Durum versus Semolina
I've been baking for a number of years but I've just recently ventured into artisan bread. I've had good success with sourdough, ciabatta, etc., but the one bread that I want to try is Pugliese. The recipe I have calls for durum flour which I was able to order on line. However, the recipe uses English measures which I convert to metric so I can weigh the ingredients accurately. I did not have the conversion info for durum do I weighed a cup. However, a cup of durum flour weighs quite a bit less than what I was expecting...~90g/cup. Now I am wondering if the recipe is actually referencing semolina instead of real durum flour because the recipe is supposed to be a 50/50 mix of strong flour and durum flour. By volume it works but by weight the mix would be off. Any thoughts?
I would think so long as you stick to the correct weight totals called for each kind of flour, you should be fine. I doubt that they were calling for semolina if it was a true Italian recipe for Pugliese--that one uses durum. Let us know how it turns out! I love bread with durum flour...so tasty!
If the original recipe was written in volume measurements, then use the ratios as indicated in the original recipe.
IE, if the original recipe called for X cups of white wheat flour, and then called for the same X cups of durum flour, and then said that was "50-50", then they were thinking 50-50 by volume, not 50-50 by weight.
And yes, Pugliese and Altamura bread are made with durum _flour_ not grainy semolina.
Italians have a durum flour that they call "Semola Remacinata", or reground, which is a powdery flour not granular.
(Just by the way, not all Pugliese bread has durum. But I think Altamura specifically has durum, even if not 100% durum.)
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While standard semolina is bran-less and germ-less, durum flour can be either bran-less/germ-less(refined), or whole grain, or somewhere in between (high extraction).
If you have an Indian grocery store near you, common durum brands there are Golden Temple and Sher Brar.
Sher Brar has two types of durum flour: "Desi Style" that is branless/germless (standard refined), and "Fiber Wala" which is high-extraction.
Read the fine print on Golden Temple to see what it is. I have not seen it in a while.
If you see American durum flour, if it is labeled "fancy durum" or "extra fancy durum", then it is refined bran-less/germ-less. General Mills semolina and durum can be seen here: https://www.generalmillscf.com/products/category/flour and then select "Product type" then select "Durum/Semolina", and then look at PDF specification sheets to see ash %.
This is important to keep in mind because high-extraction and whole grain durum will take/require more water than bran-less/germ-less refined durum -- just like how whole wheat flour requires more water than white flour.
Italian "Semola remacinata" will be refined, branless/germless.
Thank you all for the feed back. Tomorrow I will test my skills. I'll let you all know how it turns out. I wish I had known that an Indian grocery store carried durum. I could have walk a couple of blocks instead of ordering it. I'll be checking it out.
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I think I was successful making the bread. The texture is great but the taste is not quite what I expected. I like the taste but it has a definite hint of whole wheat. The durum flour I have is similar to finely ground farina. I think the bread would be better with Fancy Durum Flour.