Ingredients
- 110g plain flour plus extra for dusting
- 3/4 level teaspoon baking powder
- Pinch of salt – important
- 25g ground almonds
- 50g whole almonds skin on (aesthetic)
- 75g golden caster sugar
- 1 large egg lightly beaten (85g)
Method
The ‘bi’ in biscotti means two. Or double or twice. Twice baked. So get ready for a fairly long but very simple process.
Turn on the oven to 150°C.
First Bake
Mix all the dry ingredients together except the whole nuts. Lightly beat the egg. Make a well in the middle of dry ingredients – I do this on the counter-top – and tip in the egg. Then mix. Use hands or a fork. It gets sticky. Once all the ingredients are incorporated add the whole nuts and mix well. You can make any shape you want. I like to make a long sausage out of it then press lightly to flatten. It won’t get all that much bigger than it is now so you don’t have to leave much rising room in the pan. Put it on a baking tray and bake in the middle of the oven for 25-30 minutes. To check whether it is done it should be slightly risen, not very brown and when pressed should be fairly solid. If it has soft spots it needs a few more minutes.
Leave the biscotti lump to cool. Until properly cool. Don’t try and rush this bit.
Once cool slice into biscuits 2cm thick. I like to eat the crusted ends at this point because I find they burn if I try and double cook them. This also satisfies the craving you might have to eat it all before it is properly cooked.
Second Bake
Arrange the slices on a baking tray and cook for 25 minutes. I flip the biscotti over half way through so both sides turn an even brown. Once browned on both sides remove from the oven and leave on a cooking rack until cool to the touch. When they first exit the oven the slices of biscotti might not be crunchy but once they are cool they will become crunchy.
Tips and tricks
Don’t buy ground almonds. You probably have a food processor or nutri-bullet or something. Just blend whole almonds in whatever device you have and ta-da ground almonds.
I find that this recipe makes too few biscotti. If shared they will all be gone in minutes. I triple the recipe. But beware of the extra cooking time. I shape it into one big rectangle and sometimes 25 minutes isn’t enough time to set the biscuit in the middle at the top. I check by pressing, if its really soft I leave it for a bit longer.
You don’t have to use almonds. I’ve used cobnuts (rare), hazelnuts, or walnuts or cashews. Don’t be scared. Try whatever you fancy.
Never substitute bicarbonate of soda for baking powder. They are very different things and it will ruin the taste if you do substitute it. Arm and Hammer knwo the differe
