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1
Place 1 1/4 cups warm water in medium bowl; sprinkle yeast over and stir to blend.
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2
Let stand 5 minutes to soften.
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3
Whisk to dissolve yeast.
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4
Add 1 1/4 cups all purpose flour; whisk until smooth.
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5
Cover bowl with plastic wrap.
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6
Let stand at room temperature (about 75F) until bubbles form and yeast mixture has more than doubled in volume, about 45 minutes.
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7
Whisk remaining 1/2 cup warm water, olive oil, and rosemary in large bowl to blend.
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8
Using rubber spatula, mix in semolina flour and 2 teaspoons fine-grained sea salt (dough will be very dry).
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9
Stir in yeast mixture.
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10
Work in 3/4 cup all purpose flour.
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11
Turn dough out onto lightly floured surface.
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12
Knead until smooth, adding more all purpose flour by tablespoonfuls if sticky.
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13
Let rest 5 minutes.
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14
Knead until dough springs back when pressed with thumb, about 8 minutes.
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15
Lightly oil large bowl.
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16
Transfer dough to bowl; turn to coat.
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17
Cover with plastic wrap.
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18
Let rise at room temperature until doubled in volume, about 1 hour.
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19
Transfer dough to lightly floured surface.
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20
Flatten dough into 18x12-inch rectangle.
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21
Starting from 1 long side, roll tightly to form 2 1/2-inch-diameter, 20-inch-long log.
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22
With seam side down, shape log into ring, inserting 1 end into second end; smooth seam.
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23
Line baking sheet with parchment paper.
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24
Sprinkle sheet with additional semolina flour.
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25
Transfer dough ring to prepared sheet, reshaping as necessary to form smooth circle.
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26
Sprinkle with 1 1/2 teaspoons sesame seeds, pressing lightly to adhere.
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27
Cover loosely with plastic wrap.
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28
Let bread rise at room temperature until almost doubled in volume, about 45 minutes.
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29
Preheat oven to 400F.
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30
Remove plastic wrap from bread.
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31
Using sharp knife, cut 1/4-inch-deep slit all the way around top of loaf.
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32
Spray bread lightly with water.
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33
Sprinkle with 1 1/2 teaspoons sesame seeds and 1 teaspoon coarse-grained salt.
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34
Transfer to oven.
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35
Bake bread 15 minutes, spraying lightly with water every 5 minutes.
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36
Continue to bake without spraying until bread is golden brown and sounds hollow when tapped on bottom, about 30 minutes longer.
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37
Transfer bread to rack and cool completely.
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38
*Semolina flour is available at specialty foods stores, Italian markets, and some supermarkets.
