Another name (or substitute) for semolina flour?

[Michael_in_TX]

I want to make a pizza dough tomorrow that calls for semolina flour. To my utter surprise, my local HEB -- an international and very well-stocked grocery store -- does not carry any product labeled 'semolina flour.'

I vaguely remember this flour going by another name....perhaps something made by Bob's Red Mill? Or am I thinking of something else?

If I can't get actual semolina flour, what could I possibly substitute for it, if anything?

(So weird my store doesn't carry it.....it's in like half the pizza making videos I watch!)

[Jerod Broussard]

I was gonna say Pizza Hut.

[58limited]

Is the semolina (coarsely milled durum wheat) in the dough itself or for dusting the bottom of the pizza to help prevent sticking as you slide it into the oven? If for the sticking issue you can use cornmeal. I'm surprised HEB doesn't have it - that's where I got mine, Bob's Red Mill brand.

[scottranda]

Good info here. Same for me. Bob’s red mill.

I usually make pizzas with 00 pizza flour

[captainlee]

It's even available locally here in this small town. I do make pasta with it and also use it for pizza prep dusting. I have never made pizza dough with it, interesting. Do you have a local health food store, they should carry it.

[shify]

I’m not aware of another name for it.

Is the semolina in the dough or just used when stretching/launching? If the latter, you can use regular flour or fine cornmeal. If you need it for the actual dough, I'm not sure there is a real good substitute

[Richard Chrz]

Semolina flour and Durum flour both come from durum wheat, semolina flour however is more coarsely ground, and has the bran and the germ removed. Depending on use, it can be substituted. Semolina in baking on things like pizza, despite being more course ground, gives a smoother texture in baking, or so I think. I use it for pasta as well.

Just a bout any flour can be substituted.

I buy bags of semolina on Amazon. They sell some pretty decent Caputo semolina in 2.2 bags.

[jfmorris]

Bob's Red Mill at the local Kroger is the only readily available grocery store semolina flour I've been able to find. I use it in my pizza dough recipe, and even when I don't, I dust my surface with it before stretching the dough, and dust the peel/pan with it.

Semolina is used in making pasta, but I found a pizza dough recipe that I posted here years back that includes it, and like the results, so I keep buying it. That said, my more recent pizza doughs have been sourdough with all purpose flour, and no semolina except for dusting the pan/surface.

[Michael_in_TX]

Bob's Red Mill at the local Kroger is the only readily available grocery store semolina flour I've been able to find.

But of course! Kroger!

Sometimes us Texans do forget that other competing grocery chains do exist. I've got a Kroger not too far from me and they do indeed seem to carry Bob's Red Mill semolina....aisle 7, in fact.

Thank you!

Wow it is eerie that Kroger never occurred to me! I often joke that HEB is not a cult.....but maybe we are....maybe we are.....

[texastweeter]

It's Brookshires here

[Michael_in_TX]

And Kroger had it! (The renovated the store from the last time I was in there. A lot nicer. Doesn't look like it is stuck in the '80s any more. Still...smaller......less produce and certainly less meat selection than my HEB. But, no crowd. Like nearly no one at noon.)

But I am on track to make some pizza dough today for a three-day ferment in the fridge!

[texastweeter]

The 80s were awesome.

[Murdy]

"Semolina Substitute


Although semolina is the ideal flour for making homemade pasta, other flours can be used instead. Replace the semolina flour called for in the recipe with an equal amount of all-purpose flour, bread flour, or whole-wheat flour. Bread flour or whole-wheat flour will work best; they have a higher gluten content than all-purpose flour. (Semolina, bread, and whole-wheat flours have 13 percent or more gluten, while all-purpose contains 8 to 11 percent.) If using all-purpose flour, the pasta won't be as firm but will still taste delicious. Homemade pasta made with all-purpose flour will not dry or freeze well, as the pasta won't retain its shape.

Cakes and cookies that call for semolina will work fine when other flours are used but won't have the same flavor, color, or texture. Cornmeal can be used in place of semolina for dusting surfaces or pans."

https://www.thespruceeats.com/easy-semolina-flour-substitute-4142772

[mgaretz]

Go to an Indian grocery and look for Golden Temple brand whole wheat Atta flour. You want the brown package, not the white. It’s actually grown in Canada and is a Pillsbury brand.