February 19, 2013 - 5:04am
Dutch Oven Semolina Boule Recipe
What follows is a recipe I adapted from the Tom Cat Semolina Filone recipe in the Glezer book to equate to the common dutch oven standard producing two boules of about 1Kg prebaked weight each. There is only a picture of one boule because the other was sent off to a neighbor while it was still warm.
For those of you not used to a semolina loaf, actually made with durham flour not the coarse semolina, it is remarkable. The result is a loaf that is so sweet that you would guess it was enriched with some sweetener. But it is just flour, water, salt and yeast. It also benefits from the taste of the sesame seeds which encrust it. This bread is terrific with a good olive oil and with rich sauces that cry out to be sopped up.
Here's the recipe:
The poolish prepared night beforeMix 380 gm AP flour with 485 gm water(80-90 degrees F) and 1/8 tsp yeast. Proof overnight at 80F
The next morning
mix 625 gm durham flour, 75 gm AP flour and 445 gm water at 80-90 F. When water is roughly incorporated with flour, let autolyse at ~80F for 30 minutes.
Mix 20 gm salt and 1/4 tsp yeast into bulk dough, add poolish. Mix together by hand until all parts are incorporated. Be careful to incorporate the stiff bulk dough and the soupy poolish well so that there are no hard bits.
Proof the bulk dough until doubled (2.5-3 hrs). During the first hour, do three or four sets of stretch and folds at ~20 minute intervals. This is quite a wet dough so fold it a lot to get it to come together.
Flour the work surface a bit more heavily than you normally would. Divide the dough into two. Rest 15 minutes, shape into boules and roll seam side in sesame seeds. Place seam side down on to rather heavily floured cloths (good time to try rice flour or white rye and place into bannetons. Proof about two hours at 70F. Carefully place into dutch ovens preheated to 450F and immediately turn heat to 400F. Bake covered for 30 minutes and uncovered for 25 more.