There’s no recipe to post today, just a little guide to baking with semolina/polenta. In my last post I made a cake with semolina in it.
I found out the hard way that polenta and semolina are not always interchangeable when I made a lemon semolina cake about three months ago. I Googled “can you substitute semolina with polenta?”
“Yes” was the resounding answer.
My cake said otherwise.
While they essentially perform the same role in a cake, the outcome of my baking with polenta was a grittier, denser texture than I was looking for.
Semolina is wheat, polenta is corn. ‘Polenta’ may also refer to the grain or the dish that results from using polenta.
There are occasions where you can substitute one for the other, but not all the time. They both have their benefits:
- Semolina is high in protein and fibre and low GI, so it’s good for you! Semolina is a good option for people who need to monitor their glucose levels, like diabetics or dieters. It is also a good source of vitamins E and B, which help your immune system.
- Polenta is made up of complex carbohydrates high in dietary fibre, which means that they are a better source of energy than simple carbs. Polenta is also high in zinc, and iron.
When buying polenta or semolina, go for the most finely ground version you can find (unless the recipe specifies otherwise.) Generally cakes will call for semolina or polenta without indicating how coarse/fine the ingredient should be – if in doubt, opt for the finer alternative
My Lemon semolina cake (in which I used polenta instead of semolina) turned out even worse because my polenta was quite coarse – a similar size to couscous – and made my cake crumbly. And a little hard on the teeth.
I still Instagrammed it, because I’m lame. (http://instagram.com/p/Y7iBbAg76M/)
My advice? Tweak recipes where you need to, but if you’re really unsure, save your time by popping down to the shops and picking up the right ingredients!