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This weekend I set out to write a biscotti recipe using whole grain flours. Biscotti that tasted good, and didn't have the heft of a paperweight. Once a week, usually on Wednesdays, I take a walk up the street for what has become my biscotti ritual. I pass three or four cafes on the way, and end up at Peet's on Market Street. Anyone who lives in the Bay Area knows that not all Peet's are created equal. The one on Market Street makes the best coffee of any Peet's I've been to. This is part of the reason I walk past all the closer and more convenient neighborhood cafes to get to it. I typically order a cafe mocha and a chocolate dipped biscotti, which runs me just over $4. I grab the local food section, search out a stool, and sit around reading the paper while dunking my biscotti into the hot coffee. I like how the thin layer of chocolate gets all melty and warm and the strong coffee flavor infuses the crunchy crumb.

Let's call a spade a spade - eating biscotti for breakfast is just a slightly more sophisticated way of eating cookies for breakfast. Maybe because of their shape you try to convince yourself they are more like a sweet crostini or cracker - but really, its a double-baked cookie. So, I wanted to do a version that used a mix of whole grain flours, wasn't overly sweet, could stand up to a dunk or two in a hot drink, and had a touch of oozy chocolate for good measure.

I jotted out a game plan on a scrap of paper, collected the ingredients, and gave it a go.

I imagined slightly thinner biscotti than the ones I ended up with. I was after the supermodels of biscotti - tall and lithe, perfect for an biscotti bouquet or arrangement. And, well...you can't win them all - these were....let's just call them sturdy, but in a good way. Sort of like the way oatmeal chocolate chip cookies are hearty, comforting, unassuming, and still very tasty. Here's why: you can't slice a loaf of still-warm biscotti full of melty chocolate chips too thin or they will fall apart. They needed the structure and support that a 3/4-inch slice would give them. If I let the 'loaf' cool to room temperature before doing the slice I think I could have sliced them half as thick....Anyways, lot's of variables to play with.

I used a mix of whole wheat flour and whole wheat pastry flour as the main base - the whole wheat flour for structure, and the pastry flour to keep things a bit lighter. Some oat flour for a layer of warmth and subtly sweet oat-y goodness, and germ for its nutritional value. Give them a shot.

Almond Chocolate Chip Biscotti Recipe

Whole grain, unrefined, not too sweet, punctuated with oozy chocolate.

3/4 cup whole wheat flour
1 1/4 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1/3 cup oat flour
1/3 cup wheat germ
1/2 teaspoon fine grain sea salt
1 teaspoon baking powder

6 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
3/4 cup granulated sugar (I used Alter-Eco, unrefined ground cane sugar)
2 large organic eggs
zest of one medium/large orange (optional)
1/4 teaspoon almond extract

1/3 cup slivered almonds (more if you like)
3/4 good quality semisweet chocolate chips (or chunks shaved off a bar)

Preheat your oven to 325.

Combine (most) of your dry ingredients into a medium bowl and set aside: whole wheat pastry flour, whole wheat flour, oat flour, wheat germ, salt, and baking powder.

Either by hand or using a mixer cream the butter and sugar together until creamy, and slightly lighter in color than when you started - roughly a minute or so. Add the eggs, zest, and almond extract. Mix until well combined. You will need to scrape down the sides of your bowl a couple of times if you are using an electric mixer - you want an even distribution of the eggs.

Add the dry ingredients to the creamed mixture. I pulse the mixer on low a couple times so I don't end up with a flour cloud, and then leave it on low for a few seconds - just until the dough becomes stiff and the flour is pretty well incorporated (you will know because there won't be much flour left in the bottom of the mixing bowl). Stir in the slivered almonds and chocolate chips.

Now it is time to shape and bake your biscotti. The dough should be pretty stiff, and easy to work with but you may want to powder your hands and counter with a bit of flour if you are worried about sticking. Flatten the mound of dough into a flat log shape roughly 4-inches wide by 10 or 12-inches long. It doesn't have to be perfect - rustic looking biscotti taste just as good and I like a little character in my baked goods. Place the dough on an ungreased baking sheet and place in the oven for 25 minutes, you want the dough to get firm and start to brown a bit. This is just the first of two rounds in the oven.

Remove the biscotti from the oven and reduce the oven temperature to 300F. Allow the now-baked dough to cool for about 10 minutes - you need it to firm up a bit so it doesn't just crumble when you go to cut it.

Cut the loaf into individual biscotti roughly 3/4-inch thick (I cut diagonally across the loaf so that I have a nice range of sizes/lengths on hand). This biscotti doesn't do particularly well sliced thinly (because of the gooey chocolate - so err on the thicker side), if you want to go thinner try letting the loaf cool longer. Arrange the slices cut side up on the baking sheet and return to the oven for a second time around. You want to bake the biscotti until they are dry and firm, roughly 30 minutes. Don't underbake or you won't get the satisfaction of a nice crunch. It is tricky because, they might be slightly soft coming out of the oven, but will firm right up as they cool off on the counter. I look for golden brown color on the bottoms before I pull them (see picture).

Makes about 12 big biscotti.

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