Homemade Pasta with Durum Wheat

Grinding Durum Wheat at Home: What You Need to Know for Pasta & Flour

Durum wheat is one of the most fascinating grains you can add to a preparedness pantry. Known as the hardest of all wheat varieties, it produces the iconic golden color and firm bite we associate with classic pasta. But what many people don’t realize is that durum wheat can also be milled at home — either into a coarse semolina ideal for pasta, couscous, and rustic breads, or a fine flour that behaves differently in baking than traditional bread flour.

Whether you’re stocking your pantry intentionally, experimenting with whole grains, or learning traditional food skills, understanding how to grind durum wheat opens up a whole new world of homemade pasta and flour possibilities.

Today, we’re breaking down what durum wheat is, how to grind it properly, what equipment works best, and how to choose the right grind for your cooking goals. And yes — all links and tutorials are included so you can share this directly with your viewers.

What Makes Durum Wheat So Unique?

Durum wheat (Latin Triticum durum) is prized for:

• Its rich yellow color
• High protein content
• Extremely hard kernels (the hardest of all wheat varieties)
• Superior pasta texture when ground into semolina

Because durum is so hard, it creates a granular grind rather than a soft powder unless milled very finely. This hardness gives pasta its “al dente” bite — something softer wheats simply can’t match.

Durum is traditionally milled into:

✔ Semolina (coarse grind)

The classic texture for pasta, couscous, and some Mediterranean breads.

✔ Durum Flour (fine grind)

Used for:

• Handmade pasta dough
• Rustic breads
• Artisan pizza dough
• Specialty baking
  Durum flour behaves differently from bread flour — it’s more delicate and doesn’t form gluten strands as readily — but it produces beautifully golden baked goods.

How to Grind Durum Wheat at Home

Grinding durum at home gives you:

• Fresher flour
• Better nutrient retention
• Customizable grind size
• A direct relationship with your food supply — perfect for a preparedness lifestyle

But because durum is extremely hard, not all mills handle it well. Good choices include:

• Stone mills (Mockmill, Nutrimill Harvest)
• Impact mills
• Burr mills

Most mills allow you to adjust the fineness:
🔹 Coarse setting → semolina
🔹 Fine setting → durum flour

If you want textbook semolina, you may need to sift after milling, capturing the coarsest particles for pasta and returning the rest to the mill for finer flour.

Uses for Home-Ground Durum

For Pasta (Semolina or Fine Durum Flour)

• Extruded pasta (fusilli, rigatoni, bucatini)
• Hand-shaped pasta (orecchiette, cavatelli)
• Rolled pasta (fettuccine, lasagna, tagliatelle)
• Couscous
• Fresh egg pasta

For Baking

• Rustic semolina loaves
• Pane di Altamura (famous Italian durum bread)
• Artisan pizza dough
• Crackers
• Flatbreads

Durum flour brings a slightly sweet, nutty, rich flavor with a warm yellow hue — and viewers will love that they can produce both pasta flour and semolina with a single bucket of berries.

Things to Watch Out For

Durum’s hardness means:

• Some mills heat up if you grind too fast
• It may take additional passes to get true flour
• It creates a denser dough structure, so hydration may vary
• Kneading time for pasta is often longer
• Durum flour behaves differently from bread flour — don’t expect high gluten stretch

Grinding your own durum is:

• Economical
• Shelf-stable (wheat berries last for decades under proper storage)
• Healthier
• Customizable
• Perfect for long-term pantry resilience

And for Palouse Brand customers — it’s an excellent way to maximize every bag or bucket they bring home.

Bonus Resource: Semolina vs Durum Flour Comparison

Great explainer showing how the two products differ in texture and use
https://www.kingarthurbaking.com/blog/2018/06/11/semolina-flour