Cantuccini (biscotti) with fennel

Damon's tweaking. Makes 30 biscuits. 12 steps

125g castor sugar		beat thoroughly until very thick	Shape into two logs, 20cm long.	Bake in moderate oven 20 minutes or until firm. Remove to a wire rack and cool until you can handle it. With a very sharp knife, cut logs diagonally into 1.5cm biscuits.	Bake 10–15 minutes per side in moderately slow oven, until golden. Remove and cool on a wire rack.
2 large eggs
1 lemon's rind	grated
25g butter	melted	mix in
1/2 teaspoon fennel	ground
180g flour	sift	mix in to make a semi-stiff dough
1 teaspoon baking powder
pinch salt
1 egg white			Brush with white

The duration of the second baking will depend on the humidity, and whether you have a gas or electric oven.

For cantuccini alla mandorla (almond biscotti), omit the fennel and add a cup of almonds after mixing the flour. Some recipes insist that you blanche, toast and chop the almonds, but I think they're good with whole skin-on almonds. Make sure you use a very sharp thin knife, and you slice the logs right out of the oven, so that you can cut through the whole almonds.