Originally posted on February 2012. Images and text in this post have been updated to serve you better. The recipe stays the same.
I love baking with yeast.
And though I know it's not everybody's thing, there are some bread recipes that are worth the time and dedication. This is one of them, for sure.
Others include Sunflower Oatmeal Dinner Rolls and the Orange Cinnamon Rolls (who can argue with sweet rolls, right?).
Because yeast has a mind of its own and we have to adjust to it. A tyrant, haha.
What is semolina?
Semolina is a very fine-textured flour (image below, right) made from durum wheat (which is used, mainly, to make dried pasta).
It has a nutty undertone and gives the bread a golden hue that's very welcomed.
Bread made with semolina has a crusty crust like no other.
It makes the best croutons and the best bruschetta.
It is very different and much finer than bread flour (image below, left). Similar to very fine sand.
Steps for making this semolina bread.
This is a fantastic recipe because it's very easy to knead by hand. And even easier with a stand mixer (using the dough hook).
It is supple, soft and not sticky.
- First, a sponge is made: active-dry yeast (image 1) is mixed with flour and water (image 2 and 3). After resting covered for 1 hour it will have grown and air pockets like bubbles will have developed (image 4). If this doesn't happen the yeast is not working. Don't go on. Go buy new yeast.
- Adding the rest of the ingredients: with the sponge ready, we need to add the rest of the ingredients (images 5 and 6). It will look as though there are not enough wet ingredients when you turn it out onto the counter (image 7), but in no time after you start bringing it together and kneading, the dough starts forming. After 1 minute the dough is rough but not sticky and all the ingredients are combined (image 8).
- Kneading the dough: it takes 6-7 minutes to knead the dough by hand. Maybe just 5 with a stand mixer. Fold the dough onto itself and push it away again so you form it into a ball, press it down again and then reshape it. Don't push it away so much that you actually see it tearing. Repeat this until the dough is supple and soft. If you press a finger it should leave a slight indentation.
- Letting the dough rest: this is a crucial part of this recipe. Bread doughs with yeast need to rise until doubled in size. So put it in an oiled bowl, turn it around so it's all greased and cover the bowl with plastic (image below, left). Let rise in a draft-free, warm place. If the room is cold, I wrap it in a sweater or pashmina or something that keeps the temperature. It should double its size in about an hour (image below, right).
- Forming or shaping the bread: this part is easy because the dough is supple and great to work with. It can be shaped in different ways, but I always like the batard, which is kind of a very fat short baguette. The important steps here are flattening the dough with your hands (image 9), folding it as you would a cinnamon roll, and pinching it after each fold (images 10 and 11). Lastly, you need to pinch and seal the whole bread (image 12) so that it doesn't 'unfold' during baking when the yeast works its magic.
- Second rising: the bread, once shaped and in the baking sheet, needs a second rising, covered and in a draft-free warm place, before it is scored and baked (image 13 shows bread before second rising).
- Scoring the bread: Now you need to score the formed bread. These are the cuts or slits you make to the dough. They will allow the bread to rise better as it has a place to unfold and grow while baking. You can use a sharp kitchen knife (images 14 to 16), or a special tool called a lame. It is a razor blade on a stick, basically. You can lightly aid yourself with your hand (image 15), but it's best to be decisive and just go for the 45° cut.
- If you took the time to make this bread let me tell you it's one of the best.
- The crumb is creamy and delicious, dense without being heavy, perfect for toast or Italian Tomato Bruschetta. And Stuff on Toast. Oh, and it makes the best croutons.
Tips & tricks for this recipe:
- Organization: read the instructions carefully first. This is important so you take into account the resting times and tools you need.
- Semolina: buy the superfine one. Though it would be labeled differently, semolina comes in different sizes. Couscous is also semolina, for example.
- Bread flour: there is flour specially made for bread. It has more gluten than all-purpose. Gluten is the ingredient that develops with kneading and helps the bread grow. The bread will work with all-purpose (not cake) flour, but it's a good idea to look for it or buy it online.
- Freezing: this a wonderful bread to freeze in slices and have ready for toast or bruschettas. Slice it and wrap it in plastic or put it in a Ziploc bag. It will last for a month.
I wanted to bake an all-semolina bread, but it didn't turn out well. It just didn't work. So the compromise was to find a bread that had semolina and also bread flour.
I found it, and it's perfect.
How to substitute semolina in a bread recipe.
Semolina flour is unique due to all that I explained above.
But, if you still need to substitute it use spelt or Kamut flour, available at specialty stores, online or at many supermarkets.
Other recipes you might like:
Tomato Ricotta Bacon Bruschetta
Roasted Tomato Bread
Beer Bread Rolls
Whole Wheat Mountain Bread
Mozzarella Pesto Naan Bread
Easter Braid
Chorizo Sandwich with Chimichurri
Let me know if you make this recipe! I’d love to hear what you think about it.
Thank you for being here, I appreciate it! Let’s connect via Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest.
Semolina Bread
- Prep Time: 150 minutes
- Cook Time: 45 minutes
- Total Time: 3 hours 15 minutes
- Yield: 12 slices 1x
- Category: Breads
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: Italian
Description
A gorgeous golden loaf of Italian-style bread. It's made with regular wheat flour and durum flour (semolina). The crust is crackly and the texture creamy and just plain amazing! One of the best bread recipes I ever made.
Ingredients
Sponge:
- 1 cup warm tap water
- 1 teaspoon active dry yeast
- 1 ½ cups (210g) unbleached all-purpose or bread flour
Dough:
- All the sponge, above
- ½ cup (70g) unbleached all-purpose or bread flour
- ¾ cup (120g) semolina flour
- 1-2 teaspoons salt (If you normally don't use much salt go for the 1 teaspoon)
- 2 Tablespoons olive oil
Instructions
To make the sponge:
- Place the warm water in a mixing bowl and whisk in the yeast.
- Stir in the flour, mix lightly and cover the bowl with plastic wrap.
- Set the sponge aside to rise at room tº (draft-free and warm) until the sponge doubles, about 1 hour. I do this directly in the bowl of the standing mixer and then add the dough ingredients.
To make the bread:
- Have ready a baking sheet lightly dusted with semolina.
- Stir the sponge to deflate and add the flour, semolina, salt, and oil.
- Adjust the bowl in your stand mixer and knead on low speed with the dough hook for about 5 minutes, to form smooth, elastic, and slightly sticky dough. Alternatively, turn the shaggy dough out onto a lightly floured work surface and knead by hand for about 6-7 minutes. See post above for images and further details.
- Transfer the dough to an oiled bowl. Turn the dough so all the sides are oiled. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let rise until doubled, about 1 hour.
- Turn the risen dough out on the floured work surface.
- Press with the palms of your hands to deflate.
- Shape the dough into an oval, folding as you would a cinnamon roll, pinching after each fold, and place tucked side down on the prepared pan and cover with oiled plastic wrap.
- Allow it to rise until doubled in volume, about 1 hour.
- About 20 minutes before baking, turn the oven to 400ºF / 200ºC.
- Hold a razor blade or sharp kitchen knife at about a 30º to 45° angle to the loaf, and slash 3 lines.
- Bake the loaf for about 35, until well risen, golden brown and the bottom sounds hollow when tapped. All ovens are different, so if 20 minutes into baking you feel the bread is darkening too much, turn it down to 375°F/190°C for the rest of the baking.
- Remove from oven and cool on a rack until able to lift from baking sheet with a spatula, and wait until completely cooled to cut.
Notes
Top tips
- Organization: read the instructions carefully first. This is important so you take into account the resting times and tools you need.
- Semolina: buy the superfine one. Though it would be labeled differently, semolina comes in different sizes. Couscous is also semolina, for example.
- Bread flour: there is flour specially made for bread. It has more gluten than all-purpose. Gluten is the ingredient that develops with kneading and helps the bread grow. The bread will also work with all-purpose (not cake) flour, but it's a good idea to look for it or buy it online.
- Pan: I like to use flats baking sheets dusted with semolina. But cornmeal or oats will work too.
- Freezing: this a wonderful bread to freeze in slices and have ready for toast or bruschettas. Slice it and wrap it in plastic or put it in a Ziploc bag. It will last for a month.
Keywords: semolina bread
adapted from How To Bake by Nick Malgieri
First time bread-maker here. This recipe was incredibly well-written. Tips and tricks were actually useful and anticipated all my questions. Measurements in grams made things panic-free. Directions simple and complete. Best of all: this bread is delicious!
★★★★★
Thanks SO much for this comment Brian! Glad you liked the bread and that the tips were helpful. It made my day. Have a great week!
Made semolina bread today came out just as the baker said' plain amazing' I used 1 teaspoon salt and bake it at 400 f for 40 minutes I did read some of the comments before i got the flour out .Thanks for sharing your passion of baking Cheers .
I have a question though what will be the outcome with egg wash? As most bread ask for it.
★★★★★
Hi Ursi! Happy to hear it came out well! An egg wash gives it a darker, shinier finish. I don't particularly use it for this bread as I especially love the rustic look. But if you want to use it make very sure it doesn't drip into the slits or cuts because as it bakes it will create a sort of a shield and prevent some parts of the bread from fully rising. Have a great week!
It looks like when you scored the bread, the cut goes all the way through the bread. Is that correct? Thanks.
Hi Lizzy! No, it doesn't, but I like to score it about a third so it opens up more. Sometimes I slash it more superficially than others, it depends a lot on how sharp the blade is and the type of knife or cutter you use. Either way it the bread will bake well, but it will open more or less. Hope this helps.
Thanks for your reply Paula, I loved the clour, texture and taste don't want to mess up this wonderful loaf of bread recipe and thanks Have a great week as well. Cheers
Amazing! As a Brooklyn born girl living in upstate ny, it’s tough to find the perfect loaf of bread but this does the trick. Perfect ever single time!! Goes great with my Sunday sauce.
★★★★★
SO happy to hear that Marion! Really appreciate you leaving this message.
The quantities in grams are off. it will be helpful if it would be fixed.
thanks
A.
Hi Avi. I respect your opinion but disagree. Where are you having trouble?
I don't live in the US and I use the metric system everyday.
A cup of flour is 135-140g and a cup of fine semolina is 155-160gs. I do the measuring and weighing myself and check them regularly to confirm that I'm not writing something erroneous.
I checked this recipe again and the conversions are fine. Hope this helps. Have a good day!
Dear Paula, thank you very much for taking the time to respond, and for making me check things out for myself. My problem was that I checked Google for conversion from Cups to grams of flour, and they show 120gr.
Additionally, I did not realize that there is such a big weight difference between WP and Semolina flour. A cup of my WP flour was 143 gr, and Semolina was 175gr. So much for Google, and you are absolutely correct!
I'm used to it. The info in Google is not always accurate. That's why I measure my own. Glad it helped. Have a good week!
This did not work for me. I followed all of the directions to a T. Everything looked great through the scoring part. It simply did not bake. It remained flat. A crust did not form. It did not rise or brown. It remained the same color as the raw dough I put in the oven.
Could you help me troubleshoot what could have gone wrong? The yeast was brand new and proofed perfectly. Help! I'd like to try this again.
Hi Domenick, so sorry about your result. I have so many comments about turning out great that of course, let's troubleshoot.
Did you use tepid water and not hot? Hot water kills some of the yeast's power to act as it should.
Did it rise until doubled but not more? Because too much rising time and the bread starts to deflate. Did you have a good dough after kneading it? I assume you followed the kneading time in the recipe.
The water was 108° F. The yeast was active. It did rise, not sure that it fully doubled, but it did not deflate. I kneaded it for 5 min on low in a stand mixer with a dough hook - the dough felt great after the process.
I did have some trouble with the slashing process. I used a very sharp paring knife, but the cuts did not come out very clean (I will try a razor blade next time). I think the issue is most likely my flours. They were older than I thought (I'm just getting back in to baking). I'm going to try the recipe again with fresh bread flour and semolina flour. Any other tips for my next effort? Thanks.
I think the process was good and the bread should've risen fine. About the cuts, I sometimes get the same result with the slashes not being deep or easy, but the bread rises anyway. So now the oven: is the temperature accurate or might there be a problem with the thermostat? Was it preheated and prepared according to the recipe? The flours might be old, though I think that might impact the flavor more than the rising. But maybe they had some issues, like mold that is not easy to spot or something that weighed down the whole bread.
Are you sure you did not bake it at 200F instead of 200C?
Yes Avi, it's a high oven. You can bake it all a few degrees less if you want, at 350°F/180°C
Could you tell me the water qty in grams as us cup size says 236g and australia cup size where I am says 250g. I found my dough very loose.
Hi, I convert a cup of water to 240g. Bread baking can have variations depending on the day, type of flour, etc. so adding a couple of extra tablespoons of flour is OK if you feel it needs it. Did you bake it and it didn't turn out right?
Thanks Paula yes it did, definitely will give it a go with 240g water as my water amount was larger. Bread was still tasty but hoping for a better oven spring with a better shaped loaf. Thankyou for your prompt reply.