanted to get a feel and taste for the flour. With my new starters still in their early stages of life, I went ahead and mixed a really basic direct (commercially-yeasted) dough:

500g Farina Semola di Grano Duro (Semolina Pasta Flour, I guess?)
300g Water (+ a few tbsp)
30g Extra Virgin Olive Oil
10g Salt
1 tsp IDY

DDT: I didn't have my thermometer to hand, but I used slightly warm water so I estimate my dough was at about 85F.
Mix the flour and yeast together.
Dissolve the salt in the water.
Stir the water and oil into the flour and mix for about 1 minute until even.
Rest the dough for 20 minutes
Adjust hydration if dough is too stiff (I added a few tablespoons of water)
Continue kneading to near full gluten development (about 10 minutes by hand).
Shape the dough into a ball. (The dough is amazingly easy to handle!)
Proof for 1 1/2 to 2 hours until doubled in bulk. I performed one stretch and fold during this time which in retrospect, given the strength of the flour, was probably unnecessary.
Preheat the oven to 475F
Degas and divide the dough.
Roughly pre-shape each portion into a ball and rest for 15 minutes.
Shape each ball into a batard. In retrospect I maybe should have tried to shape in one step. The dough was quite strong.
Proof for 30 to 40 minutes (until poke test springs back slowly half way).
Bake at 475F for 10 minutes with steam.
Lower temperature to 375F and bake for a further 10 to 15 minutes until the crust is golden brown.

I can't honestly say I was amazed by this bread. It tasted mildly buttery and nutty. The texture was light, soft and moist but the crumb was really quite tight - fluffy but not at all well defined (I don't think this was due to lack of gluten development in the dough). Fortunately, the crust had some great crunch and flavour and made up for the otherwise lacklustre (imho) bread.

Overall, it makes for a great sandwich bread but I'll probably use a sourdough levain and/or longer fermentation in the future to try and bring out more flavour.

Cheers,

Filed under:

100% Semolina

Submitted by LindyD on July 27, 2009 - 7:10pm.

Very, very nice!

Awesome scoring, FP!

Submitted by foolishpoolish on July 27, 2009 - 8:00pm.

Thanks!

Thanks Lindy.

Scoring was simple but effective. Lots of oven spring (perhaps a little underproofed?).

Submitted by hansjoakim on July 27, 2009 - 9:29pm.

They look like shiny gold bars!

Yeah, most impressive shaping, scoring and oven spring! Wow.

Perhaps some sesame seeds on the crust would contribute a nice flavour note?

Submitted by foolishpoolish on July 27, 2009 - 10:16pm.

Sesame Seeds

Absolutely! I realise now why sesame seeds are a traditional topping for semolina bread. Their flavour, when slightly toasted from baking, would complement the bread v. well. I scoured my cupboards for some prior to baking but sadly none turned up. Next time, for sure!

Submitted by liseling on July 28, 2009 - 1:51pm.

this looks great!

I'm always looking for semolina breads because I quite enjoy them. Do you think I need fine semolina or do you think I could use coarse-ground semolina? What does everyone think?

Submitted by foolishpoolish on July 28, 2009 - 7:03pm.

Fine semolina

As Barbara pointed out, yes you need fine semolina to make a 100% semolina bread. I vaguely recall finding mine at a deli selling italian produce. It was sold as 'pasta making' flour (even had a little pasta recipe stuck on the side).

However I suspect not all pasta flour is necessarily suitable. This particular pack listed protein level as 11.5g per 100g....not sure how that translates to gluten but it felt like I was working with slightly grainy but v. strong flour. It may have more to do with the absorbency of the flour than the strength.

Hope that doesn't serve to further confuse!

Submitted by Barbara Krauss on July 28, 2009 - 2:32pm.

Semolina Flour

Course grain semolina doesn't work for bread as the chief ingredient (though I've sometimes thrown in some for more texture in my pizza doughs.) What you need for baking bread is durham flour, sometimes called fancy semolina. It should be as fine and powdery as any flour, and not at all grainy. We're fortunate to have an Italian bakery/specialty shop in the area that sells the flour in bulk.

By the way, I too love a semolina bread, and always use sesame seeds on the crust. It really adds a lot to the overall flavor, I think.

FP, your breads are, as usual, remarkable.

Submitted by liseling on July 30, 2009 - 2:14pm.

thanks

Thanks for the information - I'll have to find fine semolina somewhere. The reason I asked, actually, is because I've made bread calling for fine semolina with coarse semolina by subtracting about a quarter of it (by weight) and replacing that quarter with strong white bread flour.

The bread was very nice, but of course it's not 100% semolina bread and I like the idea plus the taste of 100% semolina bread.