Biscotti and biscuits are both words derived from Latin meaning ‘twice-cooked’. The two stage baking process bakes the biscuits and then dries them out. The original intentions was to create a nutritional package that would be non-perishable, especially for long journey and voyages. To revive the dry and hard biscuit it would be soaked in a liquid. These days our biscuits are not quite so hard and dry, but we still maintain a tradition of dunking them in tea or coffee. The dry and chunky biscotti can be eaten as it is, but it also is best dunked in a a hot beverage or an alcoholic drink – especially the Italian sweet wine Vin Santo. It is interesting to note that to an Italian, a biscotti is any type of biscuit, they call the dry, oblong biscuits, cantucci. When an American refers to a biscotti, they mean a cantucci. Just to add to the confusion, when an American refers to a biscuit, they mean a soft scone.
The most difficult part of developing a biscotti recipe is attaining the correct texture. It should have a close texture, feel solid and robust, be dry all the way through, but most importantly it should should be crumbly and crunchy. It’s only after baking a few examples that you realise how much science and chemistry is incorporated into a commercial cantucci. Valentina Harris happily admits that homemade biscotti will never be the same as shop bought. That’s a challenge I couldn’t resist.
I made eight varieties for Christmas gifts and wrapped them in cellophane bags, once I got into the swing of making variations it seemed that almost any flavour or added ingredient could be incorporated. Interchanging nuts is not always possible – hazelnuts and pistachios behave exactly like almonds, macadamia have a little more fat in the nut but held up well, however a walnut has too much fat and does not hold its texture – I would imagine Brazil nuts and pecans would behave similarly to walnuts…
