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The Shady Baker shows us how to make olive oil biscotti using the olives from her own tree.
WORDS & PHOTOGRAPHY JANE SMITH
BISCOTTI
Makes 30
½ cup (80g) whole almonds
2½ cups (375g) plain flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
½ cup (125ml) olive oil
1 cup (220g) caster sugar
2 eggs, plus 1 egg, extra, lightly beaten for brushing
Finely grated zest of 2 lemons
1. Preheat the oven to 180°C. Line 2 baking trays with baking paper. Set aside.
2. Combine the almonds, flour, baking powder and salt in a medium bowl and mix well.
3. In a large bowl, whisk the oil, sugar, eggs and lemon zest until thick and glossy.
4. Gradually add the flour mixture to the oil mixture until it forms a sticky dough.
5. Halve the dough and place the pieces on the baking trays, using your hands to shape them into rectangular log shapes about 5cm wide and 2cm high. Using a pastry brush, coat each log lightly with the extra beaten egg.
6. Bake for 15 minutes, then turn the trays and bake for a further 15 minutes. At this stage the logs should be firm and dry, slightly cracked on the surface, but not too brown.
7. Remove from the oven and transfer to a chopping board. Use a sharp bread knife to slice each log into 15 biscotti pieces, about 15mm thick. Lay the biscotti pieces flat on the baking trays, leaving a little room between each piece.
8. Reduce the oven to 120°C. Return trays to the oven. Bake for 8-10 minutes or until biscotti are light brown and crisp.
9. Remove from the oven and cool on a wire rack. Serve with coffee or liqueur.
Visit The Shady Baker website or find Jane on Instagram.
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To hear more extraordinary stories about women living in rural and regional Australia, listen to our podcast Life on the Land on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and all major podcast platforms.
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