Make your own biscotti from stale quickbreads! Learn to give your quick bread and dessert loaves a second life and make your own biscotti with a dehydrator or oven!
We all know that when making quickbreads, making two loaves is always better than one. But you can't always eat it before it goes bad.
Instead of sticking your quick bread in the freezer, think about creating a delicious treat by making this easy DIY 'Biscotti' that can elevate your afternoon snack or quick treat before bed!
I'm using a commercially purchased pound cake, (less than $2 as a Kroger clearance find) but you can use ANY quick bread or dessert loaf.
You can use any quick breads that you make at home. However, because of the amount of fats (oils and eggs) that are in most quick breads, this is not going to be suitable for long-term storage.
Besides...they won't last that long anyway 🙂
Equipment
- Dehydrator (I happen to use the Cosori dehydrator)
- Knife - I love my Misen knife, but any knife will do
- Storage jar - assuming you don't eat it all up beforehand.
- Quick bread of your choice
Related -- Tips for Buying Your First Dehydrator
How to Make Your Own Biscotti with a Dehydrator
Step 1. Preheat dehydrator to 135°F
Step 2. Slice into 1" segments
Slice quick bread into 1" thick slices, and then into 1" sections.
Step 3: Place on dehydrator trays.
I use this one from Excalibur, but any dehydrator will work!
Step 4: Dry at 135°/57°C
Dry for 4-8 hours or until crisp.
*Note, any temperature will do as this is not preserving, but simply drying out bread.
Oven Directions:
- Place sliced bread pieces onto cooling rack on top of a cookie sheet
- Dry in a 350F or less oven until bread snaps when cool - usually about 15 to 20 minutes
Types of Quick Breads to Use
- Zucchini bread
- Pound cake
- Banana Bread
- Muffins
- Cake donuts
- Cake
Watch me make Banana Bread Biscotti
How to Store Dehydrated Biscotti
Allow dehydrated biscotti to come to room temperature, and then store in an airtight container appropriate to the volume of food that you have. This means, don't store a few in a large container.
Your biscotti should last 1-2 weeks, but you can put it back on your trays if you find it losing its crunch.
These will be fairly susceptible to ambient moisture, so you can keep a moisture absorber/desiccant pack in the container, or just eat them all really fast!
Quick bread recipes to try
- Banana Bread
- Gingerbread Quick Bread - from Amanda's 12 Days of Dehydrating project- awesome stuff!
- Pumpkin Bread
- Rhubarb Bread
- Zucchini Bread
- Irish Soda Bread - think little tiny pieces of toast 🙂
DIY Biscotti FAQ's
You can. However, the taste and texture may not be quite what the homemade version is depending on the additives and preservatives added to the bread. This particular pound case I used turned quite crumbly and made a mess - but it still tasted like vanilla wafers, so we enjoyed it tremendously!
Stored in a mason jar or other airtight container, 1-2 weeks. But you'll eat it all before then. If you find that it is getting a little 'stale' again, throw it back into your oven or dehydrator.
I know few of you will ever actually have leftover anything as far as quickbreads go, but hold back a few pieces next time and make your own biscotti with it as a treat!
DIY Biscotti
Equipment
- Oven
Ingredients
- Banana Bread Use any quick bread of your choosing: banana, zucchini, muffins, pound cake, etc.
Instructions
- Slice quick bread into 1" slices or cubes
Dehydrating
- Place on dehydrator trays
- Dry at 150°F / 65°C until crisp
Oven
- Place on cooling rack on top of a cookie sheet
- Dry at 350°F/67°C oven for 15-20 minutes until crisp
Store
- Store in airtight container for 3-4 weeks
Video
Darcy's Tips
Nutrition
Nutritional information is an estimation only. Nutrient information for dehydrated foods is based on fresh. Use ¼ of the servicing size for the same nutrient information. Thus 1 Cup of fresh fruit has the same sugars as ¼ dried.
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Lisa says
I'm guessing this would not work with banana chocolate chip bread, right? The chocolate chips would melt?
Darcy Baldwin says
Correct - though, if you don't mind a little melted chocolate for bread that doesn't have a ton, you can put it on fruit leather trays and see how it reacts. But yes, the chocolate will melt.
Mary K says
This is the bomb!! I took some of my homemade Banana Nut Bread, dehydrated it, and then I had dipped it in some leftover chocolate from some Christmas candy I had just finished making.
I’m so totally blown away with the ease of this delicious project. This is a perfect dessert to take anywhere for any occasion.
Thanks Darcy for your super genius recipe.
Darcy Baldwin says
So glad you liked it!
Drema says
Have you ever tried making biscotti with brioche bread? Wondering how that would be. 😊
Darcy Baldwin says
No, but it will certainly work!
Deb Vozniak says
I made this with store-bought cinnamon swirl bread, and it is fantastic! Thanks so much for the suggestions I would never have thought of using cake so I'm going to try it soon. Thanks again.
Cindy says
Any recipes for homemade biscotti ? I can buy store bought breads and biscotti but don’t care for the taste. Just wondering if there are tested recipes in the book. Thanks!
Darcy Baldwin says
I'm not sure what book you're referring to, but no, other than googling a recipe to find one. Biscotti in it's own way is already dried, it doesn't need a dehydrator.
Diane Wilson says
Recipe and article do not match. Best to dehydrate at 135 or 150?
Thanks for great idea. Plan to try.
Darcy Baldwin says
As I mentioned - the temperature doesn't matter. You can do either.
Joni says
Omg!!! I made some of these today with homemade banana nut bread. So good with coffee!!!
Darcy says
Isn't it the best!?
Amira Stillwater says
Also we store our little biscotti’s in the fridge just because we want to make sure they stay fresh because they have nuts and oils and such in them.