I wanted crispy biscotti ... not rock hard
So I made biscotti yesterday afternoon, and although they turned out alright, they aren't exactly what I was hoping for.
I used Sara Moulton's recipe (although I think she got it from Gourmet magazine), and subbed macadamia nuts for the hazelnuts, and added white chocolate chips as well. (The exact recipe can be seen at: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/sara-moulton/chocolate-hazelnut-biscotti-recipe/index.html)
Anyway, the flavor is good, but they are much crunchier & harder than I'd like them to be. I know biscotti are supposed to be that way to an extent, but I was hoping for a more tender, delicate crumb that resulted in something a little lighter and crispier.
I seem to remember seeing several recipes that do not call for any butter at all (this recipe had 6 tablespoons, if I remember correctly), and I'm wondering if this makes a big difference? Any experienced biscotti-makers out there, I'd really appreciate your thoughts and/or recipes!
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6 Comments:
If you bake it twice its going to be hard. I only bake mine once and then set them on a rack cut overnight to stale them. This seems to make them firm but not rock hard.
Chill your logs before baking them for at least one hour, two is good. They will stay nice and cohesive with the one bake because of the chill.
JerzeeTomato at 8:30PM on 03/15/09
Biscotti aren't meant to be eaten like cookies. They're for dunking. My Italian nonna taught me how to dunk in my morning cappucino before I even started kindergarten.
They're supposed to be rock-hard, even with all that butter, which made them nice and rich, and then they absorb the liquid, making them absolutely luscious.
Nonna's were flavored with anisette, and I've made them with orange peel and cashews and Kahlua and whatever struck my fancy. But, if you bake them twice, as @Jerzee Tomato pointed out, they're gonna be hard - but they're also going to be the real thing.
Womandingo at 11:12PM on 03/15/09
Womandingo makes an excellent point. The Italians of the world don't eat biscotti without something to dunk 'em in!
For a softer crumb, I usually use fine yellow cornmeal in addition to flour. This also produces a heartier taste. Giada De Laurentiis has a few recipes that do this. ( http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/giada-de-laurentiis/chocolate-citrus-biscotti-recipe/index.html )
I, too, would recommend chilling the dough for an hour or two before baking.
wheatfoot at 11:49PM on 03/15/09
sara moulton is the executive chef of gourmet, so i'm guessing she had a hand in that recipe.
you might want to try baking mandelbrot and see if it's more to your liking. the kind my grandmother made was dry and crumbly, but not hard. it wasn't necessary to dip it before eating it.
cybercita at 12:48AM on 03/16/09
Look for a recipe that uses oil instead of butter, it gives you a different texture.
SSMom at 7:35AM on 03/16/09
I've seen stuff about butter vs. non-butter, so you could try using another oil instead (I usually use safflower). I've overcooked biscotti a few times, and it's helped me get a feel for how to avoid it. The one thing I see in that recipe that sticks out to me is the initial bake time. I usually don't go past 30 minutes in my oven (at high altitude where things cook slower, or so I hear?) ... so you might want to cut that back to 25 minutes, maybe 30 so that you're starting with a softer cookie before you cut them and then dry with the second bake.
here is the recipe I use. I actually don't include the pistachios or cranberries, and I do add zest from one orange into the mix before introducing the flour.
joyyy at 2:04AM on 03/17/09