Sicilian durum semolina bread, grandma’s recipe. Making bread at home is a new trend that leads us to rediscover old traditions and the handicraft of the past. Our grandmothers and great-grandmothers always made homemade bread with sourdough starter, and at my house it was a tradition carried on until a few decades ago, or at least until grandma could still make it. For some years now, I have also decided to approach sourdough breads and naturally semolina bread is one of my favorite recipes. Today I tell you how I prepare this very tasty bread: it’s really simple to make. By respecting the indicated resting and proofing times you will get a perfect result, with bread baked to perfection, featuring a golden, fragrant and crunchy crust and a very soft crumb. With this recipe you can also make a delicious Sicilian pane cunzato like the one from Scopello, but let’s go to the kitchen now — I’ll tell you how to make Sicilian pane cunzato. Beforehand, remember that if you want to stay updated on all my other recipes, you can follow my Facebook page and my Instagram profile.

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Difficulty: Very easy
Cost: Very inexpensive
Preparation time: 8 Minutes
Portions: 1.2 kg (about 2.6 lb)
Cooking methods: Oven
Cuisine: Italian

Ingredients to make re-milled semolina bread

3 3/4 cups re-milled durum wheat semolina (about 21.2 oz / 600 g)
2 1/8 cups water (about 17.6 fl oz / 500 ml)
3.5 oz sourdough starter (about 1/2 cup / 100 g)
2 1/4 tsp salt (about 14 g)

Tools

Bowl
Oven

Preparation

For this recipe I made the bread with sourdough starter; if you don’t have it use 12 g of fresh yeast dissolved in a little lukewarm water. Using fresh yeast will reduce the total rising time to about 2–3 hours. You can mix with a stand mixer, a dough hook or by hand; in the latter case, if you are not comfortable handling high hydration doughs, add only 450 g of water.

Put the flour in a bowl, add half of the water, stir and add the sourdough starter torn into pieces.
Mix roughly again, cover with a cloth and let rest for 10 minutes. After the time has passed, add the salt and the remaining water,
mix in the bowl, work a few seconds with your hand and tip the dough onto the work surface. Work for a long time without adding flour, until you obtain a smooth, elastic and homogeneous mass.
Place the dough in a bowl, cover and put in a warm place for 2 hours. After that time the dough will have risen slightly, lifting at least about 2 cm from the bowl (in winter it may take longer). Turn it out onto a floured work surface, do a turn of folds and divide it in half.
From each half shape a rectangle by stretching the dough with your hands, then roll it up forming long cylinders about 12–14 inches (30–35 cm) long.
Place the loaves on a very floured cloth, cover and put in a warm place to proof until at least doubled in volume. This can take from 3 to 6 hours or even more, depending on the temperature you are working at.
When the bread has risen, preheat the oven to its highest temperature — mine reaches 428°F (220°C) — set it to static mode. If you have a baking stone, use it and place it in the oven so it heats as well. Put a metal or ceramic container with some water on the bottom so that steam is created during baking. Move the bread onto the hot baking stone or a baking sheet, score the surface and bake for about 20 minutes, then lower the temperature to 356°F (180°C) and bake for another 10 minutes.
Remove the bread from the oven and let it warm on a rack before slicing.
Our sourdough semolina bread keeps well for up to 3–4 days, especially in winter if stored in a cotton bag. In summer its shelf life is much shorter because it tends to dry out quickly unless kept in a food-grade plastic bag.