Biscotti Regina

Plain little logs rolled wet and then in sesame, which toasts in the oven and is the whole point.

Egg. Not vegetarian — contains lard.

Ingredients

• 400 g plain flour
• 120 g caster sugar
• 120 g lard or butter, cold and diced
• 1 egg
• 80 ml milk
• 10 g baking powder
• a pinch of salt
• 200 g white sesame seeds
• 100 ml milk, for rolling

Method

1. Rub the lard into the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt until it looks like breadcrumbs.
2. Work in the egg and the 80 ml of milk to a firm dough. Rest it 30 minutes.
3. Roll pieces into logs about 6 cm long and as thick as a finger.
4. Pour the rolling milk into a shallow bowl and the sesame onto a plate. Dip each log IN THE MILK FIRST and then roll it in the sesame, pressing it on.
5. THE WET ROLL IS THE WHOLE TECHNIQUE. A dry log picks up a scattering of seeds; a milk-wet one comes out completely covered, and the dough underneath is deliberately plain because the toasted sesame is the flavour of the biscuit.
6. Bake at 180C for 20 minutes, until the sesame is golden and smells nutty.
7. Cool on a rack. They harden as they cool and keep a month in a tin.

Our own recipe. This one was written for this site rather than taken from anywhere, so there is no source to point you at. The quantities and the order of the steps are choices, not the only way to do it.

Filed under Italy · All recipes