Need help with biscotti

[tenspeed]

First, I'm not a baker, so this is new territory for me. I followed Chef John's recipe.

https://foodwishes.blogspot.com/2017/09/almond-biscotti-because-winter-is-coming.html

After baking at 350 for 30 minutes and cooling for 15 minutes, I sliced the logs. I had a little trouble keeping them together, as the "crust" wanted to pull away from the core. The core appeared to be a little moist, so I'm guessing that they needed to bake a bit longer, or possibly rest a bit longer, but they were not too hot to handle. But as I'm not a baker, I could be way out in left field on this one. Any advice would be appreciated. By the way, they taste pretty darn good, and the finished cookies had the appropriate crunch (although not necessarily a completely intact biscotti).

 

[caseydog]

My mom's recipe calls for 375-degree oven for 25-30 minutes.


Recipe...

1 stick butter

1cup white sugar

3 1/4 c. all purpose flour

3 eggs

1 tablespoon baking powder

3 tablespoons Amaretto

Half bag mini chocolate chips (optional)

375 degree oven-greased cookie sheet

in a medium bowl beat together butter, eggs sugar and flavoring until well blended. Combine flour and baking powder . Stir into egg mixture to form a heavy dough.
To make handling easier. Refrigerate dough for one hour. Divide dough into two pieces. Form each piece into a roll as long as your cookie sheet. (Roll in a piece of wax paper to prevent sticking. ) Place dough onto the prepared cookie sheet and press down to 1/2 inch thickness.

Bake 25-30 minutes in preheated oven until a golden brown. Remove from the cookie sheet to a wire rack to cool. When the loaves are cool enough to handle, slice each one crosswise in 1/2 inch slices. Place slices back on cookie sheet cut side up. Bake for an additional 7-10 minutes on each side. Slices should be lightly toasted (or darker according to your preference).

Other flavorings can be used such as 1tablespoon anise extract or 3 drops anise oil.

Approx. 4 doz.

CD

 

[blissful]

My experience with biscotti, I've made it 20 times. Sometimes they work and sometimes not. I don't have any consistent experience with them. When they are good they are VERY good and when they fall apart or are bad, the are VERY bad. Stick with a recipe that works for you.

 

[buckytom]

My sister (the baker) says let them rest more. Even a day. The reason they are cooked twice is because of the delay.

 

[CharlieD]

I had similar problem with my biscotti and almost started to freak out. But I was told to leave it alone. After it cooled down completely they were just fine and dry.

 

[tenspeed]

Another rainy day, so I decided to experiment. I baked one log for 35 minutes and the other log at 40 minutes. I cut half of each log after 15 minutes of cooling, and then the other half after an additional 15 minutes. The 35 minute log cut cleanly after both cooling times. The 40 minute log was a bit overdone and crumbled a bit when cutting, but still salvageable. As I mentioned the 30 minute log did not appear to be quite cooked through after cutting, even though it passed the toothpick test. I think that a couple of minutes more than the recommended cooking time would have done the trick, and probably allowing a longer cooling period to allow it to cook just a bit more would have done the trick as well. I've checked my oven temperature with a oven thermometer, so I think the oven temperature is correct.

 

[caseydog]

Another rainy day, so I decided to experiment. I baked one log for 35 minutes and the other log at 40 minutes. I cut half of each log after 15 minutes of cooling, and then the other half after an additional 15 minutes. The 35 minute log cut cleanly after both cooling times. The 40 minute log was a bit overdone and crumbled a bit when cutting, but still salvageable. As I mentioned the 30 minute log did not appear to be quite cooked through after cutting, even though it passed the toothpick test. I think that a couple of minutes more than the recommended cooking time would have done the trick, and probably allowing a longer cooling period to allow it to cook just a bit more would have done the trick as well. I've checked my oven temperature with a oven thermometer, so I think the oven temperature is correct.

My mom's biscotti are great. And, if she can do it, I have no doubt you can. She is not a great cook, or baker. But, she does have a few pitches that she knocks out of the park. I can't understand it, let alone explain it.

Keep your chin up and keep trying.

CD

 

[tenspeed]

My mom's biscotti are great. And, if she can do it, I have no doubt you can. She is not a great cook, or baker. But, she does have a few pitches that she knocks out of the park. I can't understand it, let alone explain it.

Keep your chin up and keep trying.

CD

Does your mom have a youtube video?

I saved her recipe that you posted a while back. It's fairly close to Chef John's, with a little more butter and a little less sugar. I've had good luck with John's recipes, and his videos are really helpful when making something totally different from what I know. Refrigerating the dough for 30 minutes and using plastic wrap to shape it worked out great - no mess!

Now that I know what is supposed to happen I might try some variants on the recipe.