Sourdough KAMUT Biscotti with Almonds and Anise

These Sourdough KAMUT Biscotti, have a deliciously crunchy texture and nutty flavor and would make a delightful treat to serve with coffee or tea.

The monthly challenge for the Sourdough Surprises Baking Group is Biscotti.  I love making biscotti so I didn’t want to miss out on this one.

My version is made with sourdough and includes toasted slivered almonds, lemon zest, and crushed anise.

I really enjoyed the combination of the finely crushed almonds, lemon zest, and cinnamon in the Romanian Easter Braid we made for the Bread Baking Babes so I decided to use some of the same flavors in this biscotti.

To make things even more enjoyable, I used white and wholegrain KAMUT flour and cornmeal instead of regular all-purpose flour.

I enjoy working with KAMUT.  It has a nutty flavor and the dough is a dream to work with.  It didn’t disappoint in this biscotti.

Sourdough KAMUT Biscotti with Almonds and Anise

Makes about 40

These biscuits make a delightful treat to serve with coffee or tea.  If you don’t have KAMUT flour on hand, feel free to substitute regular all-purpose and whole wheat flours instead of the KAMUT.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup sourdough starter (fed or unfed)
• 1/2 cup butter, chilled and diced
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 2 teaspoons grated lemon (or orange) rind
• 1 cup white KAMUT flour, plus extra for sprinkling
• 1 cup whole wheat KAMUT flour
• 1/2 cup cornmeal
• 1 cup toasted almond slivers *
• 2 teaspoons anise seeds, crushed

* An easy way to toast the almonds is to spread them on a baking sheet and bake at 325 degrees F. for 5-7 minutes until they are just beginning to brown. Remove from the oven and let them cool before incorporating.

Directions:

Place the butter and sugar in a large bowl and mix with your fingers or a mixer until smooth. Add the eggs, olive oil, and grated lemon peel and beat together well.  Pour in the sourdough and incorporate thoroughly.

Whisk together the white and whole wheat KAMUT flour and cornmeal and add the flour mixture along with the anise seeds and toasted almonds to the wet mixture.  Mix well. Add extra flour a little at a time if necessary to make a soft but not sticky dough.

Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and place it in the refrigerator overnight.

The next day, remove the dough from the refrigerator several hours before you plan to make the biscotti to allow the dough time to warm up to room temperature and become a workable dough.  It will be pretty stiff when you first take it out of the refrigerator.

Once the dough is workable, preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. and then divide the dough into four equal pieces.

Shape the pieces into four logs about 7 inches long and 2 inches in diameter.  Mine were a bit wider than 2 inches.

Place the logs on non-stick baking sheets, leaving space between them.

Bake the logs for 35 minutes until lightly golden.

Let the logs rest on wire racks for 10 minutes, then slice them diagonally (or not) into slices.  Place them back on the baking sheets and bake for an additional 10 minutes or until the desired crunchiness.

Remove the biscotti to wire racks to cool completely. Then enjoy it with your favorite coffee or tea.

I took these biscotti with me to visit my youngest son at school. He’s cramming for exams right now so these will make a good snack for late-night studying.

This recipe makes so many, I shared some with him and had some left over for a snack.

Happy Baking!
Cathy

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