I'm having some trouble determining the difference between semolina flour and patent durum flour. I'm trying to make a bread recipe using the semolina flour -- is that different from pasta flour????

[mudbug]

There's a little info here on different kinds of flour:

"Durum wheat, although high in gluten, is not good for baking. Instead, it's most often ground into SEMOLINA, the basis for excellent pasta. In the United States, wheat is also classified according to the time of year it is sown-namely, spring wheat and winter wheat (which is actually sown in the fall).

From: http://allrecipes.com/encyc/terms/w/...2-94BB27860DEB

Semolina flour is pasta flour. So when you go to the grocery and buy pasta, you want to look for those made with semolina flour.

What does your recipe call for?

[This message has been edited by cchiu (edited 11-22-2000).]

[Katherine]

You'll have difficulty making bread from semolina flour unless you have a sturdy mixer to knead the dough. Let it rise more than double, shape it without working it much, raise again and bake. It'll probably be easier to use 1/3 semolina flour in your recipe.

The recipe calls for nearly all semolina flour, and I bought some, but it's very very finely ground. Is that normal?

[mudbug]

Yes, it is, and it is supported by the definition posted above. Semolina flour is finely ground duram wheat.