Crunchy Sourdough Starter Discard Biscotti Recipe (2024)

Contents

Do you have a sourdough starter that you are feeding everyday or every week? I do! Every time I feed my starter, I try to find recipes that include the sourdough discard so I am not wasting all that flour. So far, I have made rosemary sourdough crackers, peanut butter sourdough cookies, sourdough pancakes, double chocolate sourdough waffles and most recently almond sourdough biscotti. You can probably find a lot of sourdough recipes on crackers, cookies and pancakes, but biscotti, not so much. Plus the biscotti recipes I found typically use a 50% hydration sourdough starter, which means I have to convert my 100% hydration sourdough starter first to a 50% starter before I can make my biscotti. So in the end, I decided to make my own biscotti recipe using my 100% sourdough starter. It involved studying numerous basic biscotti recipes and calculating flour to water ratios to incorporate my sourdough starter discard. I was worried about how it will turn out but, it is so good that if there’s a biscotti contest, it will easily win top 3 (and nobody would even be able to guess that it’s made with sourdough starter discard!).

Crunchy Sourdough Starter Discard Biscotti Recipe (1)

Can you use any type of sourdough starter?

Absolutely, as long as it’s a 100% hydration sourdough starter. 100% hydration just means it’s 1 to 1 ratio of flour to water. Your 100% hydration starter can be made with any type of flour. My sourdough starter is made with rye, all purpose flour and water. When I feed it, usually once a week (I take it out of the fridge and leave it to rest in room temperature for 2 hours before I feed it), I use 50g organic rye flour and 50g all purpose flour with 100g room temperature filtered water. The amount of starter that I actually keep for feeding is around 25g, which means I discard around 200g matured starter each time.

Crunchy Sourdough Starter Discard Biscotti Recipe (2)How do you store the biscotti fresh?

After the biscotti are completely cooled, I like to store them in a sealed glass container. They can be kept up to a month! If they turn soft, there’s an amazing trick. Simply turn the oven to 250°F, pop in the biscotti for 15 min and turn off the oven, leaving the biscotti in the oven to cool down slowly. They will taste just the same if not better with a more concentrated flavor.

Can you add other dried fruits and nuts?

You can add any kind of fruits and nuts that you like. I recommend a maximum of 2 cups of fruits and nuts mix. When you have too much fruits and nut, it will be hard to keep the dough together, especially when you slice the dough for your second bake.

Crunchy Sourdough Starter Discard Biscotti Recipe (3)Almond Sourdough Starter Discard Biscotti

Level:˜ (easy to hard)

Yield: 22-24 biscotti

Ingredients:

Dry Ingredients

  • 2 cups all purpose flour
  • 1/2 cup almond flour (you can substitute with all purpose flour instead)
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1 tablespoon orange zest (one whole orange, or one whole lemon)
  • 1 1/2 cup toasted almonds

Wet Ingredients

  • 3/4 cup sourdough starter discard
  • 2/3 cup sugar
  • 6 tablespoon butter (room temperature)
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 tablespoon honey (you can substitute with sugar instead)
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1/2 teaspoon almond extract (optional)

Instructions:

  1. Preheat oven to 350°F degrees
  2. Mix all the dry ingredients in a large bowl
  3. In a separate bowl, cream together all wet ingredients except for the sourdough starter discard
  4. Stir in the sourdough starter discard in the wet mixture
  5. Combine all the dry and wet mixtures until blended. Do not overwork the dough otherwise gluten will develop and make the biscotti chewy
  6. Divide the dough into 2
  7. Roll each dough into 10″ long and 4″ wide rectangle (roughly 1 1/2″ thick)
  8. Line the baking sheet with parchment paper and bake for 30-35 min until lightly golden
  9. Let cool for 10 minutes and then cut into 1″ thick wedges
  10. Turn the wedges on the side for second bake
  11. Reduce the oven heat to 325°F degrees and bake the wedges for another 15-18 min until golden brown on the edges
  12. Let cool completely before storing them in an airtight container

Crunchy Sourdough Starter Discard Biscotti Recipe (4)

Baking it for the third time really sealed the flavors and make them very crispy. If you like crunchy snacks like these biscotti, you will like my crunchy vanilla almond granola. Or if you are using your sourdough to make some pizza dough, here’s a fun twist to using your pizza dough.

More baking posts for you!

Double Chocolate Sourdough Starter Waffles

Strawberry Chocolate Buns With Sourdough

Cherry Oat Bars

Thank you for taking the time to read my post. Leave a comment or share it with others that will enjoy it as well.

For more inspirations and exclusive offers, sign up for Sprinkles Letters.

Crunchy Sourdough Starter Discard Biscotti Recipe (5)

biscotticookiesdessert recipeshealthysourdough starterstarter discard

Crunchy Sourdough Starter Discard Biscotti Recipe (2024)

FAQs

How crunchy should biscotti be? ›

Biscotti are hard, crunchy cookies as they are usually baked twice - the word biscotti is derived from Italian - "bis" meaning "twice" and "cotti" meaning "cooked". Usually the dough is formed into small loaf shapes (similar to a ciabatta loaf) and baked for around 20 minutes, then cooled slightly before slicing.

Do you have to discard sourdough starter every time you feed it? ›

It would be best if you discarded some portion of your starter each time you feed it unless you want to continue to let it grow. Eventually, you need to discard the used “food” (flour and water) that's been used to sustain your starter during the last fermentation period.

What can I do with discarded sourdough starter? ›

Discarding helps keep the acidity low in your sourdough culture, which keeps it strong and healthy. If you didn't discard, you'd also eventually have an unwieldily sum. You can always use this discard by directly mixing it into a dough for baking.

How do you make biscotti less hard? ›

For softer cookies, simply bake them for a little less time than the recipe specifies. For biscotti that can stand up to dunking, bake until they are as crunchy as you like.

What is the secret to making good biscotti? ›

In summary, to produce a consistent crunch in your biscotti, it is necessary to measure and sift the ingredients. It may take some trial and error before you find out what ratio of flour-to-fat that works best for you, but remember that sifting and measuring your ingredients helps create perfect crispiness!

What should the texture of biscotti be? ›

Biscotti are Italian almond cookies. They are baked twice, which gives them their signature hard and crunchy texture.

How much starter do I discard? ›

Remove and discard half of your sourdough starter from the jar. Feed what's left in the jar with equal parts flour and water by weight (1:1:1 feeding ratio). You need a digital kitchen scale for this. Because we all work with different quantities of starters, this 1:1:1 feeding ratio is best understood by example.

Can I leave sourdough discard out overnight? ›

At room temperature (70 F), sourdough discard should last about 1-2 days. Beyond that, it won't go bad necessarily, it will just become more acidic as time goes on (especially in warm weather). Not ideal for sweet recipes. In the fridge, it will keep for about a week or so, and in the freezer it will last indefinitely.

Can you use day 1 sourdough discard? ›

Remember, you can't use the discard from your homemade sourdough starter for the first 7 days. You can use sourdough discard in all kinds of sourdough discard recipes, including these no wait sourdough recipes, overnight sourdough discard recipes and sourdough discard recipes that use up a lot of discard.

How can you tell if sourdough discard is bad? ›

You can store mature sourdough discard in the refrigerator indefinitely. As long as there is no mold, it is good to use. It may develop a grayish liquid on top called “hooch” which can be poured off before use or stirred in. If you stir it in, the flavor will become more sour.

How long can sourdough starter discard sit out? ›

I left my sourdough discard out at room temperature for a few days. Is it okay? As long as your kitchen isn't too warm (I'd say 78°F or higher) your starter/discard will be fine stored at room temperature for at least a few days without feeding. The flavor will get more acidic the longer it sits.

Can you eat straight sourdough discard? ›

Yes you can use sourdough discard straight from the fridge, you don't need to let it come to room temperature if you don't want to. What is this?

How do you keep homemade biscotti crispy? ›

How to Keep Biscotti Crisp and Crunchy
  1. Sealing the biscotti in an airtight bag such as a polypropylene bag after they have cooled to room temperature will help to keep them fresh.
  2. If you prefer to store your biscotti in a container, choose an airtight container that will keep out any moisture or humidity.
Dec 31, 2022

Why are my biscotti so hard? ›

The answer's in the name: “bis” (twice) + “cotto” (cooked). Biscotti are made by part-cooking a sort of flat loaf. That loaf is sliced into individual cookies and baked again until hard and crisp. And that hardness is sort of the point.

Is butter better than oil in biscotti? ›

Yes, you can substitute oil for butter in biscotti. However, there are a few things to keep in mind: The texture and flavor of the biscotti may be slightly different with oil. Butter has a richer flavor and can contribute to a crisper texture, while oil may result in a softer, less crispy biscotti.

How do you know when biscotti is done? ›

If the biscotto feels soft, like a piece of cake, give it another 5 minutes in the oven. If it feels firm but still gives a bit when you poke it, take it out for rather soft-textured but still crunchy biscotti.

Does biscotti have to be hard? ›

—you slice them with a serrated knife at a slight angle and bake again. Is biscotti supposed to be hard? Yes! The cookie is hard and crumbly, which makes it perfect for dunking in warm beverages like coffee or—pro move—hot cocoa.

Why is my biscotti rock hard? ›

Biscotti is baked 2 times- once as a loaf, the second time after cutting the loaf into slices. This makes them brittle, Biscotti is designed to be dunked into coffee, to soften them enough to eat.

Top Articles
Latest Posts
Article information

Author: Tuan Roob DDS

Last Updated:

Views: 6198

Rating: 4.1 / 5 (62 voted)

Reviews: 93% of readers found this page helpful

Author information

Name: Tuan Roob DDS

Birthday: 1999-11-20

Address: Suite 592 642 Pfannerstill Island, South Keila, LA 74970-3076

Phone: +9617721773649

Job: Marketing Producer

Hobby: Skydiving, Flag Football, Knitting, Running, Lego building, Hunting, Juggling

Introduction: My name is Tuan Roob DDS, I am a friendly, good, energetic, faithful, fantastic, gentle, enchanting person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.