Ingredients for 3- 3 ½ lbs of bread
2 cups lukewarm water
2 envelopes (4 1/2 teaspoons) active dried yeast
2 teaspoons sugar
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
8 cups Italian organic semolina
1 ½ teaspoons salt
Dissolve the yeast and sugar in a bowl in about 1/3 of the warm water. Mix in the oil and stir well to combine.
Place the organic semolina and salt in a separate bowl then add the dissolved yeast, water and oil mixture.
Add the rest of the water, and mix together until you get a soft, dry dough.
Place the dough on a lightly floured work surface and knead by hand until it is smooth and elastic in texture.
Transfer the dough to a large bowl, cover with a damp cloth and let rise for at least 4 hours.
Remove the dough from the bowl, punch it down and return to the work surface. Fold the dough on itself a couple of times, a gentle knead, then reshape the dough into a loaf shape that you prefer: round, oblong, rectangular, square, as you desire, or that fits the loaf pans you will be using.
You may also make the bread free-form, on a large baking sheet, allowing space for expansion.
Using a sharp small knife such as a paring knife or box cutter, score the shape of a cross into the top of the round shape, or several slits in the top of the loaf shape.
Preheat the oven to 375°F degrees.
Bake the bread for 40 minutes, then raise the oven temperature to 475°F-500°F for a few minutes, to brown the crust.
Remove from oven, place the bread/s on a rack to cool and dry.
Enjoy at room temperature, in all ways that you enjoy bread.
Bread has accompanied the history of humankind for at least ten thousand years, sustaining people throughout the abundance and scarcity of other foods. For this reason, bread is often spoken of as “the staff of life”.
It was during the transition between the Palaeolithic and Neolithic times (between 10,000 and 8,000 BC) that people began to cultivate cereals–wheat, rye and spelt, eaten as a sort of porridge or a flat unleavened loaf.
Archaeologists agree that in the ancient Western world it was the Egyptians who first used early forms of leavening, which gave baked dough the new dimension in both shape and texture that we now know as bread.
It was embraced by later civilizations and spread geographically–throughout Europe, especially, but also the middle east. Bread is still cherished, perhaps even more, today, and from country to country covers a multitude of textures and tastes, whether complex or basic.
This following recipe is for a basic, semolina, bread. While fine wheat flour—00, made from low gluten soft wheat—can be used for bread baking, semolina is the best choice when making a bread that depends on structure and a more rustic, bread-like flavor. Semolina comes from high protein durum wheat (hard wheat) but is not to be confused with durum wheat flour. Durum wheat flour is milled multiple times, with a texture smoother, finer, and more suitable for pasta-making, while semolina is less finely milled and coarser in texture–just what your bread needs.
And remember: organic is best for both humans and the earth, so choose organic semolina!
