Using different types of Wheat Protein Isolate (WPI) I revisited Maggie's Italian Biscotti. To cut to the chase... Maggie's Biscotti are really great! But, IMO, the two types of WPI cannot be subbed for each other. In this recipe, you're much better off to use the WPI from locarber.com than the WPI from HoneyvilleGrain.com . Really, that's all you need to know.

If you want the details, read on ...

For one thing, an equal weight of WPI from locarber and WPI from Honeyville make much different volumes (about 26 g/.5 cup vs 82 g/.5 cup). So, the WPI-Honeyville cookie had a lot more WPI in it than the WPI-L cookie
Whether the amounts WPI and other ingredients could be adjusted to produce like results remains to be seen.

I made two batches, identical except for the WPI. In one batch I used WPI from Trish's locarber.com. In the other batch, I used Honeyville Grain WPI . This is the recipe I made today (includes a TBS of polydextrose not included in Maggie's original recipe and some minor tweaks to use ingredients I had on hand).

1/2 cup WPI
1/2 cup blanched almond meal
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 TBS polydextrose
1/2 tsp cardamon
1/4 tsp sea salt (ground up with a pestle and mortar)

Whisk dry ingredients together in a small bowl until well blended and with no lumps.

Add:

1/2 cup slivered toasted almonds and mix them evenly with the other dry ingredients (I didn't have enough sliced almonds - the slivered worked fine, though)

In a separate bowl, blend the wet ingredients:

1 extra large egg
1/2 tsp almond extract
40 drops of sweetzfree (25 drops = 1 cup sugar)
2 tbs melted butter

Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and just mix until blened. Turn out onto a silpat covered baking sheet and form into a parallelogram-shaped log, about 9" by 3" by 1/2 inch.

Bake 20 minutes in a 350-degree oven. Remove to a rack to cool enough to handle, slice into finger-shape cookies. Bake the cookies at 325 degrees for an additional 5 to 7 minutes on each side.

The locarber WPI (WPI-L) produced a dough that was lighter, wetter, and stickier than the Honeyville WPI (WPI-H).

When I shaped the WPI-L batch into a log, the dough stuck to my fingers making little peaks all over the surface of the dough. I wet my hands for the final pat down and that nicely smoothed out the surface and gave the final product a slightly shiny surface.

When I shaped the WPI-H batch, the dough felt heavier and drier. It didn't stick to my fingers, so I didn't have to wet my hands to get a smooth surface.

The WPI-L baked into a lighter cookie with distinct medium-sized air bubbles. WPI-H baked up into a dense-textured cook with very small, indistinct air bubbles. I think it could have used a longer initial baking time - 22 to 25 minutes.

Using this recipe, the WPI-L made much nicer biscotti. It tastes more "golden" (akin, to nutty and buttery). It dissolves better in the mouth, too. The WPI-H biscotti tastes a bit bland, but not bad. But, it's texture isn't as nice as the WPI-L cookie. It is fine when you first bite into the cookie and start chewing, but has a kind of sandy, gritty feel towards the end.

Possibly, WPI-H would work better if less was used and more levening was added. It might also benefit from just having the dough rest a while before baking. That might allow the WPI-H to soften a bit and avoid that sandy feel in your mouth.

The WPI-L is in the top half of the photo and the WPI-H cookies in the lower half.


Here's a closer view, if you're interested Biscotti Close-up

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~~~Teelbee
Back to GOAL!!!
start weight: 176/goal range: 137-134/now: 138
Reached goal in Aug. 2003 - 4rd year of maintenance.

Teel, you're the BEST! Great experiment! (Also happy my biscotti have been vindicated. - I knew they were pretty good, since non-lc people liked them. )

Now that I've gotten your sample, I hope to give it a try in a couple of things this weekend and I'll report on my results as well!

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Thank you for the update!
I've been wanting to make the biscotti, but couldn't find WPI. Now I know what to get and where to get it to make this recipe work. I still wish there was a recipe for a version with stuff that I can pick up at Trader Joes or Clark's Nutrition. Oh well...

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Melissa