- 1 T vanilla extract
- 150 g (¾ cup) granulated sugar or less
- 113 g (½ cup) unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 2 eggs
- 200 g (2 cups) whole grain einkorn flour, preferably freshly milled
- 1½ teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
- 145 g (1¼ cups) slivered almonds, coarsely chopped
Heat the oven to 325 degrees. Position rack in center of oven. With an electric mixer, cream the butter until light. Add the sugar and mix until fluffy. Add the eggs and the vanilla extract and mix until smooth. Stir together the flour, baking powder, salt and almonds and stir into the butter mixture. Allow to rest a few minutes as whole grain flour requires more time to absorb liquids.
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Divide the dough into 3 pieces. On a lightly floured surface, shape each piece of dough into a log that is about 1¼ inches in diameter. Or using wax paper roll the dough into 5 round logs. These are easier to form and make smaller more numerous biscotti. Place the logs on the baking sheet, spacing them as far apart as possible. Bake in the center of the oven until lightly browned, about 30 minutes or less if using smaller logs.
Place the logs on a cutting board and let them cool slightly. With a serrated knife, cut the logs on the diagonal into ½-inch-thick pieces. Place on the baking sheet, cut side down. Bake until lightly browned, about 15 minutes, turning once. Transfer the cookies to a rack to cool. Store in an airtight container.
SOURDOUGH DISCARD CRACKERS C. Salem
Instead of tossing out your extra sourdough each time you feed it, add the discard to your favorite pancake or waffle recipe. Or make crackers: stir a little salt into the discard and pour it out onto a baking pan lined with parchment paper. Use a spatula or tilt the pan to spread it as thin as possible. Scatter flaky salt and sesame seeds over the top. Or add fresh herbs on top or stirred into the batter. Bake in a preheated oven at 325 degrees for 10 minutes. Remove from the oven and use a pizza cutter or fluted pastry cutter to slice into pieces. Return pan to the oven, rotate, and bake another 10-15 minutes until the crackers are a little brown. Turn the oven off and leave the pan in the oven to cool down and crackers become crisp. Store in an airtight container for a few days if they last that long. The sourdough gives them a pleasant cheesy taste.
SOURDOUGH DISCARD BISCUITS adapted from King Arthur Flour
- 1 cup (96 grams) whole wheat flour OR 1/2 c (60 grams) all purpose flour and 1/2 cup (48 grams) whole wheat flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 3/4 teaspoon salt
- 8 tablespoons (113g) unsalted butter, cold
- 1 cup (227g) sourdough starter, unfed/discard*
- Preheat the oven to 425°F, with a rack in the upper third. Grease a baking sheet, or line it with parchment.
- Combine the flour, baking powder, and salt. Work the butter into the flour until the mixture is unevenly crumbly.
- Add the starter, mixing gently until the dough is cohesive. Rest 10 minutes while dough absorbs liquid. If dough is too stiff add a little milk or buttermilk and again allow time to absorb–whole grains take a bit longer than AP flour to absorb moisture so don’t overdo the addition of liquid.
- Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface (a piece of parchment works well), and gently pat it into a 6″ round about 1″-thick.
- Use a sharp 2 3/8″ biscuit cutter to cut four rounds, cutting them as close to one another as possible. Gently push and pat the scraps into a 2 1/2″ x 5″ rectangle. Cut two more biscuits. Push and pat the remaining scraps into a 1″-thick biscuit; it’ll be slightly smaller than the others. Make smaller biscuits, if desired; they’ll need slightly less time in the oven than the larger biscuits.
- Place the sourdough biscuits onto the prepared baking sheet, leaving about 2″ between them; they’ll spread as they bake.
- Bake the sourdough biscuits in the upper third of your oven for 20 to 23 minutes, until they’re golden brown.
- Remove the sourdough biscuits from the oven, and serve warm. Or cool completely, wrap in plastic, and store at room temperature for several days. Freeze, well-wrapped, for longer storage.
WHOLE GRAIN BERRIES from any wheat, einkorn, and emmer can be cooked in water and served as a porridge with nuts and berries, made into a savory side dish, or added directly to soup as you would rice or pasta.
Emmer, also known as farro, is especially good in a grain & vegetable salad or in a grain bowl.
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ROBERTA’S PIZZA Adapted from NY Times Cooking
This is a quick and easy yeast-leavened dough from the famous Williamsburg New York pizzeria. I like to add 10-30% whole grain heritage grain like Sonoran White or Einkorn or Spelt to add flavor and texture.
AND MORE….
Evelyn’s Crackers, a retail baker in Canada is a heritage grain enthusiast. She shares bread, cracker, cookie, and cake recipes that incorporate spelt, emmer, einkorn and more here.