When people think of semolina flour, they usually think of pasta. But semolina, a high-gluten flour made from the hard, coarse endosperm of durum wheat, also makes a lovely loaf of bread. Light golden in color, moist, and of a fine, delicate texture ideal for slicing, this bread recipe is based on one found in Judith and Evan Jones' "The Book of Bread," available in our Baker's Catalogue (as is the semolina flour.)

1 tablespoon active dry yeast
1 1/2 cups lukewarm (110°F) water
2 tablespoons soft butter
2 tablespoons nonfat dry milk
1 teaspoon salt
3 cups semolina flour

Dissolve the yeast in 1/2 cup of the warm water in a large bowl. Mix the butter and the dry milk into the remaining cup of water, and add to the yeast along with the salt. Stir in the semolina.

Turn the dough out onto a work surface floured with a little more semolina and knead it for 8 to 10 minutes, until smooth. Grease a bowl, set the dough in the bowl, turning to coat all sides, cover with plastic wrap, and let rise until doubled in bulk, about 1 1/2 hours or more.

Punch the dough down, turn it out of the bowl, and shape it into a loaf. Place it into a greased 5 x 10-inch bread pan. Cover with a towel and let rise until doubled in bulk, about 50 minutes.

Bake in a preheated 350°F oven for 40 minutes, or until bread is a light golden brown and tests done. Turn the loaf out and let it cool on a rack. Let cool thoroughly before slicing. Makes 1 large loaf.

Note: This is a nice, moist sandwich bread. I even made it in our office bread machine* with a fair amount of success: the top crust sank a bit, but the texture, taste and moistness were excellent.

This recipe reprinted from The Baking Sheet Newsletter, Vol. II, No. 7, July 1991 issue.