How to make gingerbread from scratch (2024)

FAQs

What were the ingredients in the first gingerbread? ›

An early European gingerbread recipe involved making a paste of stale breadcrumbs, ground almonds, rosewater, sugar, and ginger. English recipes of the 16th century replaced the stale breadcrumbs with flour and added honey for a sweeter taste and lighter feel.

Medium Or Dark Molasses

“This is ultimately my first choice of molasses,” Bourdon said. “It adds enough bold flavor and sweet notes with a hint of bitterness to any recipe, which is exactly what you want for making gingerbread cookies.”

Some gingerbread recipes require some time to soften after baking because they are initially firm. Gingerbread is made harder by molasses and honey, but it becomes softer when water is absorbed by the sugar.

​Superstitions about gingerbread flourished in the 17th century. Witches supposedly made gingerbread figures, ate them, and thereby caused the death of their enemies. Dutch magistrates went so far as to declare baking or eating molded cookies illegal.

Spice Combinations

Some other common spices used in gingerbread recipes are cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, cardamom, and allspice. Cinnamon is available in ground form and in a stick. For baking, you should use ground cinnamon. Nutmeg adds a nutty, sweet spiciness to gingerbread.

Victorian cook Sarah Nelson invented Grasmere Gingerbread® in 1854 in the English Lake District village from where it gets its name. A unique, spicy-sweet cross between a biscuit and cake, its reputation quickly spread and it is now enjoyed by food lovers all over the world.

Gingerbread's delightful combination of flavours and spices isn't just a treat for the taste buds; it's also a potential boon for your health. From its anti-inflammatory properties to its digestive benefits, gingerbread offers an unexpected array of advantages that can complement a well-rounded diet.

Molasses cookies are the softer, chewier cousin of my gingerbread cookies. They're a great and easy-to-make cookie option for your holiday cookie tray and with their deep sparkly crackles they look beautiful arranged beside sugar cookies and peanut butter blossoms.

There are a few unique additions that are key to this recipe. Blackstrap Molasses – Blackstrap has a stronger flavor than regular un-sulfured molasses. No shortcuts here, get the blackstrap molasses. Dark Brown Sugar – Make sure to use this type of brown sugar as it has more moisture because of the additional molasses.

Can I use honey instead of molasses in gingerbread? ›

Honey has a very similar texture to molasses. Even though it doesn't have quite the same caramel-like flavor, it'll work in a pinch: You can generally replace 1 cup of molasses with 1 cup of honey.

Are there any substitutes for molasses? It won't taste exactly the same, but maple syrup can work in a pinch.

The toothpick test is one of the best ways to tell if gingerbread is finished baking. A toothpick inserted in the center should come out clean or, preferably, with a few moist crumbs (but not wet batter).

After the gingerbread is cut out, Lomas recommends putting it into the fridge for at least 30 minutes and up to three days. Chilling the dough before it goes into a hot oven gives the butter a chance to firm up and reduces how much it spreads when baking.

If the batter stands around for a long time then the bicarbonate of soda will have activated and expired and the gingerbread won't rise. So make sure that you heat the oven before you start to make the batter.

According to Rhonda Massingham Hart's Making Gingerbread Houses, the first known recipe for gingerbread came from Greece in 2400 BC. Chinese recipes were developed during the 10^th century and by the late Middle Ages, Europeans had their own version of gingerbread.

According to certain researchers, the first gingerbread houses were the result of the well-known Grimm's fairy tale "Hansel and Gretel" in which the two children abandoned in the forest found an edible house made of bread with sugar decorations.

"The Gingerbread Man" (sometimes, "The Gingerbread Boy") is an American fairy tale. It is a variant of the European runaway pancake story. The American version first appeared in the May 1875 issue of St. Nicholas Magazine.

gingerbread, in architecture and design, elaborately detailed embellishment, either lavish or superfluous. Although the term is occasionally applied to highly detailed and decorative styles, it is more often applied specifically to the work of American designers of the late 1860s and '70s.