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Re: Durum vs. Semolina

Brown_D@kids.wustl.edu
Mon, 5 May 2003 19:20:19 -0500
v103.n023.2
I was unable to post to the list for a while, and got tired of trying to 
repost this reply to the original enquirer regarding semolina vs durum 
flour, but here goes another try--supposedly my e-mail to the list should 
now be acceptable again!

Semolina is a coarser grind of flour made from the durum wheat berry; it is 
not necessarily a whole grain flour.  It's used for pastas and for dusting 
things when baking bread, eg, to keep loaves from sticking to baking 
bricks.  Durum flour is a flour made from the same durum berry, and 
probably can be had as whole grain flour or white flour.

Durum wheat berries have a higher protein content than regular wheat, but 
it's not supposed to be as good for making bread because the gluten is 
different (I presume that means the protein has a distinct amino acid 
sequence?).

However, for years I've ground durum wheat berries in my grain mill to make 
fresh durum flour and used it to make fine breads with a nutty 
flavor.  However, without lot of special handling, it makes heavy breads 
when I use it by itself.  I mostly use it in flatbreads where a chewy bread 
with a little less rise is acceptable, and typically as a 50-50 mix with 
soft wheat berries (the equivalent of 50-50 durum flour-whole wheat pastry 
flour), or occasionally 50-50 with unbleached all purpose flour.

I'd never substitute semolina for durum flour in bread, although I do use 
my fresh-ground durum flour for pasta.

Diane Brown in St. Louis
(unrepentant fan of chewy durum flour breads)
brown_d@kids.wustl.edu