Hydration guide
Durum Semolina Hydration Guide
Workable range: 65–72% · Absorption: 1.020× bread flour · Midpoint target: 69%
How Durum Semolina behaves at each hydration
Durum semolina is milled from hard amber durum wheat (Triticum durum) — the same grain used in pasta. Coarser grind than bread flour, yellow color from high carotenoid content, and slightly higher absorption (2% above bread flour baseline). Protein structure produces firm, chewy crumb with distinctive nutty flavor. Traditional in Sicilian-style sourdough (pane siciliano, pane di Altamura DOP). Use at 20-40% in blends for hearth loaves with golden color and dense chewy texture. Caputo, Bob's Red Mill, and Italian imports (Molino Grassi) are references.
Substituting Durum Semolina for bread flour
Absorption multiplier: 1.020×. When substituting for bread flour, add about 2% more water. For example: a 75% bread-flour recipe becomes 77% when using 100% Durum Semolina.
The calculator below is pre-set to 69%. Adjust the slider to match your target. Salt and levain percentages are the flour-independent defaults (2.0% and 20%).
Technique at target hydration
Long autolyse (60+ min) — durum is slow to hydrate fully. Firm dough: 68-72% hydration max. Use coil folds rather than stretch-and-folds. Shape with wet hands. Excellent for pan di Altamura-style boule shaping.
Calculator pre-set to 69%
- Flour to add
- 450 g
- Water to add
- 295 g
- Salt
- 10 g
- Levain @ 100%
- 100 g
- Total dough
- 855 g
- Effective hydration
- 69%
How the math works
Total water = flour × hydration %. Your levain contributes 50 g flour + 50 g water — both count toward the totals. You add only the remainder as fresh flour and water.
Salt % is computed on total flour weight, not final-dough flour.