Semolina Bread

A revisit to this post: 

30/01/2021: As I have been chosen to be mentor for the coming month for a healthy baking group OMBC on Facebook, I planned to add some points to this post. This was one of my earlier successful bread attempts almost 4.5 years back. I was very new to yeast and bread baking. But this bread changed my outlook towards home made breads. I can clearly say that a semolina bread often raise my spirit and boost up my confidence. Whenever I used to have a not so successful result with my whole wheat breads, I would bake a semolina bread to boost my morale. So, I can clearly tell you all to start with semolina breads. Usually I suggest people to start bread baking with all purpose flour and then slowly replace it with whole grains part by part. But this being a healthy baking group with no refined flour or sugar, the next best choice it to start with semolina.

Use unroasted semolina and preferably very fine too. Incase its not so fine, blitz it in a mixer for few seconds. Chirotti rava works the best. Its available on amazon.in and Big basket too. I shall some more pointers in the notes section. Please go through it. For more information on bread baking facts, please click here. You can also read my article on yeast facts by clicking on this link. Note to all beginners, Please read till the end. 

A bread with semolina!, is that even possible? These were my first thoughts when I read about semolina bread in Harini Sankarnarayan‘s blog ladlesandwhisks.wordpress.com. Her blog had me glued to it for straight 4-5 hours. It was one of the most beautifully written blogs I had ever come across. One has to really bake it to understand the flavour, texture and rise of this bread. I was expecting a good rise in the bread while proofing and during the bake as I had read in the blog, but wasn’t really expecting what I saw. The bread rose beautifully and had a perfect texture. I didn’t know till then that semolina could be kneaded into a soft and pliable dough. It surely is one of the most easiest and tastiest bread to bake. Just few minimal ingredients and such a no-fuss recipe. This was one of my first successful bread during the initial days of bread  baking which was almost half a year ago. This gave me lot of confidence as a bread baker and inspired me to bake more and more breads. The nutty flavour of semolina is simply amazing. My family’s favourite too. I have used a 240 ml cup.

Ingredients:

• Semolina flour (bareek rava/chirotti rava) 400 gm
• Cane Sugar 1 tsp
• Salt 1 tsp
• Oil 2 tbsp
• Instant yeast 1/2 tsp
• Water 1 cup plus 1-2 tbsp or as required

Method:

• Mix all the dry ingredients and combine well using a whisk or ladle.
• Take the lukewarm water in a big mixing bowl and slowly incorporate the dry ingredients into the water and mix well. It will look like a shaggy dough at this point. Don’t attempt to knead it at this point. Simply cover the bowl and keep it aside for 10 minutes. This step will allow the gluten to develop and will make your kneading easier.
• Knead the dough on a clean kitchen counter using the oil and making your hands a bit moist when the dough gets too sticky to handle. Knead for 10-12 minutes by using the stretch and fold method into a smooth, soft and pliable dough. When you poke your fingers into the dough, it should spring back. This indicates that the dough is ready to be kept for proofing.
• Place the dough in a well oiled bowl and cover the bowl with a cling wrap or a wet towel and keep it in a warm place for the dough to double in size. This could take anywhere from thirty minutes to two hours depending on the temperature of your kitchen or workspace. See when the dough doubles in your case and not the time. If the dough is fully proofed, the indentation caused by your fingers will remain on the dough.
• Once the dough is doubled, gently punch the dough and remove the air bubbles. Roll the dough into a rectangle and fold it tightly like a log and seal the edges well.
• Place the rolled dough in a well oiled bread tin (I use 9 x 3.5 x 3.25 inches), apply some oil on the top of the log and allow it to almost double or till the dough almost reaches the brim of the tin. Again this could take around 20-50 minutes. Keep an eye on it after around 20 minutes. to check whether the dough is ready to be baked, poke it lightly on the top, if it fills too soon, it still requires more time for proofing. If it fills slowly, its perfect to be baked and of the indentation stays, its overproofed.
• You can apply some milk/egg wash on the top of the loaf and sprinkle some sesame seeds on top before you place it in the oven.
• Preheat the oven at 180 degree Celsius for around 10 minutes and bake the bread for 40-50 minutes till the crust is almost golden in colour. Remove from oven and apply butter on the crust and bake for 5 more minutes or so at 190-200 degree Celsius.
• Remove the bread from the oven and apply butter on top.  Let the bread cool in the tin for 4-5 minutes. Gently take the bread out of the tin and allow it to cool on a wire rack till its fully cooled.
• You can cover the bread with a moist towel while its cooling. This will make the crust softer.
• Slice using a sharp and long serrated bread knife using the seesaw motion into neat slices and serve.
• These make excellent grilled sandwiches and toasts well.

Notes:

• Use fine semolina. Incase it is very grainy, pulse it in a mixer and make it fine.
• Do not use roasted semolina, it will not bind when you knead it.
• Beware of idli-rava, its made of rice and hence will not develop any gluten while kneading. So, please ensure it  before using.
• Semolina tends to rise more than apf bread and whole wheat flour bread, so remember to bake it in the lower rack of the oven and also choose the tin size properly, so that the dough doesn’t overflow from the bread tin.
• The dough tends to be very sticky, so resist the temptation to add more flour while kneading.
• Each oven behaves differently, so decide on the timings and temperature accordingly.
• Also the timings of proofing vary according to weather conditions, so keep a watch on the dough during both the proofing.
• Incase the top of the bread browns too much during the first 20-25 minutes of baking, cover the top of the tin with an aluminium foil and tent it while baking.
• You can cover the top of the bread with a clean and  moist soft towel while its cooling. This ensures faster cooling and the crust remains soft.
• Allow the bread to cool for atleast 2-3 hours before you slice them. This will ensure clean and neat slices. Please please do not cut the bread while its hot. This will make the crumb gummy. The bread is still cooking from inside after its out of the oven.
• The internal temperature of a fully baked bread should be around 95-100 degree Celsius. When its fully done, the bread should sound hollow when tapped at the bottom.
• Do not leave the baked bread in the tin for a long time as this will lead to condensation and leave the base soggy.
• Remember to grease the tin really well especially while its new. Once the tin gets seasoned, the bread will slide easily out of the tin.
• Bake breads using both the rods on setting of the oven with the fan mode on if applicable.
• Remember that bread baking is all about the technique, judgement (especially the proofing time), quality and quantity of ingredients used and so on. There is nothing special in a recipe.
• A bread proofed for a longer time using lesser yeast tastes far better than a bread with more yeast and a faster rise.
• Treat each bake as a learning experience. Never throw or discard a  baked loaf. If you are not very satisfied with the texture of your bread, slice it, bake it at a low temperature say 100-120 degree Celsius till its crisp. Powder and store it in the refrigerator and use these bread crumb in your cutlets. Or break them into small chunks and prepare these delicious bread upma loaded with veggies. Or feed it to crows. I have realised that crows really love breads. I have fed six sourdough dinner rolls to around 24 crows today 🙂
• If you are using active yeast or fresh yeast in place of instant yeast, please activate it first using around 1/4 cup lukewarm water and 1-2 teaspoon of sugar. Mix it and keep it aside for 10-15 minutes till its frothy. If it doesn’t get frothy, please discard and start a new batch. The dough won’t rise if the yeast is not alive. For every 1 teaspoon of instant yeast, use around 1-1.5 teaspoon of active yeast and around 3 teaspoon of fresh yeast.
• Remember not to use very hot water as this kill your yeast. Use only lukewarm water. To check the hotness of water, dip your index finger in the water and see if you are able to withstand the heat for a count of one to twenty.
• Do not add the entire liquid mentioned in any bread recipe right in the beginning. add water slowly according to how much your flour absorbs. This could vary with the temperature, humidity, quality of the flour. We Indians, being from the land of numerous flat breads like rotis, nans, kulchas etc.. this shouldn’t be an issue at all. Consider bread baking similar to chapati making. Use recipes as a guideline. Understand the theory behind it and the science and then use your instincts and gut feelings to bake breads. Feel the dough in your hands… see how it gets transformed from a shaggy, wet and sticky mass to a soft, smooth and elastic dough. Experience the magic when the dough doubles, when the shaped loaf which was less that one third of your tin, rise more than the brim, or when the loaf rises when it comes in contact with the hot oven …. Words can’t describe it. Feel it yourself. So, lets shed all the inhibitions and fear of bread baking and join me in the beautiful world of breads !!!!