Olive Oil Biscuits

Cook Time 40 minutes

Servings 16 large, 32 small

Ingredients

100ml extra virgin olive oil, plus extra for greasing
Icing sugar, sifted, for dusting
7g sachet of dried yeast
3 tbsp demerara or raw caster sugar, plus extra for sprinkling
300g Tipo “00” flour + extra, for dusting
1 tbsp finely grated orange zest +extra, to serve, if desired
2 tsp fennel seeds
1 tsp sea salt
1 free-range egg white, lightly beaten
2 tbsp pistachios, toasted, finely chopped

Method

Preheat the oven to 200°C fan-forced.

Lightly grease two baking trays with olive oil and dust with icing sugar. In a small jug, place the yeast and a pinch of sugar in 150ml warm water, stir well to dissolve and leave for about 5 minutes or until mixture becomes frothy. Stir in the remaining sugar and whisk in the oil.

In a large bowl, combine the flour, orange zest, fennel seeds and salt. Make a well in the centre and slowly pour in the yeast mixture, using a fork to incorporate. Once the dough has come together, knead using your hands to form a smooth dough. Divide into 16 pieces.
Lightly dust a clean work surface with a little extra flour. Roll the pieces into balls, then using a rolling pin roll out each ball to about 8cm diameter. Place biscuits on the prepared trays, leaving about 4cm between each biscuit.

Lightly brush the surface of each biscuit with egg white, sprinkle with pistachios then dust lightly with icing sugar and scatter over a little extra caster sugar. Bake biscuits in the oven for about 12 to 15 minutes or until golden and crisp. Transfer to wire racks to cool.

Serve dusted with extra icing sugar and orange zest, if desired.