Durum wheat: from semolina to the bread of northern Africa

Hard wheat is a cereal in the Poaceae family, like all cereal grasses. In France, it is mostly farmed in the southern, central and western regions. It is sensitive to the cold and needs a dry climate to fully develop.

Hard wheat and common (soft) wheat look alike, but they are in fact two distinct cereal grasses. Ears of hard wheat have long beards (fine points that protrude from the ear), which makes them easier to distinguish from common wheat—it is also known as "bearded wheat" because of this.

Hard wheat has a 9-month cycle. Sown at the end of autumn, the seed germinates and then sprouts leaves, which appear during the winter. Then it's the stalk's turn to rise out of the ground. Finally, the ear, which appears in the spring, basks its grain in the sun to give it a golden-yellow color, ready for harvest in June or July.

A grain of hard wheat is around 1/3 inch (8 mm) long and oval-shaped, with a slight groove along its length. With a golden-yellow color, this grain is robust and glossy, and feels firm to the touch. Unlike common wheat, this grain can't be made into a fine flour by pressure alone.

In France, farmers choose from 70 varieties of hard wheat. They do this by assessing the crop's value, i.e., what the wheat will be made into. But most importantly, they grow varieties that are adapted to their soil and climate, and in consideration of any obligations they may have to farm a certain crop.

Hard wheat is processed in a semolina mill. It is passed through rollers and sieves in succession until it is turned into a fine semolina.

Water is added to this hard wheat semolina, which is then kneaded and beaten to produce a pasta dough.

This dough is then passed through molds of various shapes to produce the many varieties of pasta that we know and love. Contrary to what we might think, real pasta is made from hard wheat semolina rather than common wheat flour.

Hard wheat is also the main ingredient of couscous, pilpil, bulgur and cracked wheat semolina.

In some northern African countries, semolina is a fully fledged ingredient, entirely separate from bread. A rather flat, golden-yellow bread.

Hard wheat and the products made from it have nutritional qualities as they're naturally high in protein, carbohydrates (the slow-burning kind), in B vitamins, and iron. They're also a source of fiber.