Twice Baked, Once

     Biscotti is a traditional Italian almond biscuit.  Credit for its creation is given to 19th Century pastry chef Antonio Mattei in Prato.  His recipe used only flour, sugar, eggs and almonds to make the dry, crunchy oblong cookie.  His secret was to bake the dough twice, first as a long log and then a second time after the log had been cut into inch thick strips.  

     Biscotti means just that, twice baked and the advantage of doing so was to create a biscuit that could be stored for a long time.  To soften it a bit before eating the biscotti are usually dunked in a drink, like Vin Santo.

     However, our host and chef extraordinaire, Fonzie, recommends baking the dough only once, since they don't sit around very long before being eaten.  Here is her recipe:

Biscotti with Almonds
 

Ingredients

3 cups of unsalted whole almonds, roasted in a frying pan

4 1/2 cups of "0" flour

3 1/3 cups of sugar

pinch of salt

7 eggs

orange zest

1/2 packet of yeast

4 tsp of baking powder

10 Tbsp of melted butter

Directions

On a large flat surface create a circle with the flour with a well in the middle.  Add the sugar to the well, then add the eggs.  Scoop up the flour around the mixture to hold the eggs.  Whip the eggs in the middle of the flour then add the orange zest and the melted butter.  Mix the remaining dry ingredients into the egg mixture a little at a time until fully incorporated.

Add 1/2 of the roasted almonds to the mixture.  Add more flour if dough seems sticky to make a better consistency.  Add the rest of the almonds and fold in repeatedly.  Place mixture in a large bowl to rest in the refrigerator until chilled.

Roll out the dough into long rolls approximately 1 1/2 feet long by 1 1/2 inches in diameter and lay on a parchment paper lined cookie sheet.  Brush water or egg wash onto the rolls and sprinkle with sugar to taste.

Place in oven on both shelves at 350F for 30 minutes.  DO NOT bake twice!

Cut into pieces immediately out of the oven.

Recipe courtesy of Alfonsina Ricchi, Il Praeto, San Donato, Italy