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.
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PinDescription
A gorgeous golden loaf of semolina bread, or Italian bread. It’s made with regular wheat flour and durum flour. 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
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 2 Tbs. 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 minutes, until well risen, golden brown and the bottom sounds hollow when tapped.
- Cool on a rack and wait until completely cooled to cut.
Notes
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 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, italian bread
adapted from How To Bake by Nick Malgieri
Hello,
I just wanted to pop in and say I absolutely LOVED how this recipe came out. I made a slight variation by adding 2 tbsps of raisins and about 1 tbsp of fennel seeds. Other than that I followed the recipe exactly. The bread was deliciously crispy on the outside and soft and chewy inside. It slices beautifully and I just cannot stop eating it!! Thank you for making such a perfect, approachable recipe for fresh baked bread.
★★★★★
SO glad you liked it Marlena! I love it also. And think your add-ins are great btw. Will try them in the future. I love having this bread sliced and frozen so I can make last-minute bruschettas! Thanks for the comment.
Your notes say bread flour is better with this recipe, but
your recipe says…all purpose flour!?!?!?!
Which is it?
Hi Mel, I use bread flour but it can be made with all-purpose also, in case bread flour is hard to get. I will add that note to the recipe. Thanks for the heads up!
Thanks for this great recipe! It’s in the oven now and I can’t wait to taste it. By any chance has anyone tried it with Bread flour instead of all purpose flour? Just wondering what the results were like! Thanks!
I use bread flour and all-purpose. The results are great. It might be a little coarser crumb, but not a big difference.
I tried your recipe last week.
Instead of all-purpose flour I used spelt, as that was the only thing I had and it turned out amazing!
So soft and perfect on the inside, with an incredibly tasty crust.
So delicious, it was finished in no time and I can’t wait to make another one.
Also, very easy to knead with hand, which is a plus for me as a novice 🙂
★★★★★
So glad it turned out great Mieke! It is a very easy dough to work with. And good to know it can work with whole wheat flours too!
I wanted to make a semolina bread for bacon, lettuce and tomato sandwiches using my homegrown heirloom tomatoes. I found your recipe and the second rise is almost finished and the oven is preheating. I can’t wait to taste it! Thank you for this cool recipe!❤️
Love that you’re making it! Let me know how it goes. I always have some in the freezer for bruschettas and sandwiches.
I have baked many loaves of bread but never tried baking it with semolina, I think it’s time to bake one. Gorgeous pictures!
★★★★★
Time to try that semolina bread. Everyone is talking about it and I’ve had so many friends asking my opinion on it, that I guess it is time to try it out (using your recipe)!
★★★★★
It is amazing. I’m surprised it started getting so much attention in the past months since it’s such an old grain! And post too, the original is from 2012, haha.
Oh yeah! I’m trying this recipe! I love bread and this looks like you can just spread some butter and go to town.
I really need to plan on making some bread this fall so will be pinning this one for later!
Your Semolina bread looks SO perfect! I usually use my bread maker, but now that I see how easy you’ve made it look, I think I’m going to try this. I love that I can use my Kitchenaid and dough hook to mix the dough. Yum!
★★★★★
I used to knead it in the bread maker but shape and bake it by hand. That way I could not only make it in different shapes, but the crust turns out different too!
I adore homemade bread, and this looks so approachable and delicious! I’ve never used this particular type of flour before, but this recipe definitely makes me want to make it a pantry staple. Can’t wait to try this one out!
Making homemade bread is so rejuvenating! I love baking bread more than cakes and other sweet treats. Semolina bread looks perfect, the texture is amazing!
★★★★★
Huge fan of semolina bread as well right here. True story: when I was younger I thought I heard someone say “salmonella bread” and was so confused as to why it was ok to eat. But notice that didn’t keep me from diving in to it!!
★★★★★
I have my favorite yeast bread I make at Christmas time but hardly have the time to do it regularly. I have to say though, that I love fresh baked bread and nothing is as good as homemade. This looks like a delicious bread and now I’m kinda yearning to get my hands in some dough and knead away. Great instructions and I’m so jealous that you get to eat that right now.
★★★★★
Thanks Linda! I do love to bake for the holidays too. It’s my therapy!
I bake homemade bread all the time, but never thought to try semolina bread! We always have semolina flour at home to make pasta, so I’m going to try to make a loaf of it this weekend!
Do add it! It’s wonderful. I’m jealous you make your own pasta!
This semolina bread looks like the perfect baked bread recipe. The soft inside and crunchy outside is seriously calling my name. I need to make this because it would be great for so many things!
Thanks Dominique!
I am a bread fanatic. LOVE the aroma of bread baking. I would devour this all by myself.
★★★★★
The best semolina bread recipe I found! Beautiful and easy, even for me as a novice. thanks for posting this Paula
★★★★★
Such an easy and delicious bread for any occasion
★★★★★
That's a beautiful loaf. I love using semolina in bread and other baked goods, and I understand what you meant about finding yourself with tons of the stuff lying around!