[Sca-cooks] Granado's Bizcochos w/ Orange Flower Water

[lilinah at earthlink.net]

So, i'm trying to figure this out, to cook for the Vigil "sideboard". 
But right from the start i have a question, and then another and 
another...

While i'm good at cooking most stuff pretty intuitively, i haven't 
been baking much for the last few decades and appreciate some 
guidance.

Thanks,

Anahita

-------

BIZCOCHOS - 16th C. SPANISH BISCOTTI

ORIGINAL

Diego Granado, Libro del Arte de Cozina (1599)
translation by Lady Brighid ni Chiarain

Take twelve eggs, and remove the whites from four of them, and with a 
little orange-flower water beat them a great deal, and grind a pound 
of sugar, and cast it in little by little, always beating quickly, 
and cast in flour, or powdered wheat starch, and beat it with force. 
Having cast in the said flour, when they see that it is necessary, 
and very fine, and the dough must remain white, just as for fritters, 
and then cast it in your pots, and carry them to the oven, and when 
half-cooked remove them, and dust them with well-ground sugar, and 
cut them to your taste, and return them to the oven, and let them 
finish baking a second time: and if they wish when they beat them, 
cast in as much white wine as an eggshell, it will be good.

MY VERSION

8 whole eggs
4 separated eggs - see QUESTION 1
a little orange flower water
an eggshell of white wine
1 pound sugar - see QUESTION 2
(1 pound?) fine white wheat flour - see QUESTION 3
powdered sugar - see NOTE

1. Preheat oven to 450 Fahrenheit
2. Beat well eggs with orange flower water and wine.
3. Add sugar little by little, beating constantly.
4. Add flour and beat forcefully.
5. Put the dough on a baking pan - square it neatly and make a loaf a 
couple inches high, rounding the sides slightly.
6. Bake until half-cooked.
7. Remove from the oven, dust with powdered sugar, and slice into 
individual bars.
8. Return to the oven a second time, and let finish baking.

NOTE: Granulated sugar can be turned into powdered sugar without 
additives by pouring it into a running food processor - takes just a 
few seconds.

QUESTION 1 - so, i separate 4 eggs - then do i use the whites or the 
yolks in this recipe?
QUESTION 2 - the sugar, ground - should that be normal granulated 
sugar or powdered sugar?
QUESTION 3 - how much flour? equal to sugar? half as much? twice as much?
QUESTION 4 - how long is half-done? about 15 minutes? I figure the 
loaves should not brown, and should be soft enough to slice...