This is the recipe for semolina slippers, a bread made from re-milled durum wheat semolina shaped flat and elongated, hence the name ciabatta or slipper. The slippers stay soft for days, and their crunchy crust will make them really appetizing. One of my great passions is baking, the art of bread-making has always fascinated me, and if only I had more time, I would bake bread every day. Like this Matera bread or this rye bread with a low glycemic index. Speaking of low glycemic index, at the end of the recipe, I’ll explain how to make semolina slippers with a low glycemic index, I hope you’ll appreciate it.
For this recipe, I used only re-milled durum wheat semolina; if you prefer, you can mix in 100 g of all-purpose flour, removing 100 g of semolina flour. The semolina slippers have very little yeast, just 5 g, water, salt, and oil. After the first rise, pour the dough onto a floured surface, flatten it, and cut into large squares or rectangles. After the second rise, they can be baked at high temperature to give the bread crunchiness and softness.
- Difficulty: Easy
- Cost: Very cheap
- Rest time: 5 Hours 30 Minutes
- Preparation time: 30 Minutes
- Portions: 8
- Cooking methods: Electric oven
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: All seasons
- Energy 300.44 (Kcal)
- Carbohydrates 54.62 (g) of which sugars 1.00 (g)
- Proteins 10.56 (g)
- Fat 6.55 (g) of which saturated 1.02 (g)of which unsaturated 1.01 (g)
- Fibers 0.15 (g)
- Sodium 246.33 (mg)
Indicative values for a portion of 100 g processed in an automated way starting from the nutritional information available on the CREA* and FoodData Central** databases. It is not food and / or nutritional advice.
* CREATES Food and Nutrition Research Center: https://www.crea.gov.it/alimenti-e-nutrizione https://www.alimentinutrizione.it ** U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. FoodData Central, 2019. https://fdc.nal.usda.gov
Ingredients for making semolina bread
- 21 oz re-milled durum wheat semolina flour (+ for dusting)
- 2 cups water
- 0.18 oz fresh yeast
- 1 tsp acacia honey
- 2 tbsps extra virgin olive oil
- 1 tsp fine salt
What you need
- 1 Bowl
- 1 Kneading board
- 1 Spatula
- 1 Baking tray
- 1 Saucepan
How to make semolina rolls
Warm up 100 ml of water and add the yeast and honey, stir well and pour into the bowl. Add the semolina flour, the remaining water and start kneading. Once the dough starts to come together, add the oil and salt, continue kneading. Pour the dough onto the kneading board and continue to work it until you get a soft and elastic dough. Stretch it with your hands and fold the edges to create 3 folds. Then fold the dough onto itself to form a ball.
Place the dough in a clean bowl. Make a cross cut and cover the bowl with a cloth. Leave in a warm place for about 3 hours or until doubled.
After the first rise, dust the surface with semolina flour and pour out the dough. With your fingertips, flatten the dough, which should be just over an inch thick. Dust the surface with a little semolina flour and then cut the dough into 8 pieces. Cover with a cloth and let the slippers rise for about 2 hours.
Preheat the oven to the maximum temperature (464°F would be ideal) with the saucepan of water inside, if you have one, also preheat the baking stone. Place the slippers on the stone or baking tray and bake for 10 minutes. Then, lower the temperature to 356°F and continue baking for another 15 minutes.
After baking, place the bread on a rack and let it cool slightly.
How to store semolina slippers
Once the bread is at room temperature, place it in a bread bag and put it in a plastic or food-grade polyethylene bag.
Letting bread rise in the microwave
Did you know you can use the microwave as a proofing box? To do this, bring a bowl of water to a boil in the microwave at 800 watts. Once steam forms in the microwave, insert the bowl with the dough, without the cloth, and immediately close the door. The warm and humid environment will make the dough rise well.
How to lower the glycemic index of bread
Mix in 60 g of long-chain inulin to the flour and then proceed with the recipe.
Semolina slippers in an air fryer
You can bake the bread in an air fryer, preferably one with a door, preheating it for 1 minute at 446°F. After 10 minutes, bake the bread for 10 minutes, then lower the temperature and continue for another 8 minutes. If necessary, turn the slippers towards the end of the baking.
