First use of Semolina Flour
When I first started my breaducation a little over a year ago I had purchased a bread book off the bargain table at Borders. One of the recipes I have been meaning to make since then was a Sicilian Scroll that featured Semolina Flour. I finally got around to making this loaf today.
The semolina flour was of a very fine grit, not powdery. The recipe called for 80% Semolina and 20% bread flour. It was a very slow rise and didnt spring much in the oven but I was fairly happy with the results. As I expected, the crumb was fairly dense, like a chewy, moist, corn bread (recipe calls for 2T of olive oil). It has a slight nutty flavor and although a bit of a workout to chew on its own, I could see pairing this with a brothy soup, the bread being able to soak up a lot, or at least a very soft, buttery, cheese.
I'm thinking of trying it again with a 60/40 Semolina/Bread flour mix and making the semolina an overnight soaker to help soften up the grains.
Hi Xlperro.
Get some durum flour. Semolina is coarse-milled durum and is not the same as durum flour (or fancy durum flour as it is sometimes called. It is also called semolina flour).
I made a recipe from Reinhart's "The Bread Baker's Apprentice" for Pane Siciliano (Italian for Sicilian bread), using a 50:50 mix of durum flour to bread flour (11.5% Protein). It came out nice and light.
What I bought was labeled Semolina Flour. Got it in the bulk section of my local "healthy" market. Since I hadn't used any before I was unsure of the texture. I can see using the coarse Semolina if you wanted a corn-bread like texture, but I'll try a loaf with durum flour too.
Bushturkey's right. Peter's recipe for Pane Siciliano is delicious. I made the mistake of giving half of the bread baking take to a friend. I should have kept the whole two loaves for myself.
The flavor of semolina is a nice contrast and compliment to just about anything. (A light brushing of olive oil and garlic powder and a bit of toasting, and you'll find yourself in another world entirely. YUMMY).
Your photos are stunning!