Gingerbread originates from Germany and can also be traditionally called Lebkuchen (or Pfefferkuchen) in German. Iconically it’s a traditional spicy honey dough that’s mainly baked around Christmas time and was spread from central Europe, all around the world. Recorded history says that spicy bread goes all the way to Egyptian times and since 1300’s, Europeans made it popular. Nuremberg is a city that is well known for it’s soft version of Gingerbread which are baked on round wafer sheets that avoid sticking the sweet honey dough with nuts on a baking tray. Several variations of this soft gingerbread exist today from early books of the 1900’s. Honey gives the dough a sweetness and preserving property as well as a tougher texture that allows the gingerbread to be made into gingerbread houses, large stamped cookies etc. Spices like ginger, cloves, cinnamon, anise and other sweet selections can be added to gain a distinguished flavour and unique colour.
Ingredients
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you can use the Recipe Calculator Tool below the ingredients table.
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Weight Per Unit: 815
Number of Units: 1 Unit Size: 40cm x 28cm x 4mm (approx. 10mm high after baked) |
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WEIGHT (grams) |
ALTERNATIVE METRIC | INGREDIENT | IMAGE | CONDITION | |
| A | 160 | 5.6 ounces |
Honey
Honey is a sweet food made by bees using nectar from flowers. |
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| B | 130 | 4.6 ounces | Sugar Sugar is the generalized name for sweet, short-chain, soluble carbohydrates, many of which are used in food. They are carbohydrates, composed of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen. There are various types of sugar derived from different sources. Simple sugars are called monosaccharides and include glucose (also known as dextrose), fructose and galactose. The table or granulated sugar most customarily used as food is sucrose, a disaccharide. (In the body, sucrose hydrolyses into fructose and glucose.) Other disaccharides include maltose and lactose. Longer chains of sugars are called oligosaccharides. Chemically-different substances may also have a sweet taste, but are not classified as sugars. Some are used as lower-calorie food substitutes for sugar described as artificial sweeteners. (Caster) |
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| C | 25 | 0.9 ounce | Water |
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| D | 400 | 14.1 ounces | Cake Flour Cake flour is a finely milled white flour made from soft wheat. It has very low protein content, between 8% and 10%, making it suitable for soft-textured cakes and cookies. The higher protein content of other flours would make the cakes tough. Highly sifted cake flours may require different volume amounts in recipes than all-purpose flour. Using the scoop and level method, well-sifted flour usually produces 125 g per cup. However, most American recipes are written with 140 g of flour per cup, so weighing and experimentation can be helpful in baking unfamiliar recipes. Small weight differences can greatly affect the texture. American Cake flour is bleached; in countries where bleached flour is prohibited, plain flour can be treated in a domestic microwave to improve the texture of the end product. |
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| E | 5 | 1 teaspoon |
Mixed Spice
Mixed spice, also called pudding spice, is a British blend of sweet spices, similar to the pumpkin pie spice used in the United States. Cinnamon is the dominant flavour, with nutmeg and allspice. It is often used in baking, or to complement fruits or other sweet foods. Here is a typical blend of spices used to make mixed spice: 1 Tbs ground allspice 1 Tbs ground cinnamon 1 Tbs ground nutmeg 2 tsp ground mace 1 tsp ground cloves 1 tsp ground coriander 1 tsp ground Ginger |
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| F | 5 | 1 teaspoon | Cinnamon Cinnamon (/ˈsɪnəmən/ sin-ə-mən) is a spice obtained from the inner bark of several trees from the genus Cinnamomum that is used in both sweet and savoury foods. While Cinnamomum verum is sometimes considered to be "true cinnamon", most cinnamon in international commerce is derived from related species, which are also referred to as "cassia" to distinguish them from "true cinnamon". |
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| G | 50 | 1.8 ounces | Milk Milk is a white liquid produced by the mammary glands of mammals. It is the primary source of nutrition for young mammals before they are able to digest other types of food. Milk is processed into a variety of dairy products such as cream, butter, yogurt, kefir, ice cream, and cheese. Modern industrial processes use milk to produce casein, whey protein, lactose, condensed milk, powdered milk, and many other food-additives and industrial products. |
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| H | 5 | 1 teaspoon | Baking Powder Baking powder is a dry chemical leavening agent, a mixture of a carbonate or bicarbonate and a weak acid, and is used for increasing the volume and lightening the texture of baked goods. Baking powder works by releasing carbon dioxide gas into a batter or dough through an acid-base reaction, causing bubbles in the wet mixture to expand and thus leavening the mixture. It is used instead of yeast for end-products where fermentation flavors would be undesirable or where the batter lacks the elastic structure to hold gas bubbles for more than a few minutes, or for convenience. Because carbon dioxide is released at a faster rate through the acid-base reaction than through fermentation, breads made by chemical leavening are called quick breads. |
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| I | 5 | 1 teaspoon | Sodium Bicarbonate Sodium bicarbonate (a.k.a baking soda, bread soda, cooking soda, and bicarbonate of soda), referred to as "baking soda", is primarily used in cooking (baking), as a leavening agent. It reacts with acidic components in batters, releasing carbon dioxide, which causes expansion of the batter and forms the characteristic texture and grain in pancakes, cakes, quick breads, soda bread, and other baked and fried foods. Acidic compounds that induce this reaction include phosphates, cream of tartar, lemon juice, yogurt, buttermilk, cocoa, vinegar, etc. Natural acids in sourdough can be leavened with the addition of small amounts as well. Sodium bicarbonate can be substituted for baking powder provided sufficient acid reagent is also added to the recipe. Many forms of baking powder contain sodium bicarbonate combined with calcium acid phosphate, sodium aluminium sulphate or cream of tartar. Sodium bicarbonate was sometimes used in cooking vegetables, to make them softer, although this has gone out of fashion, as most people now prefer firmer vegetables. However, it is still used in Asian and Latin American cuisine to tenderise meats. Baking soda may react with acids in food, including vitamin C (L-ascorbic acid). It is also used in breadings such as for fried foods to enhance crispness. Heat causes sodium bicarbonate to act as a raising agent by releasing carbon dioxide when used in baking. The carbon dioxide production starts at temperatures above 80 °C. Since the reaction does not occur at room temperature, mixtures (cake batter, etc.) can be allowed to stand without rising until they are heated in the oven. |
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| J | 30 | 1.1 ounce | Whole Egg Eggs are one of the most common ingredients in a typical cake. Egg yolks and whole eggs store significant amounts of protein and choline, and are widely used in baking. Usually an eggs role in a cake is to add moisture and richness, act as a raising agent as well as a glue to bind the ingredients together. |
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Method
| STEP | ACTION | DETAIL | CONDITION |
| 1 | HEAT | Heat A,B & C in a pan or microwave safe bowl until sugar dissolved. | Do not over boil. |
| 2 | PLACE | Place the honey mixture (A,B,C) in a large bowl. | |
| 3 | ADD | Mix G, H & I first, and then add it to the honey mixture (A,B,C). | |
| 4 | MIX | Mix the whole mixture with a wooden spoon till everything is combined. | Looks like a paste. |
| 5 | KNEAD | Continue to mix on a bench top. | Slightly stretchy. |
| 6 | COOL | Refrigerate the dough until cool. | Wrapped in plastic bag. |
| 7 | KNEAD | Knead the dough again. | More stretchy. |
| 8 | ROLL | Roll the dough at 4mm thick to desired shape. | Place on baking paper. |
| 9 | GLAZE | Glaze the rolled dough with milk. | |
| 10 | DOCK | Dock (poke holes) the dough with back of a skewer. | Approximately 1 inch apart. |
| 11 | BAKE | Bake the dough at 165C / 329F (Fan forced oven) OR 180C / 356F (Fan forced electric oven). | 15 to 20 minutes. |
| 12 | GLAZE | Glaze with gelatin water right after removing from oven, for shine. |
Important Notes
- When you are heating up A,B & C in the first step, turn off the heat as soon as the mixture reaches boiling point to avoid any loss of water through evaporation. Water will help develop gluten from flour. Just turn off the heat and mix a little until the sugar is dissolved and not noticeable.
- 800g or gingerbread dough is just enough to roll a 4mm thick sheet that is 280mm by 400mm in size which should be just right to fit into any household oven. The dough should end up around 10mm to 12mm high (thick) after it is baked.
- This dough can often bubble during baking. Half way during baking, while the dough is still soft, you can push down these bubbles with a clean towel and continue to bake.
- Baked gingerbread items are commonly glazed with hot gelatine mix (heated gelatine and water). Put 1 amount of gelatine powder (or leaves) into 7 amounts of water and heat in the microwave. 5g of gelatine to 35g of water should be enough to glaze 2 trays of baked gingerbread. This process must be done right after the the dough comes out of the oven. The water will evaporate, leaving the shiny gelatine surface. If you wish to pack the glazed gingerbread, make sure the surface is completely dry or the packing material may stick to the surface of the gingerbread.
Hi chef Yeners
Do you have to glacé the gingerbread once removed from oven and can it be frozen and for how long before you want to use it I love your tutorials and I am looking to make Christmas cake for my grandchildren this Christmas thanks
Kind Regards
Shelley
Yes, you can glaze the the ginger bread right after baking with gelatine solution (1:7) wait till next day . Pack in plastic bag and freeze. When you defrosting keep in the bag and open next day. Thanks
Is there a way to check if it is cooked enough? I thought mine wasn’t cooked, put it back in the oven, took it out when it seemed hard…only it was burnt by then. Rooki mistake!!!
I love watching your tutorials , thankyou so much for the recipe XO
I think you forgot to mention when you add the flour in your recipe. I suspect after de point 4, with the sugar, water and honney. Thank you for the recipe, it looks great!
I will check. Thanks Alis
yes please chef the flour not mentioned
Hi, just wondering when I should add the flour? Thank you so much for the great tutorials!!
Also the egg, sorry confused
Hi Sorry for late reply. You can add the flour as soon as the honey mixture is ready . Start with wooden spoon so the heat is not hurting your hands and continue by hand. The egg can add right after start mixing flour. Thanks
Hello
Fantastic tutorial!
I want to make this for delivery Christmas eve – when should I start making it, to allow myself plenty of time, – but for the gingerbread to still be in top condition for eating when I deliver.
Thank you – Dawn
one week before will be good. you can cut walls and roofs and keep them in plastic bag.
Hello,
Please can you tell me you stop the gingerbread cookie from going soft?
What are your “mixed spices” used in this recipe? I am from the USA and am not sure if this is something already pre-mixed in your country which you can readily purchase or if you have several spices that can be recommended. Thank you.
Here is a typical blend of spices used to make mixed spice:
1 Tbs ground allspice
1 Tbs ground cinnamon
1 Tbs ground nutmeg
2 tsp ground mace
1 tsp ground cloves
1 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp ground Ginger
Blend all spices together, and store in a sealed jar away from light.
hi chef Yener , please can you determine to me the measurement of Tbs for every type of spice in gram unit ? thanks I know I come delay after two years of this post I hope to excuse me.
Amazing tutorials I love how you show every little detail I tried the farm cake was a huge success can t wait to try more .thank you
Thank you for watching