The Golden Bread of Altamura (100% semola rimacinata)
My interpretation of, Pane de Altamura - Carol Fields, The Italian Baker (Page #95)
The bread of Altamura is the only bread in Italia, to be protected by, Denominazione d'Origine Protetta (DOP, Designation of Origin)
This bake is inspired by the ancient bread from Altamura
Phase 1 - The Biga
Commercial yeast kick starter: Scant 1/2 tsp. IDY (Exactly 1.4 grams)
Flour (100% semola rimacinata) 250 G. 100%
Water (Acqua di Fiuggi) 180 G. 72%
Ambient room temperature: 76 degrees Fahrenheit.
Elapse time: Six Hours
Observations:
The biga is very active, and at least doubled. I plan to move into Fermentolyse, at approximately the 12 hr. mark. 4:30 AM. ( As strange as this may sound, the timing fits in with Barron's bathroom schedule. Smile...
Note:
I opted to lower the biga hydration by 60 grams. ( 24% points) My gut feeling is, the total hydration of Ms. fields formula is too high.
Phase 2 - The Fermentolyse
Elapse time: Twelve Hours
1. The final dough IDY, (1.4 grams) is dissolved in the final dough water (430 grams)
2. The 12 hour biga is dissolved into the yeast/water mixture.
3. While the Bosch universal is running at speed number one, the durum wheat flour (semola rimacinata) are mixed into the milky white biga/yeast mixture, about 100grams at a time.
4. Once all the flour is hydrated, a 1 hour rest to allow the high protein, fragile gluten flour, to completely hydrate, and at the same time begin to develop.
Next: Phase three - The gluten development (Improved method, Dr. Raymond Calvel)
After the one hour Fermentolyse, the dough looks relaxed and noticeably velvety. 
Phase 3- The gluten development (Improved method, Dr. Raymond Calvel)
As we begin the development phase, I keep in mind the fragile nature of durum wheat gluten. In accordance with the teachings of Dr. Calvel, I attempt to use the Bosch universal to minimize manual labor, while at the same time respecting the dough from to start.
Note: All mixing was done on Bosch speed number 1. This is something I have never before attempted.
1. The salt is added, and the well hydrated dough takes a ten minute ride in the Bosch.
After the ten minutes the dough has not begun to clear the bowl.
After a 5 minute rest
After another ride in the Bosch of 5 minutes. The dough is still rather sticky and has not cleared the bowl
The partially developed dough is rested for 5 additional minutes.
One last 5 minute ride in the Bosch universal, and eureka! The dough has just started to clear the bowl. To recap, all mixing was done at the lowest speed for a slow gentle development of the gluten network.
Phase 4 - The bulk ferment and hand development
At this point the 82% hydration dough ball is still sticky, with some minimal strength. The dough ball is placed into the graduated straight sided fermentation container. While in the container a stretch and fold is done at each of the four sides. Additional stretch and folds will be done at 45 minutes, 90 minutes, and 135 minutes. At that point the dough will be left untouched for 45 more minutes.
After the 45 minutes, and stretch and folds. The dough is sticky but very manageable with wet hands.
At the 90 minute mark the dough ball is expanding quickly and developing some nice strength.
I switched the dough to a larger container and preformed the stretch and folds. The dough is much more manageable, and full of co2.
At the 105 minute mark with an ambient temperature hovering at around 76 degrees Fahrenheit, the dough ball seems to be near full bulk fermentation, (if not over). That being said at 135 minutes I will jump to divide & shape.
Phase 5, Divide and pre-shape
elapsed time: 135 Minutes.
The dough is nicely tripled.
All set to divide and shape
Scale
Divide and pre shape
The shaping and proofing
I ran into a bit of a timing snafu, no worries I cooled the jets on the the proof. now I am back. The oven is steaming while the loafs undergo a 30 minute room temperature proof. Just before baking the baguettes get slashed and the Altamura inspired loaf gets formed into a pompadour.
Shaping the Altamura loaf
Slashing the baguettes
The culmination of a days work
Don't you just know I burned the bottom of the Altamura loaf on the pizza steel, unprotected. Grrr... Not very bad. While waiting for the crumb shot, am a very satisfied! I feel like, this should have been a blog post.
The obligatory crumb shot. Cheers to me!
Observations:
Shaping and slashing flaws not withstanding, The bake turned out very well. The crust is thin and crisp. The crumb is tight and pillow soft. Cotton candy comes to mind. All in all I am satisficed with this first attempt at ancient bread in the style of Altamura bread. Thanks for reading.
Comments
Will:
Your sanwich makes me hungry! Love the golden color. Could you please share the formula?
Yippee
Thanks for your kind comment, Ms. Yippy.
This bake was loosely based on a Formula by Carol Fields. from the book The Italian baker. I took many liberties with her procedure and also the formula itself. That being said, if you search Altamura bread here, you will find many formulas, tried and true. All posted by much better bakers than me! Good luck, you will love this bread! It is no wonder it has lasted many millenniums!
Kind regards,
Will Falzon
AKA
The roadside Pie King
do you have, Will?
Yippee
Hi Yippee.
From the text and according to THE clue found in a photo, I came up with the following formula:
Biga (48% hydration)
*120g water (plain mineral water) *(180g - 60g)
250g flour (100% re-milled semola)
Dough
Total weight: 1332g
Water: 430g
Flour: 1332g - 430g - (120 + 250)g = 532g
Instant Dry Yeast: 1.4g
Total flour: 532g + 250g (from the biga) = 782g
Total water: 430g + 120g (from the biga) = 550g
Dough hydration: 550/782 = 70%
However, if the final dough water (430g) DOES include the water content of the biga (120g),
then total flour would be 902g (782g + 120g), implying a dough hydration equal to 48% (way too low!)
I guess the amount of salt should be around 15g (2% of total flour).
There is no info about baking temp & time (maybe 1 hr @480ºF/250ºC?)
Cheers
I used concentrated lactic acid (CLAS) to make a different version of durum bread.
Yippee
It's hard to get really good crumb on a 100% semola bread. But your's looks really good. I like how the radiating holes in the crumb follow the exterior curve of the crust. The was the shot that went missing before.
My nephew's wife's family is from Matera, the town with a very similar bread to Altamura. I'd forgotten that when I mentioned the bread to her. Her eyes lit up.
Very interesting indeed! Thanks for igniting my culinary curiosity! I just had an epiphany! I am going embrace my Mediterranean roots, by blogging a series of regional Italian breads! Not to forget the traditional Maltese bread also. I will save that for last. I am glad you like the concentric circles in the crumb. This is the second bread that ends up like that for me. I was not sure what to think of it. The other bread is my pan loaf 100% whole grain (mostly wheat) approachable bread. I shape that one for the loaf pan by rolling the dough, jelly roll style. You can kind of see it in this photo.
That would be super interesting Will, I’d love to see regional breads, can’t wait.
Interestingly I believe the last time I was in Eataly here in Toronto I think I saw some of this Semola rimacinata flour. I’ll have to have a closer look next time I’m in there to see what other Italian flours they have. I live right across the street from Eataly which is the first in Canada and it just opened winter 2020.
Thanks for this tip. You know I never knew what Eaterly was or that we had them all over Manhattan,(I don't get out much) Anyway I think you will find the SENATORE CAPPELLI, you saw are biscuits. I could be wrong but the N.Y. eaterlys do not have the flour. I don't think I am going to be able to source any. There is actually a discussion right here from May about sourcing the stuff in the USA. I'll keep trying.
I used to buy my semola rimacinata at a great Italian market 20 miles from me (made the LES Italian markets look puny by comparison). Picked up about 20 lbs. at a time for US $1/lb. He went out after 50 years, so I went to my local Italian bakery. They don't make semolina anything, but when I showed him pics of my bread to indicate that I was serious, he was a sweetie and immediately got on the horn and ordered a bag for me. Charged me US $1/lb. Now with CV, I didn't want to bother him again so I bought Atta durum from an international market US $13 / 20lbs. I posted a test bake with it, and it was just dandy.
Try Little Italy bakeries and see whether the'll sell you a bag of semola rimacinata, if that is all you are searching for. Also, take a trip to (at least, what used to be called) something like Little india in the Murray Hill / Turtle Bay neighborhoods.
It's easy to make a 100% all semola levain starting out with just a small amount of AP levain. After two feeds, there is just about no AP left.
I can get the very nice semola rimacinata, at the Franklyn Sq. L.I. Italian, pizza specifically specialty shop. It would seem that the Senatore Cappelli, is a special strain of durum flour. I will make a visit to L.I. on Saturday. I am not going to knock myself out trying to get something that is unavailable. I gave it a good N.Y. try!
Senatore Cappelli' is an ancient grain and ancestor of modern durum wheat, named after Senator Raffaele Capelli who, together with the geneticist Nazario Strampelli who studied the grain in 1915, first planted it on his land.
I'm going to head over the Eataly again today and have a closer look at their flour. I know that they were bagging smaller quantities of their flours they use to bake bread with earlier in the pandemic when flour was hard to come by. I'll see what they still have available now since flour is now appearing on the shelves more regularly.
They are low on any of their usual small bags of flour. I asked the gentleman making pasta which is behind several large bags of the flour in the photo below, if they would be selling small bags of that flour again soon. He said it depends on whether they are able to get more from Italy as they have been having some problems with their supply chain. This is semola rimacinata i believe and the gentleman confirmed that this is the finely ground semola
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Kalustyan’s, is so cool I love it!
That's a great result Will. As Alan said getting a decent crumb with semola can be tricky, the biga process probably helped with that. Good call to reduce the hydration although I'd probably go for 60%.
Thanks for sharing all the details and the many pictures. I too am drooling.
Eataly here in Toronto has its small bags of this flour on the shelves again. Is it the same flour?
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When you first clued me in on what eaterly is, I checked on line. The store around here showed nothing resembling semola. I want to have a look for my self and just check the place out. I think they are both durum, but yours looks imported mine is general mills.
At some point when I’ve used up some of my whole grain flour supply I’ll have to try baking something with that Italian flour, love the colour of the crumb. Yeah check out Eataly, you might find something that interests you. I actually find their produce to be well priced and really good quality.
Ater your reply today, I rechecked the Eaterly NY website. They have the goods! However, at $7.00 American, for a little over 2Lbs. I'll stick with General mills $1.25 American, repack! I am still going to trek to the Flat Iron tomorrow. With my old lady shopping cart! I bet you dollars to donuts I fill it up!Smile...
I could not find the apple/pear mustada and the savory musdada. Oh well next time. Bennie, I am not convinced that organic semolia is the fine flour variety. The clear bag well that's the stuff for sure.
Yes the see through bag of Semola is the fine stuff.