Who Really Invented Biscotti?

       Welcome everyone to another week of baking. In my past few blog posts, I have returned to simple and classic bakes. Considering how busy and stressful our lives can be right now, I am going to stick with the simple theme and share another easy bake. As the semester comes to an end and assignments are stacking up, I have turned to baking to relieve stress. I hope that anyone reading this blog will take this as a reminder to step away from the assignments and do something that makes them happy. 

       Today we are tackling biscotti. These are crispy, crunchy cookies often served with coffee, hot cocoa, or tea. They are great in the morning or as a bedtime snack. If it isn’t obvious already, I love chocolate, so these will of course be chocolate biscotti. 

       Before we go any further, let’s take a moment to appreciate the interesting history of biscotti. Although biscotti has strong ties to Tuscany, they were actually developed by the Roman empire. The word comes from ‘bis’ and ‘cotto’ meaning twice and baked. They are baked once to cook through and a second time to dry them out. This method allowed the cookies to last longer, serving as a source of nourishment for the Roman Legions on their travels. Unfortunately, biscotti was lost after the fall of the Roman Empire. It was hundreds of years before Italian baker Antonio Mattei recreated biscotti in the mid-1800s. He received prizes for his biscotti across Europe in cities like Florence, London, and Paris. His family inherited his bakery in 1904 and the original recipe remains a secret after five generations. In the Roman empire, biscotti were dry and bland. Italians infused the cookies with local flavors like almonds, anise, amaretto, and lemon as they spread throughout the country. 

      When I first made biscotti about a year ago, I expected a complicated recipe. Followers of my fall blog will know that I do not do well with complicated recipes. I was expecting a biscotti disaster, but what I found was quite the opposite. There are truly only three steps in making biscotti. First, combine the dry ingredients in one bowl. Combine the wet ingredients in a mixing bowl or with a hand mixer. Add the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients. It is that easy. There are other steps to the recipe, but the making of biscotti is simple. After combining the ingredients, the dough needs to be split in half and placed onto two baking sheets. Biscotti is not like a cake that will rise. When shaping the dough into roughly two rectangles, the biscotti will keep the shape that it is molded. If a baker prefers a thicker biscotti, then the dough should be rolled out very little. The whole biscotti needs to spend 30 minutes baking in the oven first. Take the biscotti out and cut it immediately into strips and place them back into the oven to dry out. After the first bake, the biscotti will be safe to eat, but true biscotti is completely dry, requiring a second bake. These biscotti can be kept in an airtight container for up to a week or they can be frozen for up to a month!

See you all next week for the final bake!

https://shewearsmanyhats.com/easy-double-chocolate-biscotti-recipe/

https://buckscountybiscotti.com/blogs/blog/5-coolest-facts-about-the-history-of-biscotti