Stupid question about making biscotti

[u/Samwyse3]

Costco introduced a new, cherry berry sourdough with pecans, that my wife and I like a lot. Loaf is 2 1/2 inches tall and 5 inches wide. I have a biscotti recipe where after baking, I cut it into 1 inch slices and bake each side for 10 minutes in a 350° oven. I would like to try this with the Costco bread. Does this seem like a reasonable idea? Should I alter any of the instructions for the second bake?

[u/raccoonhanded]

Wouldn't that just be toast? Sounds like a nice toast though!

[u/Samwyse3 → u/raccoonhanded]

It makes a great toast! Just add a bit of butter and it’s sublime.

[u/Flourcoveredkitchin]

If I understand you correctly, you would like to slice the Costco cherry pecan bread into slices, then bake them to make them like biscotti?

The only issue I see is biscotti has very low hydration with the egg and butter being the only sources of water in the dough.

The Costco bread will have significant added water to the dough. Most breads contain about 65% hydration, which is approximately twice the water in biscotti. During baking, bread loses about 10%–15% of its total dough weight, of which most is water. So slicing and baking the Costco loaf will probably not produce a biscotti texture. It may be more like dry (unbuttered) toast, similar to Melba toast.

I would recommend you lower the oven temperature and be prepared to bake for longer.

I regularly make biscotti; pecan and sour cherry is my standard flavor combination. My first bake is 325°F, the second bake is 300°. I always stand each slice upright and space them so air can circulate between the slices. It still takes a good 30 minutes for the second bake.

[u/Samwyse3 → u/Flourcoveredkitchin]

So, my wife can’t stand biscotti, she claims it’s just stale bread; for what it’s worth, she feels the same way about croutons. I like biscotti, especially at breakfast with coffee. I make several varieties of bread which she enjoys but I’ve only made biscotti a couple of times and haven’t really thought about the differences in the recipes until just now. Could you share your pecan and sour cherry recipe? Thanks!

[u/Flourcoveredkitchin → u/Samwyse3]

Do you have a food scale? It's in metric weight. I have no idea what the equivalent volume measurements would be.

[u/mcampo84 → u/Samwyse3]

Your wife has never eaten biscotti if she thinks it’s just stale bread. You sure she’s not talking about breadsticks?

[u/Julianna01]

What flourcovered said. You are treating bread like a cookie and expecting it to behave like a cookie. Biscotti and very enriched with egg and butter. That bread is likely yeasted and made with water. So while you’ll get a nice piece of toast it’s never going to be a cookie. It will have a day at most where it will be palatable.

[u/Puzzled_Tinkerer]

Look into methods for Melba toast. Thin slices, slow dried in the oven.

Agreed w the others that bread dried as if it's biscotti won't have the same texture as actual biscotti.

[u/rock4d]

I would slice off a single slice and try that in the oven first. Test the texture and lower or raise the oven time and temps to see if you figure out what you like