If you are subscribed to The Perfect Loaf’s newsletter this recipe should have landed in your in-box. For those of you who are not, thought I’d post it here. Durum flour breads are very popular on this site for good reason. Then add in some olive oil plus sesame seeds and you have the trifecta.
Thank you Maurizio.
Looks and sounds beautiful. I checked out the flour he uses – it’s durum endosperm only. He notes that it’s the same-ish as semolina rimacinata. Tasty 
Durum flour
This pane Siciliano is made with 100% durum wheat semolina. For the best results, be sure to use durum that’s labeled “extra fancy” or “semolina rimacinata” (which means twice-milled semolina). This durum wheat is milled incredibly fine and performs the best in bread doughs.
He uses semola rimacinata = durum flour.
Durum Flour + Olive Oil + Sesame Seeds = Delicious. My kind of Math!
White (or yellow) durum flour
Yes! It is always the endosperm of the durum grain. Semolina is the endosperm, as a grit or coarse grind, and the flour is made from re-milling it to something much finer.
While technically one can grind the wholegrain to a flour and call it “durum flour” it’s not used in these traditional Italian breads where rimacinata, synonymous with durum flour, is used.
Interesting to note the only grain called hard wheat, in Italy, is durum wheat. Durum = Hard. It has nothing to do with the protein percentage and more to do with the physical quality of this wheat variety. That is why it’s made into semolina and if you want durum flour it has to be re-milled.
Thanks, Abe, beautiful loaves from my favorite flavored flour. I’ll have to try his recipe.
Richard
Knew you’d like it Richard. I look forward to your bake.
Those are gorgeous, I love a 100% semolina loaf covered in sesame seeds, what’s not to like? Thanks for sharing that Abe.
Benny
Exactly what I thought when I saw them, Benny. Today I went out specially to buy some durum flour. Hopefully I can do this recipe justice. This recipe has the perfect combination to this lovely flour shine.
I have semolina I use for spatzel wondering if that would work. Never used olive oil in bread what does it add
Hi @Brewcat. Can you post a link to the type of semolina you have? I’ll have a look. Oil in bread makes for a softer crumb. Plus olive oil and durum compliment each other a lot. I love toasting durum bread and dipping it into olive oil.
I’ve been salivating over that recipe for the last few days. The color and sesame seeds look irresistible. Thanks Abe for clarifying the durum vs. semolina question. I have Caputo brand which is labeled “semola rimacinata” and hope that is the equivalent of what Maurizio calls for. I won’t get around to trying it for a bit as I am working my way through the Rustico loaf from his book. Looking forward to seeing some of your bakes of this bread.
That is exactly what Maurizio is calling for @oaklandpat. Went out today to stock up on some durum flour and that is what I bought. My aim is to try it this week but depending on my vacation plans it might end up being a few weeks. However, i’ve done many breads on this very theme and can vouch for this recipe. It’s every bit as tasty as it looks and you’ll love it when you get around to trying it.
Thanks for your speedy response. Looking forward to seeing your loaf. Hope you have a wonderful vacation.
Thank you @oaklandpat. Right now i’ve gotta use up some vacation time owed to me. Hopefully I can make it work. Will post my bake here when it’s done. Hope you get to try it soon too.
From their webpage:
Our Semolina Flour is made from the finest durum wheat (durum flour). It is an indispensable ingredient for homemade pasta like ravioli or linguine, and an excellent choice for Italian-style breads.
So it looks like it’ll be fine to use. It is still semolina and not re-milled semolina. The finer the grind the more water it can absorb. The recipe calls for re-milled semolina so when using semolina watch out for the hydration.
I think it’ll be fine. You can follow the recipe as it is up until the final dough. You might not need to add in, or at least not all of it, water 2! Follow the levain build and autolyse as it is written then when adding the salt, levain and oil to the final dough see how it feels and only add in the extra water if it needs it and do so slowly.
Well after reading the above attachment Im cutting the semolina with bread flour. Working on this recipe now.
Please post your observations and photos Brewcat!
I will, they are doing the final proof in the fridge overnight. I’ll bake them in the morning. It felt kinda wierd working in the oil. It got pretty stretchy
