Thursday, July 02, 2009

Biscotti part one: the savory

biscotti

Although I much prefer baking to cooking, I’d take a cheeseburger over a piece of cake any day. It’s true. I much prefer savory foods to sweet ones. Don’t get me wrong - I love a good piece of pie, but I can never eat more than just a piece. I don’t like that much sugar.

biscotti

But I love baking. I love measuring things out, following a recipe, all the method that goes into it. Which is weird, because I’m not a very methodical person.

So I always love when I find a recipe for savory baking. They are hard to find, outside of bread making. When I can across this recipe for Parmesan Black Pepper Biscotti, I had to make it. I knew I’d love it.

biscotti

This smells absolutely amazing while it’s baking. My mouth was watering. It’s almost like smelling pizza baking. When it came out of the oven the first time, I could help by the taste it. Delicious, it would be perfect to go along with a salad. Then it went in for a second time and came out even better. The crunchiness really works for the flavors.

You should make these tonight, they’d be perfect with dinner!

biscotti

Parmesan Black Pepper Biscotti
From Epicurious

1 1/2 tablespoons whole black peppercorns
4 cups all-purpose flour plus additional for dusting
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons salt
4 1/2 ounces Parmigiano-Reggiano, finely grated (2 1/4 cups)
1 1/2 sticks (3/4 cup) cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
4 large eggs
1 cup whole milk


Put oven racks in upper and lower thirds of oven and preheat oven to 350°F.

Pulse peppercorns in grinder until coarsely ground. (or just buy a peppercorn grinder at the grocery store.)

Whisk together flour, baking powder, salt, 2 cups cheese, and 1 tablespoon ground black pepper in a large bowl. Blend in butter with a pastry blender or your fingertips until mixture resembles coarse meal. Whisk 3 eggs with milk and add to flour mixture, stirring with a fork until a soft dough forms.

Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface and quarter dough. Using well-floured hands, form each piece into a slightly flattened 12-inch-long log (about 2 inches wide and 3/4 inch high). Transfer logs to 2 ungreased large baking sheets, arranging logs about 3 inches apart.

Whisk remaining egg and brush some over logs, then sprinkle tops of logs evenly with remaining 1/4 cup cheese and 1/2 tablespoon ground pepper. Bake, rotating sheets 180 degrees and switching position of sheets halfway through baking, until logs are pale golden and firm, about 30 minutes total. Cool logs to warm on sheets on a rack, about 10 minutes.

Reduce oven temperature to 300°F.

Carefully transfer 1 warm log to a cutting board and cut diagonally into 1/2-inch-thick slices with a serrated knife. Arrange slices, cut sides down, in 1 layer on a baking sheet. Repeat with remaining logs, transferring slices to sheets. Bake, turning over once, until golden and crisp, 35 to 45 minutes total. Cool biscotti on baking sheets on racks, about 15 minutes.

18 comments:

  1. Did you know that Deb at Smitten Kitchen made this same recipe?

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  2. "It would go perfectly with a salad" - DONE! I needed a bread or something with crunch to go with my fun girls' soup and salad dinner coming up and this is it! Perfect since I can make it a few days ahead too!

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  3. Oh, yum! I may just have to make this tonight (or sometime soon). We're out of homemade bread, so I don't know what we'll serve with our chicken tonight beside a veg and potatoes. We'll see if we have all the ingredients and if I can convince Katelyn (my sister). It's her turn to make supper. :)

    I feel the same way about sweet things. Give me something salty-crunchy or at least savory and I'm happy. I do like a good dessert, but if it's too sugary, I'd rather skip it.

    However, I find it much easier to post about baked goods than main dishes. And I do enjoy baking so much.

    Thanks for the recipe!

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  4. Mmm I love anything crunchy that deals with salty cheese!! :D

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  5. Oh yum....those look so good! I absolutely love to bake biscotti, but I've always stuck with the sweet variety. I'll have to make these sometime. Nice photography, by the way:)

    Natalie

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  6. By the time I was done reading your post...I was absolutely craving one of these. I still am. These things look great!

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  7. You are so young, still such a wonderful work.

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  8. What gorgeous biscotti! Perfect with a glass of wine!

    Cheers,

    Rosa

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  9. I'm with you when it comes to savory over sweet! I too adore to bake but don't really enjoy too much sugar. Needless to say I have some very well fed friends ;)

    That recipe sounds awesome though, I'll have to give that a try some time!

    Katie xox

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  10. hannah, savory biscotti! genius! these look fantastic.

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  11. Mmmm, that does sound wonderful. I LOVE fresh cracked pepper! I'm certain that biscotti would taste great with a a lot of savory foods but especially with soups and stews I would think! Thanks for sharing.
    ~ingrid

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  12. Wow I normally do not like biscotti but this one sounds delicious! I've never seen a savory biscotti before!

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