Hello..Can anyone please let me know if there is any difference between durum flour or semolina flour? I live in Australia and am finiding it extremely hard to find Durum flour. When I go to a shop and ask for it they say they have it and then I get what I think, is fine ground durum. I dont feel like this would be the right think as it does not have the same consistency as a normal flour. It is more like caster sugar. The other day I saw Semolina Flour which was a silky consistency but I am not sure if it is interchangeable with Durum flour? Can anyone tell me what colour and texture durum flour is and if there is anyone from Australia reading, do you know where we can get it in Oz.

Durum flour is as fine and silky as cake flour.  Semolina is a coarser grind as your describe.  They are not interchangeable in bread recipes, but they might be for other applications.  I live in the US and I had to order it online from King Arthur as I couldn’t find it anywhere locally.

Not too sure if there is an explaination in the bread bible about this or not, but I found the following on theartisan.net:

Q. What is semolina and how does it differ from durum flour?

A. Semolina is the coarsely ground endosperm of durum wheat. High in protein, it is used to make the highest quality pasta. It is also used to make couscous—a North African and Latin American dish which is quickly becoming a staple in North America. Durum flour is a by-product in the production of semolina and is used for American noodles, some pastas and some specialty breads.

There are a couple of breads in the BB that use it.  I had to special order the durum because I wanted to make them—otherwise, semolina seems to be widely available, but it is too coarse to use as “flour” for baking.  I would kind of be like trying to make a butter cake using cracked wheat.

I live in Sonoma California (wine country) and had to buy my durum flour at a Nugget market about 35 miles away.  Nugget is sort of upscale, but not quite gourmet.  If you don’t want to mail order your durum, try a store with a good, extensive bulk food department.  But do try to get it….the Pugliese is a delight!

MELANIE, I read your post with interest. Have you ever heard of a store in San Francisco named “GIUSTO’S???.
It carries many hard to find ingredients & also has a catalog. I have never been there, but I know of this store & I have an old catalog somewhere around here. If you cannot locate their tel.# or address I will get it for you.
I thought you would like to know this. Have a nice day young lady.

  ~FRESHKID.