[Sca-cooks] Semmel

[Decker, Terry D.]

Semmel is bread made from fine white flour.  The name derives from the Latin
"simila" or "fine flour."  This is a simple recipe I concoted to produce
individual Semmel loaves.

Bear

Semmel

8 cups warm water
1 teaspoon sugar
1 Tablespoon dry active yeast
7 1/2 pound white bread or all purpose flour
1 - 2 Tablespoons of salt


In a small bowl, dissolve 1 teaspoon of sugar in 1 cup of warm water (90 -
110 F).
Sprinkle 1 Tablespoon of dry active yeast onto the water and stir until
dissolved.
Let stand until yeast begins foaming (about 10 minutes).

Put 6 cups of warm water in a large bowl.
Add about 1/3 of the flour and the salt to the water and stir until a batter
forms.
Add the yeast mixture.
Rinse the yeast mixture bowl with the remaining cup of water and add to the
batter.
Add the remaining flour slowly, stirring it until the dough becomes a ball
in the bottom of the bowl.
Turn the dough out on a floured surface and knead until the dough becomes
smooth and elastic, adding flour as necessary.
Place the dough in a large, oiled bowl, cover and let rise until doubled (2
- 4 hours).

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.
Punch down the dough and turn it out on a floured surface.
Knead it lightly to shape, then divide into 32 equal pieces.
Scatter meal (coarse corn meal is usually the easiest available, but coarse
barley or millet meal works equally well) on a shallow baking pan.  Form the
individual loaves and place them on the pan.
Bake for 40 minutes or until the surface is golden brown and the loaf sounds
hollow when thumped on the bottom.
Cool and serve.

Notes:

The dough will weigh between 9 and 10 pounds, but will reduce to about 8
pounds in the baking.

Baking in a convection oven reduced baking time to about 25 minutes and
provided a thinner crust.

I've found the scattered meal beats grease hands down for baking bread on
trays or sheets.  It also is easier to clean up.