Breeze Biscotti
Breeze Biscotti
by: Christian Leue
The tea, anise, and lemon in Breeze are perfect for biscotti. I use both vanilla bean and vanilla extract to create a rich and round flavor, along with fresh lemon zest and plenty of nuts.
Serves about 16
Photo : Christian Leue
Ingredients
1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter* (113 grams)
1 1/4 cup nuts (I used almonds and hazelnuts), chopped (140 grams)
2 tsp Breeze N5 (5 grams)
2 1/4 cup all purpose flour (270 grams)
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder (7 grams)**
3/4 cup sugar (150 grams)
3 tsp lemon zest (6 grams)
1/2 tsp salt (5 grams)
1 vanilla bean, split lengthwise
2 eggs
2 tsp vanilla extract (8 grams)
Directions
Take your butter out from the fridge, set your oven to 350°F, place a rack in the middle, and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
On a small sheet tray scatter the nuts and place them in the oven. Allow to toast for for 10-20 minutes (depends on how quickly your oven heats), until fragrant and lightly brown. Remove to a bowl to cool and mix in 1 teaspoon of Breeze.
Meanwhile mix together the flour and baking powder.
In another bowl mix together the sugar, salt, and lemon zest, then using a small knife scrape the seeds from the vanilla bean***, adding them along with the remaining teaspoon of breeze. Mix well using a fork or a couple chopsticks. Once it's well-incorporated you'll really smell the lemon.
In a stand mixer cream the butter, or use a hand mixer and a bowl. It should take 3-4 minutes on medium speed, you want the butter light and fluffy.
Add the sugar and mix until well incorporated, then add the eggs and the vanilla extract and mix again.
Stir the flour and the nuts in with a spatula and mix until no floury bits remain.
Divide the sticky dough into two equal pieces in the bowl, then wet your hands with cold water, remove half, and shape an even log on the baking sheet. Rinse your hands, then repeat with the other half, making sure there is space around each as they will expand.
Bake for about 30 minutes, until lightly browned.
Remove to a cooling area (I use my radiator usually), and let them cool until you can easily handle them (about 15 minutes).
Using a sharp knife cut diagonal slices that are about 3/4" thick.**** For the best results don't saw back and forth as this can dislodge the nuts. If you don't have great knives, a serrated one is a better choice than a dull one. I usually end up eating the end pieces right away, but you can bake them too if you like.
Add a wire rack to your baking sheet, place the biscotti slices on it, then bake for about 15 minutes, until golden brown and crispy. If you don't have a rack that fits your sheet, just flip them after 8 minutes.
Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely, then store in an air-tight container for up to two weeks.
Recipe Notes
* This isn't strictly necessary and you can use salted butter, I just find that the unsalted butter I use has a deeper flavor than the salted one, not sure why. If you're using salted butter reduce the salt to 2/3 tsp.
** If you don't have baking powder you can make it by mixing 2 parts cream of tartar and 1 part baking soda. I recommend making only what you will use immediately as it will deteriorate over time.
*** The vanilla bean husk can be added to sugar to make vanilla sugar, tossed into a bottle of whisky, or added to your next braise.
**** The diagonal slices are so you don't have a hard edge that's parallel to your teeth, same reason you want to slice crusty bread diagonally.
Variations & Ideas
Flavor Boost
•Reduce the sugar by 2 tablespoons, and add 3 tablespoons of Lemon-Sultana Marmalata with the flour and nuts.
• For more of a dessert, dip or drizzle the biscotti with an icing made with Breeze or Borneo N26 and lemon zest.
• You can of course experiment with other spice blends, nuts, fruit, etc. I love pistachios and a handful of bitter apricot kernels with Cancale to replace the salt, for example.
Food images and recipe © Christian Leue
