What Is the Best Option for Pizza: Cornmeal or Semolina? Let’s Find Out.

The pizza is ready to be baked!

Now, I’m thinking about dusting semolina flour on the peel to make it simpler to pop the pizza into the oven. But all I could find in my kitchen was cornmeal.

So, can I use cornmeal instead of semolina for the pizza peel?

Let’s take a look at what the truth is.

Well, you could use cornmeal in a pinch if you don’t have semolina to dust on your pizza peel. However, your pizza bottom has the chance of burning after adding the cornmeal since a greasy residue is left. So the best course of action is to use semolina for pizza. 

Haven’t you cleared up the confusion yet? Well, to put everything in order, let’s read the whole article.

Cornmeal Or Semolina: Can I Use Cornmeal Instead Of Semolina For The Pizza Peel?

Flour is necessary to prevent the pizza dough from sticking to the peel and make it simpler to slide the pizza onto the baking stone. However, semolina is traditionally used to coat the peel, which acts as a ball bearing between the peel and the dough.

On the other hand, Cornmeal does not provide enough abrasion to grip the pizza dough when used as a pizza peel. It can also cause the peel to stick to the pizza, making it easy to burn the pizza.

Therefore, cornmeal cannot be a good substitute for semolina to prepare the pizza peel.

Lastly, too much flour on the peel can ruin the taste with a raw-flour flavor in the crust. So, add too little flour to prevent the dough from sticking to the peel.

Should You Use Cornmeal Or Semolina For Pizza Dough?

When it comes to making pizza dough, you might wonder which is better: cornmeal or semolina. Well, there has long been a controversy between cornmeal and semolina, with some preferring cornmeal and others preferring semolina.

• But what should you choose?

Cornmeal is cheaper and more readily available, which can make the dough firmer to work with. Aside from that, it has a more coarse, crunchy texture and a nutty flavor. 

On the other hand, semolina is more expensive but produces a lighter, crunchier, and chewy crust with a sweeter flavor.

However, since both have unique tastes and textures, they might add a unique twist to your pizza. Therefore, your final decision will ultimately be based on your personal preferences and tastes.

What Impact Does Semolina Flour Have On Pizza Dough?

Semolina is usually used in making pasta.

But when it comes to making pizza dough with semolina, you may have a query: how does it affect the pizza dough? 

Semolina allows the dough to be stretched without breaking due to the substantial amount of naturally occurring gluten proteins it contains. In addition, it helps to enhance the crunchiness and chewiness of the dough.

How Can You Make Semolina Pizza Dough Perfect?

Make the perfect semolina pizza dough by following the table:

Ingredients

Steps to follow

Warm water Olive oil Semolina flour Active dry yeast Salt.

Combine hot water and yeast. Let the yeast be active for 10 minutes. Make dough by mixing semolina flour, olive oil, salt, and yeast water in a bowl. Knead the dough for around 10 minutes until the dough forms become sticky. Cover and let the dough sit for 30 minutes. Use a rolling pin to form a thin crust. Place the dough on a baking sheet. Bake pizza in the oven at 400 degrees Fahrenheit for 10 minutes.

How Do You Make The Best Cornmeal Pizza Dough?

You must use the ingredients and procedures listed below to make the best cornmeal pizza dough: 

Ingredients	Steps to follow
Cornmeal Warm water Olive oil Active dry yeast Salt	Place hot water and yeast in a bowl. Activate the yeast for 10 minutes. To make the dough, combine cornmeal, salt, olive oil, and yeast water until it forms a ball. For a sticky dough, knead it on a floured surface for 10-15 minutes. After that, cover and rest for 30 minutes to rise. At 400 to 450 degrees Fahrenheit, bake the dough for 10 to 12 minutes.

Cornmeal vs. Semolina On The Pizza Stone

Unlike flour, semolina doesn’t break down as easily when heated, so it’s ideal for use with pizza stones. On the other hand, if you use cornmeal to dust a pizza stone instead of semolina, it will burn at high temperatures.

Often cornmeal turns to black residue after burning, which may ruin your pizza. The burnt smell is also something you may not like in the pizza.

So, to avoid burning issues when making pizza on a pizza stone, try to use semolina rather than cornmeal.

Can You Make Neapolitan Pizza With Semolina Flour?

Well, to make Neapolitan pizza, ground Italian durum wheat is the key ingredient. Therefore, 00 flour is best for making Neapolitan pizza. 

However, semolina flour is made of durum wheat; therefore, if you do not have 00 flour, you can use semolina flour instead to make Neapolitan pizza. Being neutral in flavor and high heat resistance, semolina will not add any unwanted smell.

Cornmeal vs. Polenta vs. Semolina

Semolina, cornmeal, and polenta: let’s look at how they differ.

Cornmeal	Polenta	Semolina
Cornmeal is made from corn. Cornmeal for the pizza peel may cause the pizza to burn.  In pizza dough, cornmeal adds a nutty flavor and crunchy and coarse texture.	Polenta from yellow corn.  Polenta can be used on pizza stones to prevent sticking. When the polenta is used to make pizza dough, it makes the crust crispy.	Semolina from durum wheat. Semolina is a good option for the pizza peel. Semolina creates a crunchy and chewy crust.

Can You Use Corn Flour Instead Of Cornmeal?

Well, you could substitute flour for cornmeal. 

However, it’s possible that the dough won’t become as crispy as cornmeal. Therefore, you can use it for the pizza peel and the pizza dough if you’re willing to accept the changes that come with using corn flour rather than cornmeal. 

FAQ’s:

• Is semolina cornmeal?

No, semolina is a variety of durum wheat-based flour, whereas cornmeal is a type of flour made from ground corn. However, you can use both in pizza; using semolina is wiser than cornmeal.

• Are Domino’s pizzas made with cornmeal or semolina?

On Domino’s pizzas, cornmeal or a combination of flour and cornmeal is commonly used to stretch the crust.

• Does cornmeal make pizza crust crispy?

With its unique flavor, cornmeal definitely makes your pizza crust crispy.

Final Words

can I use cornmeal instead of semolina for the pizza peel?

You can use cornmeal instead of semolina in the pizza peel. However, the result may not delight you much. Being low-heat resistant, they burn pretty easily, leaving ash and a burnt smell.

But just use the right technique to make your pizza delicious and perfect.