Biscotti that pairs hamanatto's deep saltiness with toasted nuts — good with coffee or Japanese tea, and just as at home as a small sweet alongside a glass of wine. Hamanatto works quietly here, tucking a little umami and salt into every bite.
Biscotti are nearly impossible to get wrong, which makes this a good one to bake with kids, or to have ready when the table needs one more small thing. There isn't much to wash up, either — most of it comes together right in a bag.
Makes 8–10 pieces · about 1 hour, mostly hands-off
Ingredients
- 80 g mixed nuts — dried fruit and/or chocolate can stand in for some of this
- 5 g hamanatto
- 150 g all-purpose flour
- 25–50 g sugar (use less if your nut and fruit mix already leans sweet)
- 1 egg, beaten
- 2 Tbsp milk
- 1 Tbsp olive oil
How to make it
- Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F) and line a baking sheet with parchment. Roughly chop the nuts and hamanatto, leaving some texture.
- In a bowl, mix the flour and sugar. In a separate container, whisk together the egg, milk, and olive oil, then add to the dry ingredients.
- Fold in the nuts and hamanatto just until no dry flour remains. If you have the time, rest the dough in the fridge for an hour — if not, move straight on. Shape it into a flat rectangle, roughly 10 × 12 cm, on the baking sheet.
- Bake at 180°C (350°F) for about 20 minutes.
- Let cool slightly, then slice into pieces about 1 cm thick. A bread knife or serrated knife cuts cleanly without crumbling the edges.
- Arrange the slices cut-side up on the baking sheet, and bake again at 150°C (300°F) for about 20 minutes.
- Move to a plate or wire rack and let cool completely — this is what gives biscotti its hard, toasty crunch.
Tip
Hamanatto is salty enough that 15 g is a good place to start. Chop it fine and scatter it through the dough rather than leaving larger pieces, so the saltiness turns up gently in every bite instead of all at once in one.
