Biscotti

I have never made Biscotti before, I have heard they are notoriously hard to make and I guess this put me off before. But on lockdown, apart from being with my boys 24/7, I have had a lot of time to look over recipes and decided I would give it a go because I love a biscotti, especially with a cup of coffee! I settled on a recipe by the King of bread himself - Paul Hollywood.This recipe is from his book "Bread". I decided to make two different batches so that if I messed up the first one I had a back up batch! I chose Pistachio & Cranberry for one and Chocolate, Orange and Almond for the other. I needn't have worried about them going wrong because both came out great - I did worry that my first dough was too sticky, Paul states that the dough "shouldn't be at all sticky", and I tried adding extra flour to no avail.But upon baking they turned out absolutely fine. I would say they are fairly simple to make, you just need to take it slowly and also set aside most of a morning or afternoon to make them but its worth it and I would definitely make them again! This recipe makes 1 batch but I have included the ingredients for both flavours. 

Ingredients

For the Biscotti Base...

250g Plain Flour (30g extra for chocolate biscotti)
1/2 tsp Baking Powder
250g Caster Sugar
2-3 Eggs (beaten)

For Pistachio & Cranberry Flavour...

220g Shelled Pistachios
125g Dried Cranberries 
Finely Grated Zest of 1 Lemon

For Chocolate, Almond & Orange Flavour...

50g Dark Chocolate
135g Blanched Almonds
50g Chocolate Chips
Finely Grated Zest of 1 Orange
1/2 tsp Vanilla Extract

How To Make

1. Heat your oven to 140'c and line a baking tray with baking paper. Mix the flour, baking powder and sugar together in a bowl. Stir in the beaten eggs, a little at a time, making sure each addition is fully incorporated before adding more, you may not need all your egg. Continue until you have a firm dough, your dough should not be sticky. If you are making chocolate Biscotti add the extra flour now. 

2. Now add your chosen flavouring...

For Pistachio & Cranberry Biscotti, roughly chop the nuts and add everything to the biscotti dough. Mix by hand until everything is incorporated. 

For Chocolate, Orange & Almond, melt the chocolate and then cool until tepid. Roughly chop the almonds. Add the melted mixture to the biscotti dough and stir until evenly incorporated. Bring the mixture together to form a dough and then add the almonds, orange zest, vanilla extract and chocolate chips. Mix with your hands until well combined.

3. Once you have added you flavourings, turn your biscotti dough out onto a floured surface and knead gently before dividing in half. 

4. Roll each piece of dough into a long log, about 4cm in diameter. Place both logs on the baking tray about 5cm apart. Bake in the oven for 30-35 minutes.

5. Leave the logs to cool on the tray for 10 minutes to allow the dough to firm up slightly and then transfer to a board. Cut the logs, on the diagonal, into 2-3cm thick slices. 

6. Place the slices, cut side up, back on the baking tray. return to the oven for 20-30 minutes, or until the biscotti are are dry through to the middle, turning them over halfway through. 

7. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.