"semolina" news and stories

The short answer is that durum flour is flour which is ground from Durum wheat. Durum wheat is a type of wheat that has an especially high protein content, and in fact its name derives from the Latin word for "hard".

Durum flour, with its high protein content, makes dough with unusually strong gluten. It's generally used in pizza dough and pasta, and its more coarsely ground cousin semolina is used to make cous cous. Though you can make bread with durum flour, recipes usually mix durum and regular wheat flour.

Durum wheat can be ground into semolina (sometimes called semolina flour if it's ground more finely) and durum flour, which can be referred to as extra fancy durum flour or extra fancy pasta flour. However, you can't really substitute one for the other. Semolina is a coarse grind and it looks a lot like corn meal. In fact a lot of bakers and pizza makers use semolina to dust baking sheets and peels so the dough doesn't stick (check the bottom of your pizza next time). Durum flour is ground as fine as regular flour and that's why it can be used in bread and pasta doughs.

I haven't ever been able to find real durum flour in a brick and mortar store, so I have to order it online. Semolina, on the other hand, is generally available in grocery stores, at least upscale ones. For more on the subject, here's a good page to check out.

This week, the New York Times Magazine's The Way We Eat column is devoted various types of syrup-soaked semolina cakes and pastries. In Macedonia, these desserts are known collectively as siropiasta. Revani and samali, both made with semolina and ground almond, are served drenched in sweet liquid - lemon-sugar, honey, rosewater syrup. In France and Italy, more pudding-like cakes are made with finely ground semolina, also known as farina, and baked in water baths. Served with caramel of fruit, they make fine summer desserts.

The story includes recipes for a French semolina gateau with nutmeg and raisins, a Cognac-soaked revani and a semolina pudding with rhubarb-strawberry sauce.

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Actually, it shouldn't be thought of as an indulgence. The couscoussiere is basically a double boiler used to make couscous and a variety of "stews" that are ladled onto the grain (technically a pasta). Originating in North Africa, couscous was made from Semolina by the Berber peoples. Couscous itself is now prepared and served variously all over the world, similar to rice. Immigrants to Israel from North Africa brought their own recipes, making couscous more of a main dish than a bed for meat stews, and this isn't a strictly Moroccan affair, as many believe. Most of North Africa can lay claim to their own couscous staple-dish.

Couscous can be made in any steamer or even simply soaked and then boiled. However, it is the couscoussiere that distinguishes the pedestrian from the "proper" couscous dish. Now, a couscoussiere isn't cheap. I don't like counter clutter and wasted shelf space, and I admit I don't own a couscoussiere, but I've used them to great success and pleasure. You can check out couscous recipes for yourself and see if you want to take it to the next level. If you've got the taste and the cash, go for it. A high-end couscoussiere presented at table is a splendid sight and your guests will be salivating before you take the lid off.

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