Sourdough Biscotti [simple recipe with pantry ingredients]

Sourdough biscotti are crunchy, twice baked Italian cookies made with sourdough starter and your favorite nuts and dried fruits. Perfect served with espresso, dessert wine or a hot cup of tea, these Italian sourdough biscotti are such a simple way to use your sourdough discard.

I've made this recipe with hazelnuts, cranberries and mixed spice - but you can literally add anything you like - from roasted nuts, dried fruits, flavored and chocolate chips, lemon and orange zests. Just add what you have!

I've added 8 ideas for flavor variations to get you started!

What is Italian Biscotti?

Biscotti is a crunchy cookie that normally contains nuts, spices and dried fruits.

These Italian cookies are best known for their very crunchy texture which is a result of baking them twice. This crunch makes them perfect to serve with espresso, capuccino, dessert wine or even a pot of tea. You really need to dunk them into a beverage to soften (but you don't have to).

You might recognise biscotti from your favorite cafe - they are often displayed in large jars on the counter as a simple accompaniment to coffee.

If you prefer a softer cookie, why not try these sourdough discard snickerdoodle cookies or these sourdough chocolate chip cookies? These sourdough sugar cookies are also perfect to decorate!

Sourdough Discard or Sourdough Starter?

You can use either sourdough discard or bubbly sourdough starter for this recipe - it will not make any difference. If you don't have a sourdough starter, use this recipe to get yours started today.

Sourdough biscotti can be a great way to use up a large amount of discard as it uses 150g. It should be less than 2 weeks old for this purpose.

If you're like me and feed your starter daily (and always have a bubbly jar ready to go) then adding active, fed sourdough starter is perfectly fine too.

Realistically, sourdough discard and sourdough starter are the same thing - it's just that sourdough discard is unfed so lacks the leavening power of active sourdough starter.

I like to use sourdough starter (or discard) that is 100% hydration - that is it has been fed equal amounts of flour and water. You don't want to use stiff starter in this recipe.

How to Make Sourdough Biscotti

Making sourdough biscotti is really easy. You can do it using a couple of bowls and dough scraper! You could mix this dough in a stand mixer if you want to, but it really is easy to mix by hand.

The trick to getting the loveliest sourdough biscotti is baking them twice! This is what gives these Italian biscuits their signature crunchy texture.

1. Add the sourdough starter, eggs and vanilla to a bowl and whisk together until it's well combined.
   
2. In a separate bowl, add all of the dry ingredients and mix until they're well combined.
   
3. Now add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix until well combined. I like to use a plastic dough scraper to do this. I pull it together into a shaggy dough using the dough scraper, then use my hands to bring the dough into a ball.
   
4. Separate the mixture into two portions. Form each portion into a log and place onto a baking tray lined with parchment paper. I make the logs around 450g each.
   
5. Bake the logs for around 30 - 35 minutes at 180C/356F.
   
6. Allow the logs to cool for around 15 minutes (you don't want to cut them while they're hot straight out of the oven).
   
7. Using a sharp serrated knife, slice the logs into thin slices - around 1 cm is perfect.
   
8. Lay the slices face up on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. They can touch because they will not change size from this point.
   
9. Bake the slices of biscotti for around 15 minutes at 160C/320F or until they are golden and crispy.
   
10. Allow the biscotti to cool on a wire rack to finish the process. They will become even crunchier once allowed to cool.

Why Are Biscotti Baked Twice?

Biscotti are baked twice to give them an extra crunchy texture. When you slice the logs after the first bake, the biscuits (or cookies) are quite soft.

If you did not bake the biscotti twice, they would not last very long because the soft, under baked texture would mold fairly quickly.

Baking them twice completely dries them out, making them last a lot longer. Think of them as "long life cookies". You can literally store these for weeks without them going bad!

And if they do go a little soft you can quickly bake them off in the oven for five minutes and crisp them up again!

Magic, right?

Tips for Making Best Sourdough Biscotti

While this recipe is a very simple process, there are some tips and tricks that can help you to bake sourdough biscotti successfully every single time.

• The dough can be very sticky. Don't panic. Use you hands to bring it together into a dough and knead it if you need to in order to bring all the flour together. If you're really struggling with sticky dough, pop it in the fridge for an hour to make it more manageable.
  
• I like to weigh the dough and split it into two equal portions to form the logs. This gives you a more uniform size across the two logs. You don't have to be this exact - it is a rustic Italian recipe after all!
  
• If you are having trouble forming the logs, lightly dust your hands with flour as this will help you to form them more easily.
  
• If you want to, you can egg wash the logs and sprinkle with sugar before you bake them. This will give your biscotti a sweet coating. This is completely optional.
  
• Use a serrated knife to slice the warm biscotti logs. Don't allow them to cool completely for the best result.
  
• If you would like longer biscotti, slice the logs on an angle.

Flavor Variations for Sourdough Biscotti

I've made this simple biscotti recipe using just hazelnuts and vanilla to flavor the dough, however, if you'd like to try something a little different, leave out the hazelnuts and mixed spices. Instead, use these flavor additions:

• Cranberry & Cashew: 100g of cranberries, 100g of cashews, finely grated rind of one orange.
  
• Lemon Biscotti: finely grated rind of 2 lemons, 100g of flaked almonds
  
• Lemon & Blueberry: 100g of dried blueberries, finely grated rind of 2 lemons, 75g of roasted almonds
  
• Chocolate Chip: 150g of your favorite chocolate chips
  
• Christmas Biscotti: 100g of pistachio nuts, 100g of cranberries, 2 teaspoons mixed spice (I love using cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg and ginger).
  
• Apricot & Almond: 100g of roasted almonds, 100g of chopped, dried apricots, 1 teaspoon of almond extract
  
• Chocolate & Walnut: 100g of chopped walnuts, 100g of milk chocolate chips
  
• Coffee Biscotti: add 100g of your favorite nuts and 5g of freshly and very finely ground coffee beans (approx. 1 tablepoon).
  
• Pumpkin Spice Biscotti - add 2 teaspoons of pumpkin spice to this recipe.

You can see in the photo below I've drizzled a few biscotti with some melted chocolate and sprinkled with flakey sea salt. This gives them a lovely twist and is perfect if you are gifting them!

How To Store + Freeze

Sourdough biscotti will last for a long time stored in an airtight container.

I find they last longer when stored in a glass jar or cookie tin. Plastic tends to make them go soft.

Sourdough biscotti literally last for weeks! You can freeze sourdough biscotti, but I find they are best frozen after the first bake. Wrap the baked logs in foil and then into a ziploc bag.

When you want to use them, allow to defrost at room temp, slice and bake.

Frequently Asked Questions

Share the sourdough love!