Semolina Bread - No-Knead
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This is a very easy bread to put together and have ready for when you want it. Semolina flour adds a bit of color, chew, and subtle flavor. It’s a great bread all by itself, but it also takes additions well (see below). The recipe is easily halved, but the dough also keeps well for a good couple of weeks or more, so you may as well make a large amount of dough.
Makes 4 loaves, each approximately 14 ounces before baking.
425g Durum semolina flour
455g All purpose flour
17-25g salt (a matter of taste and any additions)
10g active dry yeast
680g (3 cups) lukewarm water-
Mix the flours together (a whisk works well).
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Mix the salt and yeast into the water (with a spoon or whisk). Use a large bowl, at least 6 quarts.
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Mix in the flour until it’s just mixed and all flour is wet (no lumps). Do not knead. You can use a spoon, a dough whisk, or a stand mixer with a paddle attachment.
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Scrape down the sides of the bowl (if needed), cover the bowl, and set aside to rise for about 2 hours (or until the dough rises and either collapses or flattens).
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Refrigerate the dough overnight or until you’re ready to bake. You can transfer the dough to a smaller container, if you like, but leave a little room just in case it rises a little more. Do not oil or grease the container. Do not punch down or knead the dough.
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When you are ready to bake, preheat your oven to 450 F. Put a baking stone or steel in the center of the oven, and put a broiler pan or metal baking pan on a lower rack.
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Sprinkle a handful of flour on the cold dough and remove one 14-ounce portion of dough for every loaf you want to bake (about the size of a grapefruit–doesn’t need to be perfect). Shape as you like and set onto parchment paper or a peel liberally covered with cornmeal. Sprinkle flour on the dough and your hands as necessary to prevent sticking while handling, but do not knead or incorporate all that flour into the dough. Cover the dough with plastic wrap or a roomy bowl and let rise for at least 40 minutes and up to 90 minutes, depending on the room temperature and how open you want the crumb to be.
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Once the dough has risen as desired, paint the top with a corn starch wash or water, and make 1/2-inch slashes across the surface (with a serrated knife, lame, or razor blade).
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Slide the dough onto the stone or steel. Add about 1 cup of hot water to the broiler/baking pan, and bake for about 30-35 minutes. Remove to a cooling rack and allow to cool completely before slicing.
NOTES:
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For the corn starch wash, add a very little bit of water to 1/2 tsp of corn starch, and mix to form a thick paste. Add 1/2 cup of water and mix completely. Heat in a microwave or small saucepan or skillet until the mix is glassy (it won’t be clear). Let cool before using. Keeps in the refrigerator for a good couple weeks or so. The wash gives the loaf a deep brown color.
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Additions. If you want to add some goodies, press or roll the dough out to about 1/2-inch thick (the shape depends on what shape you want your final loaf to be). You’ll want a floured surface, but use as little flour as you can get away with. Spread your goodies on the dough, and then roll up the dough tightly into a loaf. Pinch and tuck the edges, and further shape or plump the loaf, if desired. Allow to rise for 90 minutes to about 2 hours or as desired. Bake about 35 minutes.
For the pictured loaf, I added 1/4 cup of halved Kalamata olives (about 40g) and 30g of grated Asiago cheese. It was the first time I added cheese to this recipe, and I’ll probably bump it up to around 40-45g in the future. I’m probably going to do a Hatch chile & cheddar (or jack) version soon.
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The best semolina flour for this recipe is the finely ground, “00” flour. However, coarser flour will work just fine if that’s all you can find.
-
You can make any size loaf you want, really, but rising and baking times will vary. A double portion loaf probably will take 45 minutes or so, and a triple portion will probably be about 60 minutes. The best thing to do is to check the temperature with an instant-read thermometer. If you do not roll anything into the dough or if you only roll relatively dry ingredients into the dough, then you’re probably done baking the loaf when it gets to 190 F, internally. If you add something wet, you might want to get it closer to 200 F.
-
-
This is a very easy bread to put together and have ready for when you want it. Semolina flour adds a bit of color, chew, and subtle flavor. It’s a great bread all by itself, but it also takes additions well (see below). The recipe is easily halved, but the dough also keeps well for a good couple of weeks or more, so you may as well make a large amount of dough.
Makes 4 loaves, each approximately 14 ounces before baking.
425g Durum semolina flour
455g All purpose flour
17-25g salt (a matter of taste and any additions)
10g active dry yeast
680g (3 cups) lukewarm water-
Mix the flours together (a whisk works well).
-
Mix the salt and yeast into the water (with a spoon or whisk). Use a large bowl, at least 6 quarts.
-
Mix in the flour until it’s just mixed and all flour is wet (no lumps). Do not knead. You can use a spoon, a dough whisk, or a stand mixer with a paddle attachment.
-
Scrape down the sides of the bowl (if needed), cover the bowl, and set aside to rise for about 2 hours (or until the dough rises and either collapses or flattens).
-
Refrigerate the dough overnight or until you’re ready to bake. You can transfer the dough to a smaller container, if you like, but leave a little room just in case it rises a little more. Do not oil or grease the container. Do not punch down or knead the dough.
-
When you are ready to bake, preheat your oven to 450 F. Put a baking stone or steel in the center of the oven, and put a broiler pan or metal baking pan on a lower rack.
-
Sprinkle a handful of flour on the cold dough and remove one 14-ounce portion of dough for every loaf you want to bake (about the size of a grapefruit–doesn’t need to be perfect). Shape as you like and set onto parchment paper or a peel liberally covered with cornmeal. Sprinkle flour on the dough and your hands as necessary to prevent sticking while handling, but do not knead or incorporate all that flour into the dough. Cover the dough with plastic wrap or a roomy bowl and let rise for at least 40 minutes and up to 90 minutes, depending on the room temperature and how open you want the crumb to be.
-
Once the dough has risen as desired, paint the top with a corn starch wash or water, and make 1/2-inch slashes across the surface (with a serrated knife, lame, or razor blade).
-
Slide the dough onto the stone or steel. Add about 1 cup of hot water to the broiler/baking pan, and bake for about 30-35 minutes. Remove to a cooling rack and allow to cool completely before slicing.
NOTES:
-
For the corn starch wash, add a very little bit of water to 1/2 tsp of corn starch, and mix to form a thick paste. Add 1/2 cup of water and mix completely. Heat in a microwave or small saucepan or skillet until the mix is glassy (it won’t be clear). Let cool before using. Keeps in the refrigerator for a good couple weeks or so. The wash gives the loaf a deep brown color.
-
Additions. If you want to add some goodies, press or roll the dough out to about 1/2-inch thick (the shape depends on what shape you want your final loaf to be). You’ll want a floured surface, but use as little flour as you can get away with. Spread your goodies on the dough, and then roll up the dough tightly into a loaf. Pinch and tuck the edges, and further shape or plump the loaf, if desired. Allow to rise for 90 minutes to about 2 hours or as desired. Bake about 35 minutes.
For the pictured loaf, I added 1/4 cup of halved Kalamata olives (about 40g) and 30g of grated Asiago cheese. It was the first time I added cheese to this recipe, and I’ll probably bump it up to around 40-45g in the future. I’m probably going to do a Hatch chile & cheddar (or jack) version soon.
-
The best semolina flour for this recipe is the finely ground, “00” flour. However, coarser flour will work just fine if that’s all you can find.
-
You can make any size loaf you want, really, but rising and baking times will vary. A double portion loaf probably will take 45 minutes or so, and a triple portion will probably be about 60 minutes. The best thing to do is to check the temperature with an instant-read thermometer. If you do not roll anything into the dough or if you only roll relatively dry ingredients into the dough, then you’re probably done baking the loaf when it gets to 190 F, internally. If you add something wet, you might want to get it closer to 200 F.
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TexLaw Sounds great! I just picked up some hatch chiles today so I’ll give that one a try!
Joe Hell I look forward to hearing how it goes. I have a half a recipe burning a hole in my fridge, so I also will try it soon. Shoot, I think I still have some of last year’s Hatch chile acquisition in the freezer, so I might give it a try right now.
I’m a little concerned that they might be so wet that the bread comes out a little gummy, but I really am only a little concerned about that. It’s such an easy recipe to work with, I don’t mind experimenting.
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I added a couple more notes about flour, loaf size, and baking times.
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I went ahead and did the Hatch/cheddar version last night, and it came out very well. Very tasty!
To address my concern about whether the chiles would be too wet, I just blotted the roasted, chopped chiles on a paper towel for a moment. I don’t know if that really was necessary, but the final product was not at all gummy.
I don’t know the final weight of the chiles, but I just used enough to spread on the surface of the rolled out dough. It came out to a little more than 1/4 cup of the roasted chopped chiles. I used about 60g (about 2 oz) of the cheese, but I think that was too much. A fair amount of it oozed out during baking. I might try to cut back on that, or I might just try keeping the cheese more toward the center of the loaf to keep the cheese from oozing out.
Anyhow, those end slices never make for much of a pic.
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I went ahead and did the Hatch/cheddar version last night, and it came out very well. Very tasty!
To address my concern about whether the chiles would be too wet, I just blotted the roasted, chopped chiles on a paper towel for a moment. I don’t know if that really was necessary, but the final product was not at all gummy.
I don’t know the final weight of the chiles, but I just used enough to spread on the surface of the rolled out dough. It came out to a little more than 1/4 cup of the roasted chopped chiles. I used about 60g (about 2 oz) of the cheese, but I think that was too much. A fair amount of it oozed out during baking. I might try to cut back on that, or I might just try keeping the cheese more toward the center of the loaf to keep the cheese from oozing out.
Anyhow, those end slices never make for much of a pic.
TexLaw Thanks for the update. Picked up 20 pounds of Hatch peppers yesterday. Going to make this bread, jelly, and the cowboy candy. Thanks for the heads up with the cheese, would never have thought that would have been too much. I’s assuming it was not high temp cheese.
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TexLaw Thanks for the update. Picked up 20 pounds of Hatch peppers yesterday. Going to make this bread, jelly, and the cowboy candy. Thanks for the heads up with the cheese, would never have thought that would have been too much. I’s assuming it was not high temp cheese.
Chef said in Semolina Bread - No-Knead:
I’s assuming it was not high temp cheese.
No, it was just Kraft sharp cheddar. I don’t have any high-melt cheese at the moment. I do have some on the way, but it’s earmarked for Summer sausage.
I don’t at all mind that it melted. That was something of the plan. The oozing was not, though. Since it seems like it oozed out through the slashes, I bet I can just do a better job of keeping the cheese more towards the center when rolling it in. We’ll see!
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Chef said in Semolina Bread - No-Knead:
I’s assuming it was not high temp cheese.
No, it was just Kraft sharp cheddar. I don’t have any high-melt cheese at the moment. I do have some on the way, but it’s earmarked for Summer sausage.
I don’t at all mind that it melted. That was something of the plan. The oozing was not, though. Since it seems like it oozed out through the slashes, I bet I can just do a better job of keeping the cheese more towards the center when rolling it in. We’ll see!
TexLaw It still looks great, My weakness is bread right out the oven. The peppers, cheese and olives sounds so good. Bread is rising as I type this.
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Maybe I should ask first, I was only assuming high temp cheese would be okay for baked goods. Has anyone used high temp cheese in breads as such? Jonathon , the man with all the answers in the world, any thoughts?
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