That loud crunch you hear is the sound of biscotti being consumed across America. Yet the Italian cookie savored these days may not look at all like the twice-baked number that’s been around since Roman times. Why, it may not even look like the ones pastry chef Antonio Mattei created when he got his hands on an old recipe, mixed up flour, sugar, eggs and nuts then began selling his version in 1858 in the Tuscan town of Prato, and winning a couple of culinary awards with them as well.
These days, you’re more likely to find cranberry-pistachio biscotti than you will something the Romans or Mattei would recognize. For as Domenica Marchetti writes in her latest cookbook “Ciao Biscotti: Sweet and Savory Recipes Celebrating Italy’s Favorite Cookie” (Chronicle Books, $18.95): “Over the generations, tradition has given way to interpretation and inspiration.”
“Bite into a biscotto and you are biting into a slice of Italian — or more accurately, Roman — history,” she writes, crediting those Romans for using double baking to first cook, then dry the bis (twice) cotti (cooked). (p.s. Biscotto is singular. Biscotti is plural.)
Marchetti respects tradition, of course, with nine classic recipes, including almond, olive oil and citrus, and fig. The bulk of the book is filled with clever combinations: browned butter and Toblerone, fig and fennel, spiced and iced ginger, almond and aged Asiago cheese.
Some recipes are the result of Marchetti “playing around with a recipe as malleable and open to interpretation as the one for biscotti,” plus her trips to Italy. A few are from her family and friends.
The world of twice-baked sweets might seem challenging to new bakers, but Marchetti is a good coach, explaining techniques, ingredients and storage. Veterans should enjoy the creative flavor pairings in “Fantasy Flavors” and “The Savory Side.” The “Beyond Biscotti” chapter offers other sweets (tarallucci, amaretti, ricciarelli).
That Marchetti provides beverage pairings for each recipe is a nice touch, whether amaretto, espresso or per Tuscan tradition, vin santo (a dessert wine).
— Judy Hevrdejs, Chicago Tribune
Recipes
For recipes for chocolate-studded biscotti and smoky gouda biscotti from Marchetti’s book, visit www.heraldnet.com/thedish.
Chocolate-studded biscotti
1tablespoon vegetable oil
2cups unbleached all-purpose flour
3/4cup sugar
1teaspoon baking powder
1/4teaspoon fine sea salt
5tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch pieces, at cool room temperature
3large eggs, lightly beaten
1/2teaspoon each: almond extract, vanilla extract
4ounces bittersweet chocolate, cut into small chunks
Adapted from Domenica Marchetti’s “Ciao Biscotti.” The author suggests serving these with the Italian dessert wine vin santo, espresso or a glass of cold milk.
Heat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly coat an 11-by-17-inch baking sheet with oil. (Or line it with parchment paper.)
Combine flour, sugar, baking powder and salt in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Mix briefly on low speed. Add butter in pieces; mix on medium-low speed until mixture looks like damp sand. Set aside 1 tablespoon of the beaten eggs. Pour remaining eggs and extracts into the mixing bowl. Mix on medium speed until a soft, slightly sticky dough forms. Add chocolate chunks; mix on low speed until just incorporated. (Alternately, the dough can be mixed with a wooden spoon.)
Turn dough onto a lightly floured work surface; pat into a disk. Divide in quarters. Lightly moisten your hands with water; gently roll one portion of dough into a rough oval. Place crosswise on baking sheet; use your hands and fingers to stretch and pat dough into a log about 11/2-inches wide and 9-inches long. Shape remaining pieces of dough the same way, moistening your hands as needed. Logs should be set on the baking sheet about 2 inches apart. Press down tops of each to flatten slightly and make tops even. Lightly brush tops with reserved beaten egg.
Bake logs until lightly browned and just set, 20 minutes. They should be springy to the touch and have cracks on the surface. Place baking sheet on a cooling rack. Gently slide an offset spatula under each log to loosen from baking sheet. Let logs cool on the sheet, 5 minutes; then transfer carefully to racks. Cool, 20 minutes. Lower oven temperature to 300 degrees.
Transfer cooled logs to a cutting board. Using a serrated bread knife (or santoku knife), cut them on the diagonal into ¾ inch thick slices. Arrange slices cut side up on baking sheet, in batches if necessary. Bake, 10 minutes. Turn slices over; bake until they are crisp, 9-10 minutes. Transfer slices to rack; cool completely. Biscotti will keep for up to 10 days in an airtight container at room temperature.
Prep: 35 minutes, plus cooling time. Bake: 40 minutes. Makes about 48 biscotti.
Nutrition information per serving: 61 calories, 3 g fat, 1 g saturated fat, 15 mg cholesterol, 8 g carbohydrates, 1 g protein, 29 mg sodium, 0 g fiber
Smoky gouda biscotti
1tablespoon vegetable oil
11/2cups (185 grams) unbleached all-purpose flour
1/2cup (60 grams) whole-wheat flour
1teaspoon baking powder
1teaspoon fine sea salt
1/2teaspoon sweet Hungarian paprika
1/4teaspoon smoked paprika (aka pimenton)
1/2cup (55 grams) pecan halves
1cup (115 grams) grated smoked Gouda cheese
1/4stick (4 tablespoons) unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch pieces, at cool room temperature
2large eggs, lightly beaten
2tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2tablespoons milk or half-and-half
“Smoked paprika may not be Italian, but it’s one of my favorite savory spices,” writes Domenica Marchetti in “Ciao Biscotti,” who features it in this savory biscotti recipe, along with more of that flavor profile from smoked Gouda. To drink, she suggests Dolcetto di Dogliani, “a smoky red wine from Piedmont,” or Dolcetto d’Alba.
Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Lightly coat an 11-by-17-inch rimmed baking sheet with the vegetable oil. (Or line the pan with parchment paper.)
Combine the all-purpose flour, whole-wheat flour, baking powder, salt, sweet paprika and smoked paprika in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Mix briefly on low speed. Add the pecans; mix to combine and to break up the nuts into small pieces. Add the cheese; mix briefly on low to combine. Add the butter in pieces; mix on medium-low speed until the mixture looks like damp sand. Set aside 1 tablespoon of the beaten eggs. Combine the remaining eggs with the olive oil and milk; pour into the mixing bowl. Mix on medium speed until a soft, slightly sticky dough has formed. (Alternatively, you can mix the dough with a wooden spoon.)
Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface; pat it into a disk. Divide it in half. Lightly moisten your hands with water and gently roll one portion of dough into a rough oval. Place it lengthwise on one half of the baking sheet; use your hands and fingers to stretch and pat the dough into a log about 2 1/2 inches wide and 12 inches long. Shape the second piece of dough in the same way, moistening your hands as necessary. Press down on the logs to flatten them out a bit; make the tops even. Brush the reserved egg over the tops of the logs.
Bake the logs until lightly browned and just set, 25-30 minutes. They should be springy to the touch and there should be cracks on the surface. Transfer the baking sheet to a cooling rack. Gently slide an offset spatula under each log to loosen it from the baking sheet. Let the logs cool, 5 minutes; then transfer them to the rack. Let cool, 20 minutes. Lower the oven temperature to 325.
Transfer the cooled logs to a cutting board. Using a serrated bread knife (or santoku knife), cut them on the diagonal into 1/2-inch-thick slices. Arrange the slices, cut-side up, on the baking sheet (in batches if necessary); bake, 20 minutes. Turn the slices over; bake until crisp and golden, 15-20 minutes. Transfer the slices to the rack to cool completely. The biscotti will keep for up to 10 days in an airtight container stored at room temperature.
Prep: 35 minutes, plus cooling time. Bake: 1 hour. Makes about 30 biscotti.
Nutrition information per serving: 88 calories, 6g fat, 2g saturated fat, 21mg cholesterol, 7g carbohydrates, 3g protein, 147mg sodium, 1g fiber.
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