Semolina vs. Durham
I recently made Semolina loaves of Hamelman's which is roughly:
Pate Fermentee or Preferment:
Durum Flour.. 1 ½ cups
Bread flour… 1 ½ cups
water ………..1 1/8 cups
honey ……..…½ teaspoon
yeast …..1 1/4 teaspoon
Final dough:
2 1/8 .. cups Durum flour
2 ¼ …. cups bread flour
1 3/8 .…. cups water
1 ……….Tbspn Salt…
3…………Tbspn Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Sponge……..All of above.
They came out perfectly. Except I used Bob's Red Mill Semolina flour , instead of the suggested Durham flour which is supposed to be more powdery. These loaves turned out to have a crumb that was chewy, coarse, heavy and dense. If I buy Durham flour from King Arthur's then hopefully the crumb will be light and airy? Am I correct?
The point is that the bread books often make it sound as if the two flours are interchangeable but this experience suggests otherwise. Am I correct? Also Durham is not easily available at the stores.