A good homemade bread: mixed semolina sourdough starter bread made with a blend of re-milled durum wheat semolina and Type 00 flour, which can also be substituted with other flours such as Type 0, Type 1 or whole wheat – you only need to lengthen the rising times. The dough remains the same, so you can make a delicious loaf at home each time with the flours you prefer, for a different but tasty bread every time. If you don’t have sourdough starter you can certainly replace it with baker’s yeast; 3 g are enough for a long fermentation, identical to the one I made. You can read that recipe here Long-rise bread. Before moving on to the real recipe, I remind you that if you use strong flours, such as semolina or whole wheat, a slow fermentation is necessary for a good loaf. That said, let’s see how to prepare this sourdough semolina bread.
- Difficulty: Easy
- Cost: Budget-friendly
- Rest time: 1 Day
- Preparation time: 30 Minutes
- Portions: 2
- Cooking methods: Oven
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: All seasons
Ingredients for sourdough semolina bread
- 2 3/8 cups Re-milled durum wheat semolina
- 3 1/4 cups Type 00 flour (or substitute with AP or whole wheat; adjust rise times)
- 1 cup Sourdough starter (active)
- 2 1/2 cups Warm water
- 2 1/2 tsp Salt
Tools to prepare semolina sourdough bread
- Bowl
- Baking sheet
Preparation
First of all prepare the sourdough starter. If you haven’t refreshed it in the previous two days, refresh it now. Take about 100 g (roughly 3.5 oz) of starter, add about 100 g (roughly 3.5 oz) of flour and 50 ml of water (about 3 tbsp + 1 tsp) and work it into a small ball in a large bowl – the same bowl you will use later for the dough.
In the same bowl used for the refresh, add the other flours: 400 g semolina (about 2 3/8 cups) and another 400 g Type 00 flour (about 3 1/4 cups). Add first 400 ml of water (about 1 2/3 cups) and start working the dough; gradually add the rest of the water and finally the salt. If you had already refreshed the starter, weigh out 250 g (about 1 cup or 8.8 oz) and add it to the flour.
Work the dough vigorously for 15 minutes, first in the bowl and then on a lightly floured surface. Place the well-rounded dough back into the bowl and let it rise for 24 hours covered with plastic wrap. For the first 8 hours keep it at room temperature, then place it in the refrigerator for another 10 hours, then bring it back out and let it acclimate. If it’s cold you can leave it out of the fridge for longer.
Once well risen, work the dough on a floured board to give it two turns of strengthening folds. Then divide the dough into two parts and shape two loaves. To get a better crumb and shape, roll each portion out, roll it up tightly and seal the seam by turning it on the work surface.
Place the two loaves spaced apart on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Dust lightly with a little flour and let them rise for a few hours in a warm spot – I use the oven with the light on. After a few hours make slashes on the loaves and bake.
Bake the sourdough bread in a hot oven with a small pot of hot water inside so that the humidity helps form a crispy crust. Put the baking sheet on the lower rack. Bake at 250°C (482°F) with convection for the first 15 minutes, then lower to 220°C (428°F) for the next 15 minutes, then 200°C (392°F) for another 15 minutes and finally 160°C (320°F) for the last 15 minutes. Adjust slightly according to your oven. If needed, you can move the bread to the middle rack halfway through baking and you may also remove the small pot of water.
Let the bread cool in the turned-off oven. Slice it once it’s cold, if you can resist the temptation to cut it straight away—the aroma of freshly baked bread is hard to resist!
You can also use less sourdough starter, but you will necessarily need to lengthen the rising times, as you should when substituting stronger flours for Type 00.
If you want to receive my recipes follow me on social media: on the page FACEBOOK, Pinterest Telegram and Instagram. Remember you can leave a comment here or on social media, and if you try one of my recipes send me your photo. You can also find me on YouTube: Ornella Scofano Ricette che Passione. Return to HOME.
