Traditional Sicilian Bread

Starting from a simple, homemade semolina dough infused with olive oil, this classic Sicilian bread is shaped and then generously dusted with sesame seeds. Baked until golden yellow to resemble the first letter of the island’s name, this soft, flavorful bread is completely irresistible. Just wait until the aroma of bread fills your home! It’s really worth the wait.

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Another Italian Homemade Grissini to love!

If you’ve ever visited Sicily, you may have had the pleasure of biting into this “Pane siciliano” filled with meat, cheese, and tomato slices, or anchovies, olives, and Pecorino Siciliano cheese. If you don’t know what Mafaldine Siciliane is, keep reading to find out what it is.

What is Sicilian bread?

Mafaldine Siciliane, also known as Sicilian semolina bread, is a type of Italian bread that originated in Sicily. Like many Sicilian specialties, Mafaldine Siciliane has its roots in Arab cuisine, specifically Tunisia, and is traditionally made with durum wheat semolina, water, sugar, salt, olive oil, yeast or biga, and dusted with sesame seeds before baking.

Today’s recipe perfectly replicates the semolina and sesame bread that you can find in the Mediterranean’s largest island, where I used the same bread ingredients as the traditional way to achieve the same signature qualities: a light, crispy, golden-yellow crust and a very soft interior. I’ll also teach you the two most famous ways to shape—the classic S-shape and the snake shape.

Tell me More about this Mafalda Bread

• Flavors: Sweet & earthy, rich & savory, nutty & toasty—all packed inside this homestyle goodness of from-scratch bread. This recipe has a range of some of the best Mediterranean flavors around.
• Texture: Besides its irresistible taste, the texture of this Sicilian semolina bread is truly exceptional and definitely worth telling you about. The exterior is slightly crispy and golden yellow right out of the oven, sealing in a very soft interior. The assembly and shape resemble to S shape and a snake-like shape. So you have a lot more than semolina sandwich bread, semolina rolls, semolina buns and semolina baguette, almost in between them in terms of texture.
• Traditional: Many Sicilian semolina bread recipes use the familiar loaf shape rather than the traditional method. While that’s certainly easier and delicious, this recipe combines the traditional method with a delicious taste. If you’re nervous about shaping this Siciliana bread, the process is pretty simple. You can find two step-by-step photos below on how to shape Sicilian bread.

Sicilian Bread requires a Lean Dough

The 1st step is to make a lean dough. This is approximately the same dough you use for semolina bread recipe. There are only 6 ingredients:  

• Water: I normally encourage you to use a room-temperature liquid with yeast breads because it helps to get an open, irregular, and chewy crumb. For this recipe, you want lukewarm water to about 105ºF (40ºC), because we need to get a slightly crispy crust with a very soft crumb. An instant thermometer takes the guesswork out of this work.
• Yeast: You can use instant, active, or fresh baker’s yeast in this recipe. Active dry yeast may take a longer time to activate, which leads to more rising time, while you’ll need triple the amount of yeast if you are using fresh baker’s yeast.
• Sugar: Sugar adds sweetness and helps give the bread its soft texture.
• Semolina flour: There’s no semolina bread without it. Fine semolina flour is essential for this recipe; medium or coarse grinds simply won’t work for this bread.
• Coarse sea salt: Pick up some Mediterranean coarse sea salt to get the right flavor.
• Olive oil: Some recipes call only for olive oil, and this is one of them, to create a richer-tasting bread. You can also use it to grease the bowl before the 1st rise time, just as I do when making any bread that requires semolina flour. Use your favorite oil—I prefer extra virgin olive oil.

Did you notice the fat? It’s just a little bit to enhance the flavor, but it doesn’t make this lean dough as rich as Chelsea buns. Olive oil is commonly used in Italian breads such as focaccia, ciabatta, pizza dough, grissini, and semolina sandwich bread. Breads made from enriched dough, such as babka, star bread, cinnamon rolls, and milk brioche rolls, have a higher ratio of fat and dairy to make them richer and more flavorful.

After you activate the yeast. You can prepare and knead the dough by hand or with a mixer. If you’d like a visual of the right dough’s texture after the kneading process, you can see the photo above. After that, let the dough rise for 60-90 minutes or until doubled in size.

Punch the dough down, divide into 4 pieces. Then, flatten each piece into a rectangle and roll it up into a 10 inch (25cm) roll and press the seams together.

Step-By-Step Photo: How to Shape Sicilian Bread

Shaping Sicilian bread is easier than it looks. Here are the two methods:

S Shape Method

1. Roll the roll outward from the center toward the edges to stretch it into a 23-inch (60 cm) rope.
2. Coil one end of the rope inward into a tight spiral, using about half of the length of your rope.
3. Coil the opposite end in the opposite direction to form a mirrored spiral until the two spirals have coiled and form an S shape.

That’s how we can shape the S shape, easily.

Snake Shape Method

1. Roll the roll outward from the center toward the edges until it stretches into a long rope, about 23 inches (60 cm) in length.
2. Pick up one end of the rope and bend it back toward the main part of the rope by about 4 inches (10 cm), a small hook shape formed at this stage (see 2nd picture above).
3. Coiling and twisting the rope right next to the first curve. It will look like an S-shape at this stage (see 3rd picture above). Continue twisting until you have only 4 inches (10cm) of rope remaining at the end—this is the final tail.
4. Lift the remaining tail of the rope and place it directly over the twisted shape in the center. The tail should now extend beyond the first twist’s base.

Semolina Recipes

• Semolina Buns from Scratch
• Semolina Rolls
• Semolina Sandwich bread

Sicilian Semolina Bread

Hafedh Garfa

Make the best Sicilian bread with this infused semolina yeast dough using only 5 simple ingredients. See the note below for overnight and freezing instruction and the FAQ section above to keep it fresh longer.

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Prep Time 25 minutes mins

Bake Time 15 minutes mins

Rise Time 1 hour hr 45 minutes mins

Total Time 2 hours hrs 25 minutes mins

Course semolina bread, Yeast Bread

Cuisine Italian, Mediterranean, sicilian

Servings 4 loaves

Ingredients

  

• 252 grams (1 cup) water, warmed to about 110°F (43°C)
• 7 grams (2 and ¼ teaspoons) active or instant yeast
• 12 grams (1 tablespoon) white sugar
• 420 grams (3 cups) semolina flour
• 7 grams (1 and ½ teaspoons) coarse sea salt
• 50 grams (¼ cup) olive oil
• For Topping: 18 grams (2 tablespoons) sesame seeds

Instructions

 

• Prepare the yeast: Whisk the lukewarm water, yeast, and sugar in the bowl of your stand mixer. Cover and allow to sit for 10 minutes or until foamy and bubbly.
• Prepare the dough: Add the semolina flour, olive oil, and salt. Beat on low speed with the dough hook attachment for 4 minutes until the dough comes together and pulls away from the sides of the bowl, scrape down the sides of the bowl with a silicone spatula to ensure everything is thoroughly combined. *If you do not own a stand mixer, you can do this step in a large mixing bowl, mix all ingredients together with a wooden spoon/silicone spatula. It will take some effort and muscle.
• Knead the dough: Keep the dough in the mixer and beat for an additional 6-8 full minutes, or knead by hand on a lightly floured surface for 6-8 full minutes. If the dough becomes too sticky during the kneading process, add 1 teaspoon of flour at a time. If the dough is too dry, add 1 teaspoon of water until a soft, slightly firm dough forms. Do not add more flour or water than you need; you do not want a wet or dry dough. After kneading, the dough should still be soft, similar to the picture above. Poke the dough with your finger—if it slowly bounces back, your dough has been kneaded enough and is ready to rise. If not, keep kneading.
• 1st Rise: Lightly grease a large bowl with olive oil or nonstick spray. Place the dough in the bowl, turning it to coat all sides in the oil. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap, aluminum foil, or a clean kitchen towel. Allow the dough to rise at room temperature for 60-90 minutes or until doubled in size.
• Grease a half baking sheet, or your oven baking sheet, or line with parchment paper.
• Shape the bread: When the dough has risen, punch it down to release the air. On a lightly floured work surface, divide the dough in 4 equal pieces, about 6.5 ounces (185 grams) each. Using a rolling pin or the palm of your hand, roll out or flatten each piece into a rectangle, about 6×10 inches (15x25cm). It will probably be rounded on the edges. That’s ok! Roll up each piece into a 10 inch (25cm) roll and press the seams together to close them. Arrange and cover with a kitchen towel or plastic wrap to prevent drying.
• Take one roll at a time, and keep the other covered. Roll the roll outward to stretch it from the center toward the edges, so that it becomes a 23-inch (60cm) long rope. Roll the dough back and forth in an S shape or snake shape (See the shaping section above for a step-by-step pictured guide on how to shape Sicilian bread). Place the Sicilian bread on the prepared baking sheet. Shape the remaining rolls.
• 2nd Rise: Cover the shaped loaf with a clean kitchen towel, plastic wrap, or aluminum foil. Allow to rise for 45 minutes, or until puffy and doubled in size. To check if your dough has risen enough, gently and quickly press your finger into the side of the dough about 1/4 inch (5 mm) deep, then immediately pull your finger away. If the dough slowly fills back, the dough is ready to bake.
• 15 minutes before the rise ends, place an oven-safe small pan at the bottom of the oven. Preheat the oven to 446°F (230°C). (It is always best to bake yeast breads in the bottom of the oven so that the top does not burn.)
• Spray your bread with water , then sprinkle sesame seeds on top.
• Bake the bread: Place the baking sheet. Quickly pour 1 cup of boiling water or drop a few ice cubes into the preheated steam pan. Bake for 8 minutes with the steam. Remove the steam pan and rotate the baking sheet 180 degrees. Continue baking for another 7-8 minutes, or until the crust is a golden brown. If the top browns too quickly, cover the bread with aluminum foil. Remove the bread from the oven and let it cool completely on the wire rack for 15 minutes before slicing.

Notes

The temperature when I made this recipe: 78 Fahrenheit (26 Celsius).

Overnight Instructions: Follow the recipe through step 3, then place the dough in a bowl, cover tightly, and refrigerate at 40°F (4°C) for up to 16 hours. When you are ready to bake next day, remove the dough from the refrigerator at least 1 hours before you want it. Continue with the dividing and shaping step. Alternatively, you can shape the bread before the 2nd rise time, then cover it tightly and refrigerate it at 40°F (4°C) for up to 16 hours, but note that this option may require more refrigerator space.

Freezing Instructions: Follow the recipe through step 3, then place the dough in vacuum-sealed bags and freeze at 0°F (-18°C) for up to 4 weeks. On the day you need the dough, remove it from the freezer, let it thaw for at least 2-3 hours, then let it rise for about an hour before shaping.

Special Tools (affiliate links): Kitchen Scale/ Measuring Cups & Spoons |Stand Mixer, or a Steel /Glass Mixing Bowl with a Wooden Spoon /Silicone Spatula |Rolling Pin |Half Baking Sheet

Flour: I use fine Italian semolina flour in this recipe, but you can use your favorite type. Do not use coarse semolina flour, as it requires a different hydration and set of instructions.

Yeast: I usually use instant yeast, but you can use active or  fresh baker’s yeast (20 grams). There’s no change to the preparation method, but expect the rise times to be slightly longer with active dry yeast.