These biscotti are a tradition in our home every Christmas/New Year. As family and friends come over and we enjoy coffees in the evenings with a fire burning in the fireplace, these always hit the spot. I used sifted heritage Hard Red Wheat flour (85% extraction) for these, but you could substitute any heritage or ancient wheat flour.
Makes 30 biscotti.
Ingredients:
150g (1 cup) hazelnuts (or almonds or other nuts)
120g dark chocolate (70% cocoa mass)
160g (3/4 cup) packed brown sugar
230g (1 3/4 cups) sifted heritage Hard Red Wheat flour
30g (1/3 cup) cocoa powder
4g (1 Tbsp) instant espresso powder
5g (1 tsp) baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
3 large eggs
Instructions:
Preheat the oven to 350F. Spread hazelnuts on a baking sheet and bake for about 15 minutes, until they have begun to brown and smell fragrant. Remove from the oven and wrap in a tea towel for 5 minutes to allow steam to release the skins. After 5 minutes, rub the hazelnuts around in the tea towel to remove the skins from the nuts. Allow to cool and then chop coarsely.
Reduce oven temperature to 300F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
While the hazelnuts are toasting finely chop the chocolate - this can be done with a knife, or in a food processor with the brown sugar.
In a medium sized bowl whisk together the sugar (if you didn't process it with the chocolate in a food processor), flour, cocoa powder, espresso powder, baking soda and salt.
In a large bowl whisk the eggs. Add in the flour mixture, chopped chocolate mixture, and hazelnuts and mix until a stiff dough forms.
With floured hands divide the dough in half. On a lightly floured surface shape each half into a log about 2 inches wide. They will expand considerably in the oven, so 2 inches wide is enough. Place logs on one of the pans, spacing about 3 inches apart and bake until firm to the touch, about 40 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool for 10 minutes.
Transfer the logs to a cutting board and with a sharp knife cut into 3/4 inch slices on the diagonal. The dough is still a bit delicate at this point so use care when slicing. Arrange the slices on the 2 baking pans. Bake for 15 minutes. Remove from the oven, turn the biscotti over and bake for an additional 15 minutes until crisp and dry. Remove from the oven and let cool on a wire rack.
Because these are so dry they can be stored in an airtight container for several weeks.