Recipe: Bake-Once Biscotti

It had never really crossed my mind to try to bake biscotti before, but I came across the following recipe over the holidays and decided to give it a whirl. This calls for only baking once, instead of twice as is tradition, so I thought it would be a good way to ease into the world of baking biscotti.

Ingredients
– 1 1/2 c. sugar  – 12 eggs  – 1/2 tsp salt  – 4 1/2 c. flour  – 1 tsp baking powder  – 2 c. dried tart cherries  – 2 c. pistachios  – 1 Tbsp water

Directions
Separate 8 eggs, keeping the yolks (I saved the whites for a frittata later in the weekend). In a stand-up mixer with the whisk attachment, beat the 8 egg yolks, 3 whole eggs, the sugar and salt for about 5 minutes. The mixture will be thick and a pale yellow. Replace the whisk with the paddle attachment, and mix in the flour and baking powder until well-combined. I did this in 2-3 rounds.

Chop the dried tart cherries and shelled pistachios (I found both at Whole Foods, and any store with a bulk section should have these ingredients available). Though you can use them whole, as originally suggested in the recipe, I roughly chopped them, as I believe the final biscotti slices are easier to eat with smaller mix-ins.

Mix in the cherries and pistachios until just combined. The dough will be very sticky – I found it difficult to scrape the sides of the bowl, and had the spatula top pulled from the handle a few times during the process.

Separate the dough into two equal portions onto plastic wrap – I did so with my hands given the stickiness – and refrigerate for at least an hour.

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Shape the dough into 12″x5″ logs and place on parchment paper. I was able to fit both onto one cookie sheet, and did most of the stretching mid-air, as the dough remains quite sticky!

Combine 1 whole egg and 1 Tbsp of water, and brush the mixture onto each rectangle before baking.

Bake for 35-45 minutes until the top is golden brown. Cool for 10 minutes on the baking sheets, then transfer to a cutting board to cut 1/2″ slices. Completely cool before serving or eating, about an hour.

While the end results were quite tasty, I am not sure the process of making and baking biscotti is a good fit for me. Ever made biscotti before? Have any tips, particularly for how to deal with the very very sticky dough? I am open to any suggestions you may have!

Until next time,
SugarSource

Unexpected Find: The Delayed Egg Wash

As you may know, my second attempt at croissants resulted in a quite pale version of the original. After realizing a little late in the initial baking process that I had not slathered egg wash atop each roll, I was disheartened at the pasty pastries that I extracted from the oven. As I gazed at their less-than-glossy surfaces, I wondered if I could apply the egg wash and try a second round in the oven. Would this ruin them for good, or revive them? I had to try!

At the same baking temperature as before – 360 degrees – I applied the wash to one previously baked croissant (using more yolk than white), and left one without to test the variation. In they went for roughly 6 minutes. At first there appeared to be no observable difference between the two but, after the time was up, there was a remarkable transformation for one. It became golden, the texture of the pastry more pronounced (and most certainly more appetizing).

What I did not expect was that the croissants themselves would thus feel so different. The egg wash infused the first with moisture, allowing for an easy tear reminiscent of the first croissants I had baked. The second “unwashed” version was difficult to separate into two halves, seeming to have gotten drier and tougher.

All in all, I now know that I could have popped out the croissants the moment I realized the wash was missing, painted it atop each proofed piece of dough, and the pastries ultimately would have been fine. A successful experiment, but one I hope not to repeat (by remembering the wash in the first place)!

Until next time,
SugarSource