Semolina Sandwich Bread

With step-by-step pictures and success tips, learn how to make the best semolina sandwich bread with this simple-to-follow recipe. Made with 100% semolina flour (no egg or dairy) and a few baking ingredients like water, yeast, and salt, this semolina recipe yields a wonderfully soft, flavorful, and taller, fluffier loaf.

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While there is major convenience associated with buying bread at the store, baking bread at home offers unmatched charm and a truly beautiful experience. This semolina bread takes a few hours from start to finish, and most of that time is completely hands-off. Just let your mixer do all the work, then guide your loaf through the easy steps of rising, shaping, and baking.

​To be frank, the aroma alone is incredible! This fresh-baked bread tastes so much better than store-bought sandwich bread—it simply can’t compare, and I even prefer it over regular white bread for savory dishes. If you don’t have any experience with semolina flour, this is a no-fuss recipe that will build your confidence, just like my semolina rolls, my semolina buns, and semolina baguette recipes.

Here’s Why You’ll Love This Semolina Bread

• Slightly chewy crust with a soft texture inside.
• Flavorful & unique
• Perfect for a wide variety of uses, including simple sandwiches (like peanut butter), elaborate ones (like a BLT or grilled cheese), and it holds up wonderfully for toasting and dipping.
• Easy to make ahead or freeze
• 6 basic bread ingredients

Best Ingredients to Use in Semolina Sandwich Bread & Why:

This is an egg-free and dairy-free recipe. I use the same set of ingredients used for my Sicilian semolina bread recipe:

• Water: Lukewarm water activates the yeast.
• Yeast: You can use instant dry yeast, active, or fresh baker’s yeast. If using active dry yeast, the rise times will be a little longer. If you use fresh yeast, triple the quantity called for.
• Sugar: Sugar feeds the yeast, increases its activity, and lightly sweetens the bread.
• Flour: Using fine semolina flour is essential for achieving the desired fine and light bread texture. Medium and coarse semolina requires different instructions and hydration levels, and typically produces a denser loaf, unsuitable for sandwiches. If you don’t know what is semolina? tap here to get the answer. 
• Salt: Flavor.
• Olive oil: Olive oil promises a rich, flavorful loaf.

In photos: How to Make Semolina Sandwich Bread

Let me show you the full process in photos so you can easily understand the recipe instructions in the printable recipe below.

To activate the yeast, you’ll need to use all the lukewarm water, yeast, and sugar. Mix all together, cover and let it rest for 10-15 minutes.

​Pssst! This is a high-hydration dough, so I recommend using a stand mixer with a dough attachment.

Once the yeast becomes foamy and full of bubbles (photo above). Add the semolina flour, and salt into the bowl of a stand mixer and combine for 4 minutes. The photo below on the left shows after this step how it looks. Notice how the dough is soft, smooth, and elastic, though its gluten structure is still underdeveloped. The picture on the right, below, shows the fully developed dough after four full minutes of kneading at medium speed.

After the dough is well developed, it is time to add fat. Gradually, add 1 teaspoon at a time. Allow each teaspoon to fully incorporate into the dough before adding the next one. The photo above is a close-up of the dough after 6 minutes of mixing at low speed in this step, look how it is very smooth, highly elastic, and strong. You may be asking, Why not just mix the olive oil, semolina, and salt all at once? The answer is freshness! By holding back the oil until the gluten is fully developed (A technique that I have used for rich dough), we ensure that the bread stays fresh for a full week, instead of becoming stale after 2-3 days, as the case of these semolina rolls.

The two photos below show the dough before and after the 1st rise.

Once the dough has doubled in size. Transfer it onto a lightly floured surface. Gently degas the dough. Gently degas the dough and press it into a large rectangle, about 8×12 inches (20×30 cm).

Here are step-by-step photos on how to shape your semolina sandwich bread.

Let it rise until it’s about an inch above the rim of the pan.

Lastly, bake this semolina bread for 30 minutes.

Feel free to add some sesame seeds or your favorite topping on top before baking. The topping is optional.  

3 Success Tips to Keep in Mind

• Always use a kitchen scale to accurately measure your flour and a liquid measuring cup for water. Although volume measurements (cups and spoons) are written in the printable recipe below, metric gram measurements are far more accurate and will guarantee the perfect bread dough texture.
• Knead the dough for at least 4 full minutes before adding fat. This step is necessary to ensure the gluten is properly developed, which leads to semolina bread with superior, lasting freshness.
• Make sure your yeast hasn’t expired. The expiration date is printed on the package.

More Sandwich Bread Recipes

• Wheat Bran Sandwich Bread Recipe

Semolina Sandwich Bread

Hafedh Garfa

You need just 6 simple ingredients to make this semolina sandwich bread. It's wonderfully soft, so flavorful. See recipe notes for overnight instructions and freezing.

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Prep Time 30 minutes mins

Bake Time 30 minutes mins

Rise Time 1 hour hr 45 minutes mins

Total Time 2 hours hrs 45 minutes mins

Course semolina bread, Yeast Bread

Cuisine Mediterranean

Servings 1 loaf

Ingredients

  

• 365 ml (1 and ½ cups) water, warmed to about 110°F (43°C)
• 7 grams (2 and ¼ teaspoons) instant dry yeast
• 20 grams (1 and ½ tablespoons) white sugar
• 440 grams (2 and ¾ cups) fine semolina flour, plus as needed
• 1 tablespoon sea salt
• 60 grams (4 tablespoons) olive oil

Instructions

 

• Prepare the dough: Whisk the lukewarm water, yeast, and sugar in the bowl of your stand mixer. Cover and allow to sit for 10-15 minutes or until foamy and bubbly.
• Add the semolina flour and salt. Combine with the dough hook on low speed for a full 4 minutes or until the dough comes together, scrape down the sides of the bowl with a silicone spatula to ensure all flour is incorporated. The dough sticks to the dough hook and pulls away from the sides of the bowl at the end of the step.
• Knead the dough: Beat the dough on medium speed for 4 minutes. If the dough becomes very wet, add 1 teaspoon of semolina flour at a time to the dough. Do not add much more flour or water than you need; you want a high-hydrate dough. The dough should be soft, smooth, and elastic after the kneading process.
• With the stand mixer running on low speed, add the olive oil, 1 teaspoon at a time. Wait until the olive oil is fully incorporated into the dough before you add the next olive oil teaspoon—this can take about 2-3 minutes. Keep the mixer working and mix for another 4 minutes (The dough sticks to the dough hook and remains slightly stuck to the bottom of the bowl). The dough should be very smooth and highly elastic. You can do a “windowpane test” to see if your dough has been kneaded long enough: pinch off a small piece of dough and gently stretch it out. If it stretches thin enough to let light through without tearing, the gluten is well developed, and the dough is ready to rise. If not, knead for 1 minute at a time until it passes the windowpane test.
• 1st Rise: Grease a medium bowl with oil or nonstick spray. Shape the dough into a ball on a lightly floured surface. A bowl scraper is useful when working with high-hydration dough. Place the dough in the bowl and cover with plastic wrap or a clean kitchen towel. Allow the dough to rise for 60 minutes at room temperature or until doubled in size.
• Grease an 8.5×4.5-inch loaf pan or a 9×5-inch loaf pan with oil or nonstick spray. Set aside.
• Shape the bread: When the dough is ready, lightly flour your hand and your work surface. Turn it out onto a lightly floured work surface. Gently degas the dough and press it into a large rectangle, about 8×12 inches (20×30 cm). Fold one quarter of the dough from the short side toward the center, and press to seal the seam. Bring the outer left and right corners to the center so they slightly overlap, and seal the seam again. Continue rolling the dough tightly toward you, like a scroll, and press down on the end to seal it, pinching the final seam closed to ensure the loaf is tight and uniform (Refer to the picture above for step-by-step shaping instructions). Place it in the prepared loaf pan. Alternatively, lightly flour your work surface, hand, and a rolling pin. Roll the dough out into a large rectangle, about 8×12 inches (20×30 cm). Roll it up into an 8-inch log and place it in the prepared loaf pan.
• 2nd Rise: Cover the shaped loaf with plastic wrap or a kitchen towel. Allow to rise until it is about 1 inch (2.5 cm) above the top of the pan, about 45 minutes.
• Adjust oven rack to a lower position and preheat the oven to 355°F (180°C).
• Bake: Place the loaf pan on the oven rack and bake for 30 minutes, or until the top is golden brown, turning the pan halfway through. If the top browns too quickly, cover the rolls with aluminum foil. To test for doneness, gently tap on the loaf; it should sound hollow. For an accurate test, the bread is done when an instant-read thermometer inserted into the center of the loaf registers 195–200°F (90–93°C).
• Once baked, remove the semolina sandwich bread from the oven and let them cool completely on a colling rack.

Notes

The temperature when I made this recipe: 70 Fahrenheit (21 Celsius).

Overnight Instructions: Follow the recipe up to Step 4, then place the dough in a bowl, cover tightly, and refrigerate at 40°F (4°C) for up to 16 hours. When you need it, the next day, remove the dough from the refrigerator at least 30 minutes before you want it and keep it covered for rise for 60 minutes. Continue with the shaping step. Alternatively, you can shape the semolina sandwich loaf, then cover the shaped loaf and refrigerate it at 40°F (4°C) for up to 16 hours. When you need it, the next day, remove the shaped dough from the refrigerator and keep it covered to rise for about 1 hour or until it is about 1 inch (2.5 cm) above the top of the pan.

Freezing Instructions: Follow the recipe through Step 4, then place the dough in freezer bags and freeze at 0°F (-18°C) for up to 3 months. When needed, remove the dough from the freezer, let it thaw and rise for at least 3-4 hours at room temperature or until doubled in size, then shape your loaf. Alternatively, you can prepare the recipe through 6. Place shaped loaf in the prepared loaf pan, cover tightly and freeze at 0°F (-18°C) for up to 3 months. When needed, let the loaf thaw and rise for at least 3-4 hours at room temperature or until doubled in size, then bake.

Special Tools (affiliate links): Kitchen Scale with Liquid measuring cups / Measuring Cups & Spoons | Stand Mixer | Bench scraper / Bowl Scraper | Rolling Pin | 8.5×4.5-inch Loaf Pan / 9×5-inch Loaf Pan | Instant-Read Thermometer | Colling Rack.

Flour: I used 12% protein Italian semolina flour in this recipe, but you can use your favorite brand.

Yeast: You can also use active dry yeast or fresh baker’s yeast (20 grams) without any change to the preparation method. Keep in mind that active dry yeast takes longer to rise.