Low hydration semolina pasta dough -

Low hydration semolina pasta dough

The biggest challenge with a lower hydro dough is that it can be difficult to incorporate all of the flour with the reduced amount of liquid. The way to tackle this is by adding in additional rest periods to allow the dough to rehydrate in stages. As a rule of thumb, the lower the hydration, the longer I rest the dough during these periods. Additionally, a spray bottle filled with water is a great help during all stages of working with this sort of dough. I follow this method for any type of hydration point below 50%, but we'll use a hydration point of 47% for the below recipe.

Servings: g (approx) / 2-3 servings

Ingredients

200 g semolina flour semola rimacinata
94 ml water

Instructions

On a work surface, add the semolina flour and create a well in the centre. Slowly drizzle in the warm water and whisk until you have a custard-like consistency.
Switch to a bench scraper and start to flip the flour from the outer edge over and onto the water mix, using a cutting motion to then mix it in. Continue to do this around all sides until you have a crumbly, sand-like mix. It’s ok if you have some loose flour, but try to incorporate at much as possible.
Cover this mound of flour with a bowl and leave to rest for 15 minutes to rehydrate.
Come back to the crumbly dough and start to bring it together with your hands, squeezing and coaxing it in a ball of dough that’s knead-able – scraping up and incorporating as much loose flour from your work surface as possible. You’ll likely need to use the aid of a spritz bottle of water – spray the work surface as opposed to the dough, and use it to help you form a ball.
Cover the ball again and rest for another 10-15 minutes to rehydrate for a second time.
After this second rest, begin kneading the dough for a 7-10 min – using the spritz bottle of water as needed. The lower hydration dough will be less springy and elastic comparatively to a regular 50% dough, but you’re still looking for a smooth ball of dough nonetheless. NB: If you’re struggling to get to this formed ball stage, add in another rest and revisit the dough after another 10 or so minutes.
Once you’ve got your ball of dough – cover and rest for 30 minutes before shaping to your heart’s content.

Notes

Hot tip: When it comes to rolling the dough, I like to use my water bottle to spritz water onto the work surface and use it to help create tension and friction between the drier dough and the board.

This recipe scales, just use your hydration percentage to work out what your liquid to flour ratio - e.g. 100g semolina flour / 47ml water = 47% hydration. 200g semolina flour / 94ml water = 47% hydration etc.