Cake and Bread

Authentic Recipe from Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day

Italian Semolina Bread Recipe

Jeff Hertzberg and Zoë François from Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day say “White, free-form loaves flavoured with semolina and sesame seeds are the fragrant products of southern Italy. Semolina is a high-protein wheat flour that gives loaves a sweetness, and an almost winey aroma. The flavour of the sesame seeds is inextricably linked to the semolina flavour (like caraway and rye). Be sure to use semolina flour that’s labelled ‘durum,’ other semolina flours won’t do as well this method.”

Makes four 1-pound loaves. The recipe is easily doubled or halved.

Ingredients:

• 3 cups lukewarm water
• 1 ½ tablespoons granulated yeast (1 ½ packets)
• 1 ½ tablespoons salt
• 3 cups durum flour
• 3 ¼ cups unbleached all-purpose flour
• Sesame seeds for top crust, approximately 1 to 2 teaspoons
• Cornmeal for the pizza peel
• Cornstarch wash (see below).

Cornstarch Wash

1. Using a fork, blend ½ teaspoon cornstarch with a small amount o water to form a paste.
2. Add ½ cup water and whisk with the fork. Microwave or boil until mixture appears glassy, about 30 to 60 seconds on high. It will keep in the refrigerator for two weeks; discard if it has an off smell.

Mixing and Storing the dough:

1. Mix the yeast and salt with the lukewarm water in a 5-quart bowl, or a lidded (not airtight) food container.
2. Mix in the flours without kneading, using a spoon, a 14-cup capacity food processor (with dough attachment), or a heavy-duty stand mixer (with dough hook). If you’re not using a machine, you man need to use wet hands to incorporate the last bit of flour.
3. Cover (not airtight), and allow to rest at room temperature until the dough rises and collapses (or flattens on top), approximately 2 hours.
4. The dough can be used immediately after the initial rise, though it is easier to handle when cold. Refrigerate in a lidded (not airtight) container and use over the next 14 days.

On Baking Day

1. Dust the surface of the refrigerated dough with flour and cut off a 1-pound (grapefruit-size) piece.
2. Dust the piece with more flour and quickly shape it into a ball by stretching the surface of the dough around to the bottom on all four sides, rotating the ball a quarter-turn as you go.
3. Elongate the ball to form an oval-shaped free-form loaf. Allow to rest and rise on a cornmeal-covered pizza peel for 40 minutes.

Twenty minutes before baking time

1. Preheat the oven to 450° F with a baking stone placed on the middle rack. Place an empty broiler tray on any other shelf that won’t interfere with the rising bread.
2. Just before baking, paint the surface with cornstarch wash, sprinkle with sesame seeds, and slash the surface diagonally, using a serrated bread knife.
3. Slide the loaf directly onto the hot stone. Pour 1 cup of hot tap water into the broiler tray, and quickly close the oven door. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, until deeply browned and firm. Smaller or larger loaves will require adjustment in baking time.

Allow to cool before slicing or eating.

Recipe printed with the permission of Zoë François.

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