I am making Jeffrey Hamelman's Semolina Bread today.

I was out of semolina so I ordered a 25 pound bag of semolina flour from Azure Standard. They're a service out of Oregon that delivers by truck to Lincoln once or twice a month, the truck goes to a shopping center parking lot and the customers help unload the truck. This order was originally supposed to be here yesterday, but the truck was delayed by the snows in Wyoming.

The delivery fee was very small compared to what it would cost to have a 25 pound bag of flour sent via any of the package services. I ordered about 40 pounds of stuff, including tapioca and rye berries, and the delivery charge was $4.43. I'll be ordering from them again.

It would probably be more accurate to call it durum flour than semolina, because it is finely ground, but it should still make good bread.

I think I've figured out why the semolina bread is different. Looking closely at the label it says it is whole grain semolina flour, so most of the bran and germ are included, not just endosperm. That would explain the slight bitterness as well as the darker interior color. It also darkened faster on the surface, and that's typical of breads made with whole grain flour.

Adjusting the ratio of durum to AP flour might lighten it a bit, and there are several things that can be done to lessen the bitterness of bran, like adding some orange juice or honey.

I've used several different semolinas over the years. I used to buy either Bobs Red Mill or Hodgson Mill, the latter brand seems to have vanished completely from stores here. Then I was buying it in bulk at the coop, so I don't really know whose it was.

A few years ago I bought a 50 pound bag of it (ardent mills or bay state, probably) and in the last year or so I've bought two 25 pound bags of Bobs Red Mill. All of these were typical semolina, almost granular and mostly endosperm.

I currently use 5-8 pounds of semolina a month for bread and pasta, less pasta in the summer but more bread.

The most recent purchase was from Azure Standard, and unlike the other semolinas this is much more finely ground and also includes most of the bran and germ. (The details on their website says they filter out the large bran particles, removing about 12% of the bran.)

It would probably be most accurate to call it a (nearly) whole grain durum flour rather than semolina. I've baked enough with whole grain flours that I'm familiar with the differences, and this one definitely handled and baked like a whole grain flour, and we can taste the bran. (It's not a bad taste, it just is a different taste. My wife calls it more nutty, I would call it more bitter.)

I haven't decided yet if I'm going to look for another source for 'real' semolina, I may try tinkering with the recipe first. I'm sure I can find uses for 25 pounds of whole wheat durum flour over the next year or so anyway. I'm curious to see how whole grain durum affects pasta.

I've been trying to set up an account with Sysco, but they don't like dealing with serious home bakers or home-based cottage industry bakers. (You can't even look at their price catalog unless you have an account, which makes doing a detailed business plan for a home-based bread subscription service difficult.) Restaurant Depot in Omaha also prohibits retail customers.

Webstaurant has 50 pound bags of semolina for $31.99 but the shipping to Nebraska is $36.42.

KAB AP is $8.99 for a 12 pound bag at Costco here as of a few days ago. But it was $5.99 for a 12 pound bag a year ago.