These homemade soft semolina buns are prepared with just 7 basic bread ingredients, including fine semolina flour, egg, sugar, and olive oil. They are golden yellow and slightly crispy on the outside and soft and crumbly inside, very similar to Mafaldine Siciliane. Either a stand mixer or mixing bowls with a dough whisk can be used to prepare this dough.
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Have you ever made semolina bread before? These homemade semolina buns are made from 100% semolina flour and share similar characteristics of this semolina rolls and this Sicilian bread. You’ll find these buns to be wonderfully versatile, whether you use them for hamburgers or as a simple addition to your dinner table. If you’re new to bread baking and unfamiliar with semolina, continue reading below, and if you want to explore more types of flour used in bread baking, read this guide.
What is Semolina Flour?
Semolina flour, also known as durum wheat flour, is a type of flour made from durum wheat—a type of wheat characterized by its hard, vitreous, amber-colored grains with high protein content. While well known as the main ingredient for fresh pasta and couscous, today’s flour is also well used in dozens of traditional loaves all over the Mediterranean, including Moroccan, Tunisian, and Italian bread varieties.
Related: What is Semolina Flour?
Here’s Why You’ll Love Today’s Semolina Buns
- Just 7 simple dough ingredients
- Variety of textures: slightly crispy, golden-yellow crust, with a soft and even crumb that perfectly holds all sauces.
- Only 1 rise
- Simple to make
- A dairy-free recipe
Ingredients You’ll Need for the Dough
You need very few ingredients to make this semolina bun dough. In fact, I use the same bread ingredients list as what I use for my Sicilian bread, with a single addition of an egg. In addition to the semolina flour, you’ll need 6 other ingredients:
- Water: You’ll need a little lukewarm water to bring all the ingredients together. For this recipe, you want to warm water to about 110°F (43°C), to encourage the yeast to activate and make the bread rise nicely. An instant-read thermometer eliminates the guesswork.
- Yeast: You can use instant yeast, active dry yeast, or fresh yeast. You will need to triple the amount of yeast if you are using fresh yeast—two tablespoons (20 grams).
- Sugar: Sugar feeds the yeast, adds a sweet taste, and helps the rolls get their soft, fluffy texture.
- Salt: For truly flavorful semolina buns, pick up some Mediterranean coarse sea salt.
- Olive oil: Mediterranean bread recipes call for olive oil to enhance the dough’s richness.
- Egg: You’ll need a whole medium egg for the dough and another one for the egg wash.
Optional substitute: You can substitute 1/4 cup lukewarm water with an equal amount of lukewarm whole milk in this semolina dough, and swap the olive oil for butter, like we often do when we need an even fluffier texture. But keep in mind that these substitutions lessen the semolina flavor in these buns.
Step-by-Step Photos
Activate your yeast by whisking the warmed water, yeast, and sugar in the bowl of your stand mixer. Above left: After 5-10 minutes, you’ll notice the yeast foam or bubbles on the top of your mixture. Then, put the remaining ingredients in the mixer bowl in this order: semolina flour, salt, egg, and then the olive oil, as in the right above.
After all the ingredients are well incorporated, increase the speed to medium and let the stand mixer run for a full 8 minutes. The dough will be smooth and slightly elastic, as pictured above.
Keep the dough in the stand mixer bowl and cover it with plastic wrap or a clean kitchen towel. Let it reset for 20 minutes before shaping.
Above: After you rest your dough, transfer it to a lightly floured work surface and shape it into a ball. Below: Divide it into 6 equal pieces. So, you have 6 pieces that weigh about 3.5 ounces (100 grams).
Below left: Shape each piece into a smooth ball. Below right: Arrange in the prepared baking sheet and gently flatten them into a 3.5-inch (8-9cm) wide circle.
Let rise until they are 4.5 -inch (11-12cm) wide.
Below left: Whisk a whole egg vigorously with a fork to make an egg wash, then apply it to the top of your buns with a pastry brush. Below right: Sprinkle with sesame seeds.
Bake until golden brown on top.
How do I test for doneness? Give the buns a gentle tap. If it sounds hollow, it’s done; if not, bake another 1-2 minutes. For a more accurate test, use an instant-read thermometer inserted into the center of a bun. It is done when the center of the roll is 195–200°F (90–93°C).
These semolina buns are exceptional when sliced and served warm. The exterior is slightly crisp and has a golden-yellow color, while the crumb is very soft but sturdy enough to hold up to all kinds of sauces. This homemade semolina bun recipe is definitely worth trying!
If you happen to have leftovers, 2 day-old buns are still perfect for making any sandwiches. But if you want a bread that stays fresh for up to 7 days, you should try to make this Sicilian bread recipe.
More Semolina Recipes
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Semolina Buns (From Scratch)
Ingredients
- 177 ml (¾ cups) water, warmed to about 110°F (43°C)
- 7 grams (2 and ¼ teaspoons) instant yeast
- 16 grams (1 and ¼ teaspoons) white sugar
- 354 grams (2 cups and 2 tablespoons) fine semolina flour, plus more as need
- 1 teaspoon coarse sea salt
- 20 grams (1 and ½ tablespoons) olive oil
- 1 medium egg, at room temperature
- For toppings: 13 grams (1 and ½ tablespoons) sesame seeds
Instructions
- Prepare the dough: Whisk the lukewarm water, yeast, and sugar in the bowl of your stand mixer or small bowl. Cover and allow to sit for 10-15 minutes or until foamy and bubbly.
- Add the semolina flour, salt, one egg, and olive oil. Beat with the dough hook on low speed for a full 4 minutes or until the dough comes together and forms a shaggy mass, scrape down the side of the bowl with a silicone spatula to ensure all ingredients are incorporated. *If you don't have a stand mixer, you can do this step in a large mixing bowl, mix all ingredients together with a dough whisk.
- Knead the dough: Increase the speed to medium and let the stand mixer run for a full 8 minutes, or slap and fold by hand for 8 minutes on a lightly floured surface until the dough becomes smooth, soft, and slightly elastic, with some stickiness (See the picture above). If the dough gets too wet, add semolina flour, 1 teaspoon at a time, but don't add too much flour, as we don't want a dry dough. The dough gathers around the dough hook and away from the side of the bowl at the end of the kneading process. Leave the dough in the stand mixer bowl, cover with plastic wrap or a clean kitchen towel, and allow to rest for 20 minutes.
- Line a half baking sheet or oven pan with parchment paper or grease it with oil or non-stick spray. Set aside.
- Shape the buns: Transfer the dough to a lightly floured work surface, shape it into a ball. Divide into 6 equal pieces, each with about 3.5 ounces (100 grams). Shape each piece into a smooth bun (Use a bench scraper to easily cut and shape the dough into balls). Arrange on the prepared baking sheet. Gently flatten the balls with the palm of your hand into a 3.5-inch (8-9cm) wide circle.
- Rise: Cover the shaped buns with plastic wrap or a clean kitchen towel. Allow to rise for 45-60 minutes or until puffy. To check if your roll has risen properly, gently poke the bun dough with your finger about ¼ inch (5 mm) deep and immediately pull it away. If the roll slowly fills back, the rolls are ready to bake.
- Preheat the oven to 356°F (180°C).
- Just before baking, brush the buns with egg wash using a pastry brush, then sprinkle with sesame seeds.
- Bake the rolls: Bake at 356°F (180°C) for 20 minutes or until the semolina buns are golden brown on top, turning the baking sheet halfway through. If the top browns too quickly, cover the buns loosely with aluminum foil. Once baked, remove them from the oven and let them cool completely on a wire rack. Serve warm or let them cool completely to room temperature before enjoying.
The recipe was easy to follow. First time working with semolina flour. Taste better than store’s brands. My family loves it.
I just made these buns at home tonight, and they were a huge success! I’ll make them again for my restaurant this week. Thanks for the recipe!