Semolina pasta calculator
Southern Italian pasta from durum semolina and warm water, no eggs — orecchiette and cavatelli.
Semolina pasta is flour and warm water and nothing else. It is the southern Italian school — orecchiette, cavatelli, strozzapreti — where the pasta is made without eggs because durum semolina holds a shape on its own.
How it works
Semola rimacinata, not bread flour
Semola is finely re-milled durum: harder, higher in protein and coarser in grain than the flours upstairs. The dough it makes is tight and slightly rough to the touch, which is what keeps a shape pressed with a thumb where you put it, and gives sauce something to hold.
Between 50 and 60% water
GialloZafferano makes orecchiette with 200 g of water to 400 g of semolina (50%) and cavatelli with 240 g (60%). The firmer dough holds its form better and dries more slowly; the wetter one shapes more easily. Start at 50% and add water a spoon at a time if the flour will not come together.
Warm water, not boiling
The orecchiette recipe calls for lukewarm water, the cavatelli one for room temperature. Warm water speeds up absorption and shortens the kneading. Boiling water has no place here — unlike pierogi dough, where scalding the starch is the whole point.
Sources & methodology
Every percentage in this calculator traces to the published sources below — nothing is invented. Where respected sources disagree, the default sits inside the documented range.
- GialloZafferano — Orecchiette — The anchor: 400 g semola rimacinata / 200 g lukewarm water (50%) / salt to taste, 6 servings.
- GialloZafferano — Cavatelli — The top of the water band: 240 g on the same 400 g of semolina (60%) — a softer dough that shapes more easily.
FAQ
How does it differ from egg pasta?
The moisture comes from water rather than egg, and the flour is harder. Semolina pasta is springier and less delicate, better suited to short shapes and heavier sauces. Egg pasta gets rolled into a thin sheet; this one is shaped with your fingers.
Can I use ordinary flour?
Yes — GialloZafferano makes strozzapreti from "00" flour with the same amount of water, 200 g to 400 g. The dough is softer and less springy once cooked.
Why is my dough hard and crumbly?
Semola takes up water more slowly than wheat flour. Keep kneading before you add more: after 8–10 minutes a dough that looked far too dry usually turns smooth.
How much pasta per person?
About 100 g of raw dough; 400 g of semolina gives six servings.