Once I tasted it, I wanted to create something unique and easy to make to go with it! It was just great on grilled french bread...but these biscotti give just something that the two play very well! I do hope you try both!!
copyright catmacera2012
1 1/2 c flour
1/2 c course cornmeal** (regular will work)
1/2 c sugar
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp kosher salt
2 tbsp fresh rosemary, finely chopped
1 tbsp fresh thyme, chopped
1/4 c toasted pine nuts (or chopped walnuts)
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
4 tbsp olive oil
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a baking sheet pan with parchment paper.
In a large bowl whisk together flour, cornmeal, sugar, baking soda, salt, pine nuts, rosemary and thyme. Set aside.
In a small bowl beat together the eggs, vanilla and oil. Make a well in the middle of the dry ingredients, pour in the egg mixture. Slowly stir the dry into the liquid, until it forms a soft dough.
Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Knead the dough until smooth (this dough is soft, only add flour to prevent sticking). Divide in half. Form each half into a 8" log. Place on prepared pan and pat down to flatten slightly.
Bake at 350 degrees F for 20 minutes. (rotate try halfway through time). Remove to a cooling rack for 20 minutes. Reduce oven to 250 degrees F.
With a serrated knife cut into about 1/2" slices. Place them on baking sheet. Place in oven and bake for another 20 minutes, gently flipping the cookie halfway through. Place on cooling rack.
**I use local cornmeal (and actually my flour comes from Champlain Valley!) Gianforte Farms in Casenovia, in fact I get my dried red and black beans and whole wheat bread flour. check them out:
http://gianfortefarm.com/ and their Three Grain cereal is fantastic!)
So glad you like the Caprese Jam! These biscotti sound amazing and a perfect compliment - I'll have to give them a try.
ReplyDeleteCan you tell me the difference between regular salt and kosher salt? Does it make a difference which one you use in this recipe?
ReplyDeleteFantastic question! Here is an article that explains, although it suggest not to use it baking, I do, I have never run into a problem. If you can sample each to see the difference. I mostly u
ReplyDeleteuse sea salt for a topping.
Salt comes in many varieties, out of which tablet salt or iodized salt, kosher salt and sea salt are some of the popular varieties that can be used for cooking, food preservation, as well as for some other purposes.
What is Iodized Salt?
Iodized salt is the regular salt or table salt enriched or fortified with the mineral iodine. Salt including, iodized salt is basically sodium chloride. The reason for fortifying salt with iodine is the importance of this mineral in preventing thyroid diseases like, goiter. Even now deficiency of iodine affects a large number of population throughout the world. Iodine is primarily required by the thyroid gland for synthesizing the thyroid hormones, insufficient production of which can cause thyroid disorders and other health problems.
So, the main benefits of adding iodine to table salt is that it can provide iodine for maintaining the health of the thyroid gland. Though iodine can be abundantly found in sea vegetables and seafood, iodized salt seems to be the easiest way to get enough iodine for common people. Nowadays, iodine is also added to sea salt to make iodized sea salt.
What is Kosher Salt?
Like iodized salt, kosher salt is also chemically sodium chloride, but it usually does not contain additives like, iodine. Some brands of kosher salt can however, contain a small amount of anti-clumping agents. Compared to tablet salt, the grains of kosher salt are much larger. Kosher salt is not refined, and is basically a type of coarse salt. It is also known as rock salt. The salt got its name 'kosher' due to the fact that, it is used for curing meat or making meat kosher by drawing blood from it. Kosher foods are those that conforms to the Jewish dietary law.
Comparison Between Iodized Salt and Kosher Salt
The main difference between these two salt is that, kosher salt is unrefined, coarse and does not contain additives, unlike iodized salt. Kosher salt is usually considered as a pure salt, and compared to iodized salt, its flavor is said to be milder. This is the reason why it is preferred over iodized salt by many cooks. Professional chefs prefer kosher salt over iodized salt mainly for seasoning. It is especially suitable for curing meat, as the coarse, larger and flaky grains of kosher salt do not dissolve and so, adhere to the skin of meat, fish and any other surface like, glass. Therefore, kosher salt helps to draw out blood or fluid out of meat more effectively.
Kosher salt can be used for nearly all those purposes for which table salt is used, except for baking, especially when the recipe requires the use of only a small amount of liquid. The grains of kosher salt are larger and hence may not dissolve properly in a small amount of liquid. In such a case, table salt is a better option than kosher salt for baking. But, in recipes where you can use enough liquid to dissolve kosher salt, you can use both iodized and kosher salt, whichever you prefer. Apart from cooking, kosher salt has some special uses. As for example, it is used for lining margarita glasses, as well as for making salt crust on meat and baked fish.