Biscotti

Although Italians use the word biscotti for almost any cookie (much like the British use biscuit), when referring to what we in America call biscotti, they say cantucci (or cantuccini for the smaller ones). How did this come about? Well, grab an espresso (or if you want to be even more authentic, a glass of Vin Santo) and a biscotti, and I’ll tell you the story.

The inventor of the modern biscotti was Antonio Mattei, a baker in Prato, just outside Florence, in the mid-nineteenth century. He became known for two products, which are sometimes mistaken for each other. Cantucci were made of a simple bread dough, flavored with anise and a little sugar, that was baked, sliced and then toasted. They were common among Prato bakeries at the time, and popular with the peasant farmers, who bought them as they came into town to sell their produce. Mattei received an award for his cantucci at an international exhibition in Paris in 1867. 

His biscotti, on the other hand, were an original creation. While similar to cantucci in how they are baked, biscotti are made from a richer dough, featuring flour, eggs, sugar and the almonds that are grown in the area surrounding Prato. Mattei won an award for his biscotti at an international exhibition in London in 1862, but his cantucci were more popular at the time, because they were more affordable and his customers ate them every day. Biscotti, being more expensive, were reserved for special occasions.

Yet this same biscotti recipe was passed down to Antonio Mattei’s son Emilio, who passed it to Egisto Ciampolini and his wife Italia Piccioli, who passed it to Italia’s nephew Ernesto Pandolfini. The original bakery is still run by the Pandolfini family, and they still make Mattei’s recipe for biscotti, sold in a bright blue bag that has been trademarked to the Biscottificio Antonio Mattei. And they still call these twice-baked cookies Biscotti di Prato. But outside the city of Prato, biscotti are mostly referred to as cantucci or, more specifically, cantucci di Prato. 

So what were the bakers in the Great White Tent charged with making for this signature challenge during biscuit week? Why biscotti, of course, although Flora did refer to her traditional Venetian wedding biscuits studded with fennel and sesame seeds as cantuccini. The judges were looking for 24 identical, crunchy biscotti which are “dry all the way through,” as Mary Berry explained, “and yet you’ve got to be able to get your teeth through it.” That is accomplished by baking the cookies twice — once in the form of a long, flat loaf and then again after they’ve cooled and been sliced.

For my part, I decided to go with an orange, ginger and almond biscotti, using candied ginger to give it a bit of chew and roughly chopped almonds for added crunch. Bringing the dough together was fairly simple. I used a technique I found in a similar recipe by Chef Lindsey Farr, where she uses a stand mixer to cut the butter into the flour until it forms very fine crumbs. I changed the ingredients, however, adding almond meal in addition to regular flour, and using orange zest instead of candied orange peel. I liked the idea of adding cardamom but wanted those few flavors to stand out, so I omitted the cinnamon that her recipe calls for. I topped my biscotti with pearl sugar — after the first bake, so it wouldn’t burn.

The only difficulty I had was cutting them. As you can see by the pictures, they aren’t all identical in size, and that’s due to my math skills (or lack thereof). I started cutting them ¾-inch thick, until I realized I wouldn’t be able to get 24 of that size, so I had to cut the rest of them smaller to make up for it. My preference is for a thicker biscotti, so it will hold up to being dipped in coffee, or wine, or even tea.

Other than that, they turned out just right. The texture was crisp and crunchy without breaking your teeth. The flavor was scrumptious, with the ginger playing off the orange, and a subtle hint of cardamom in every bite. These little treats are fun to give as gifts, and my friends were delighted. I’ve got to keep this recipe in mind come Christmas.

Up Next: Arlettes