Making a beautiful, edible, fairy-tale house with your own hands is quite difficult, because it requires not only culinary skills, but also the talent of a decorator. We'll tell you all the secrets of making a gingerbread house.

This article is intended for persons over 18 years of age

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New Year's gingerbread house: a little history

How and who first prepared a tasty and beautiful treat? The answer to this question was lost among historical vicissitudes. It is known that dough buildings were cultic back in the days of Ancient Rome and were considered the dwellings of the gods. But after the holidays they were treated in a completely modern way - they were simply eaten by the whole family. It was first prepared in Germany as a tasty and beautiful decoration for the New Year. Gingerbread houses became popular immediately after the release of an edifying and instructive tale about the adventures of two children - Hansel and Gretel. It was with a sweet house made of gingerbread, marzipan, candied fruits and candies that they were seduced by the evil witch, from whom the children later managed to escape.

The gingerbread house is not only fabulously beautiful, but also incredibly practical. Thanks to its composition, it can be stored for quite a long time and remain as tasty as on the first day after preparation. Thus, the housewife can bake it for Christmas, and it will serve as a decoration for the house until the end of all New Year holidays without any problems.

Soon after German confectioners began preparing this unusual dessert every year, it became so popular that it took root overseas, in America. From now on, each housewife had her own recipe for delicious decoration, and each believed that hers was the best. In truth, the basic recipe was quite simple - honey, flour, sugar and spices. It was the addition of the latter that was kept in the strictest confidence, because both the taste and the “durability” of the finished gingerbread depended on them.

The gingerbread house also gained fame in Russia - it was considered a sign of prosperity in the house and a guarantee of prosperity in the coming year. In those days, gingerbread cookies in our country were very popular and accessible to everyone, but poor people did not make houses out of them - there was neither the time nor the desire to paint gingerbread cookies, and such decorations as candied fruits, chocolate or marmalade were too expensive.

Be that as it may, a gingerbread house is the best gift for a little boy or girl. Turn the preparation of this delicacy into a family celebration - bake and decorate it with your children. Memories of this will definitely carry through your entire life, and someday your children will cook it according to “grandmother’s” proven recipe together with your grandchildren.

Step-by-step gingerbread house recipe

How to make a gingerbread house? This is a whole science, because it is very important not only to properly knead the dough, but also to make the icing (cream with which you can connect all the parts of the house).

You should start preparing the New Year's delicacy by kneading the dough. You won’t find a single recipe for gingerbread - there are more than a hundred of them in the world and each of them has the right to be called the best. The required ingredients are honey, flour, sugar, butter and spices. The peculiarity of this recipe is the minimum amount of liquid used, which makes the dough quite tight and dense. We will tell you how to prepare the dough step by step a little later, but now we will look at another very important and necessary process - preparing the pattern. It is very difficult to cut out the details of a house from ready-made dough, because the dough is honey-sandy, which means it crumbles easily under a knife. Because of this, all the details need to be cut out at the stage of rolling out the dough - this way you will be sure that the prepared material will be enough for the “construction”.

You can easily find patterns for a gingerbread house on the Internet - the simplest and most affordable models are presented there. To make such a dessert you will need two rectangular walls, two facades (one must be made with a cut out doorway) and two rectangles for the roof. Their exact dimensions can be found on the World Wide Web or you can draw them yourself. But a one-story house is far from the ultimate dream, because gingerbread can be used to make beautiful two-story cottages, mills, and even castles for princesses. In general, with the help of gingerbread dough and your own imagination, you can prepare a real masterpiece that will make your dreams come true.

The next stage is also considered important. How to make protein cream to join the house (icing)? It is made from eggs, sugar and lemon juice. Even a novice cook can prepare it, so you can transfer these pleasant chores to your child (of course, if he is not too small).

Assembling and painting a fairytale house is the most pleasant and exciting moment. It’s better to do it with the whole family, because such moments bring us closer together. Organize a small competition to see who can draw a window the fastest or who can frame the roof better. You can also record a joint master class for your loved ones and acquaintances.

Gingerbread house dough: the most popular recipe

As mentioned earlier, there are a lot of gingerbread recipes, but we will look at the most popular one - with honey and cinnamon.

To prepare the dough you will need:

• 125 g of liquid honey (if the honey is candied, it should be melted);
• 100 g granulated sugar;
• 100 g butter (soft, but not liquid);
• 1 chilled chicken egg;
• 1 tbsp. l sour cream (or half a teaspoon of soda);
• a pinch of salt;
• a pinch of cinnamon;
• a pinch of cardamom.

You can also make ginger dough using the same ingredients by adding a teaspoon of dry ground ginger to the mix.

Step-by-step preparation:

1. In a large bowl, combine dry ingredients: flour, sugar, salt and spices;
2. Beat the egg with a whisk, add honey and butter;
3. Mix dry and wet ingredients and knead into an elastic dough. Properly kneaded dough does not float, although this largely depends on the quality of the chosen flour and the amount of gluten in it. If it turns out a little liquid, then add a little more flour and knead well;
4. Roll the dough into a ball, wrap it in cling film and place it in the refrigerator to rest properly. The optimal “rest” time is 2 hours;
5. After this time, the workpiece should be pulled out and allowed to cool a little in a warm place;
6. Divide the dough into several pieces and roll it out thinly;
7. Cut out the figures needed for the house. Don’t throw away the scraps - they make wonderful gingerbread animals and people;
8. The gingerbread baking process does not last long - 20 minutes at 180 degrees. Be careful not to burn the dough; if necessary, reduce the temperature to 150 degrees;
9. The baked parts of the house should be cooled and only then proceed to assembling the dessert.

This dough recipe is the simplest and takes the least time to prepare. If you want to experiment or discover something new, look no further than ancient gingerbread dough, which is made using the choux method and can stay fresh for months. This recipe in Rus' was used by women when sending their husbands on a long journey or on a military campaign.

Gingerbread house frosting recipe

Since ancient times, caramel has been used to glue all the parts of a gingerbread house together. This viscous substance perfectly connects all the parts, but after hardening it becomes hard like the caramel that it is. That is why over time it was replaced by a light protein cream - icing. It’s very simple to make: beat 2 egg whites with 1.5 tbsp. powdered sugar and a teaspoon of lemon juice (add at the end of whipping) and the cream is ready. Next, transfer the mixture into a pastry bag and you can begin to form the house, as well as its subsequent painting.

DIY gingerbread house: recipes without honey

As mentioned earlier, among the many desserts there are also those for which honey is not so important. We present to your attention a recipe for a Christmas gingerbread house without honey. To prepare it you will need:

• 150 g flour;
• 60 g sugar;
• 2 tbsp. l melted butter;
• a quarter teaspoon of soda;
• a pinch of ginger and cinnamon;
• 1 tbsp. l milk.

It is not difficult to knead this dough - just mix all the ingredients, make a knead and let it stand under the film for half an hour. Please note that this amount of dough will only be enough for a small house measuring 15 by 20 cm. If you want a more monumental structure, double or triple the weight of the ingredients.

A gingerbread house with or without honey is a DIY fairy tale. Don't miss the opportunity to prepare this wonderful dessert that will not go unnoticed by any little sweet tooth.

In the old days, gingerbread was prepared only with honey(a natural mixture of sugars fructose and glucose), because. Sugar (sucrose) and molasses (a product of starch processing) did not yet exist. Nowadays, gingerbread cookies can be sugar, sugar-honey or honey.

After 2-3 weeks, the gingerbreads become stale and become unpalatable.

Honey gingerbreads, in which only honey is used in the absence of sugar and molasses, are still the best gingerbreads; They are not only the most delicious, but also the most shelf-stable. Keep this in mind when making your homemade gingerbread products.Preparing gingerbread dough is extremely easy,it consists of simply mixing all the components included in the recipe, most often simultaneously, sometimes (in custard gingerbread) twice - in two steps. However, you need to mix the gingerbread dough into a homogeneous mass very carefully. The dough should be well kneaded, especially in large pieces (several kilograms), and then it should be allowed to “rest” a little, but no more than 15 minutes.The best real gingerbreads -custard gingerbread, they are made from choux gingerbread dough, which is prepared in two steps; easier to prepare, but significantly inferior in taste and shelf life -raw gingerbread, for which the dough is prepared in one step, which is convenient for industrial production. Homemade preparation of any gingerbread dough is always very simple - after allgingerbread dough is one of the easiest to prepare; the main thing is to mix it well and knead it. Certainly,You only need to cook custard gingerbread at home. You can't make good gingerbread without honey.

1) Thinking through the construction and design of a future house or palace, or castle, or an unprecedented fantastic structure.
2) Design of the structure. Drawing in pencil on thick paper (Whatman paper) or cardboard drawings of all gingerbread details on a scale of 1:1.
3) Cutting paper or cardboard templates from ready-made drawings with scissors.
4) Preparing gingerbread dough, rolling it into layers to the desired thickness.
5) Using a knife to cut out all the gingerbread parts from the layers of dough according to the superimposed templates.
(From the remaining scraps we make small gingerbread cookies, which we bake together with the parts.)
6) Baking cut out gingerbread parts of the structure.
7) Preparing sugar fondant for gluing parts when assembling the house.
8) Assembling the house by gluing the parts together with hot sugar fondant.
9) Preparation of icing, pastry mastic, etc., needed to decorate the house.
10) Decorate the assembled gingerbread house according to your own sophisticated taste and using all your unbridled artistic imagination.

Previously, candles were often placed in gingerbread houses to make the windows glow in the dark.
Nowadays, it is recommended to place a small flashlight in the house, loosely wrapped in a thin cloth to diffuse light.
It is better if this fabric is yellow or orange.

• real gingerbread dough is prepared only with honey and sour cream(no added sugar or molasses and no artificial raising agents);
  - in all cases, to obtain a good gingerbread leavening, you should add 4 tbsp. spoons vodka, cognac or rum for 1 kg of flour;
  - if you have to use sugar (sucrose) instead of honey, try to replace it in the same amount with natural sugar fructose(fruit sugar);
• For real gingerbread, only butter is used(but not margarine or vegetable oil);
• real gingerbread dough should only be choux(not raw);
• gingerbread icing should only be real(cooked with beaten egg whites, not water, and preferably not with sucrose, but with fructose).
  It’s even better to glaze gingerbread cookies with honey boiled to a caramel state, mixed during boiling with a small addition (about 10%) of some acidifier (juice of cranberries or other sour berries and fruits, lemon, etc.; or you can add a little strong citric acid solution ) is an ancient traditional method, and it is the best.
• Very good results are obtained by adding various ground dried berries to the gingerbread dough, as well as finely grated nuts - experiment with their additions, and your gingerbread cookies will surpass all others in taste!
  You can also add finely chopped with a knife (or minced through a meat grinder) to the gingerbread dough. dried fruits(raisins, dried apricots, dates, prunes, etc.) - gingerbread cookies will be even tastier.
  Surprisingly, low-grade flour gives better results in gingerbread.
• Any gingerbread is flavored with herbs or ground spices. This is an important part of cooking.
  DRY PERFUME- Russian confectionery designation for a set of spices used in confectionery production, especially gingerbread.
  Dry perfumes include (according to Pokhlebkin): cinnamon, black pepper, allspice, star anise, cloves, anise, ginger, coriander, lemon and orange zest, calamus, nutmeg, nutmeg, vanilla.
  Typical for a good gingerbread dough is a whole mixture of spices: cloves, cinnamon, ginger, anise, coriander, cardamom, nutmeg, a little black pepper, red pepper and salt - all crushed into powder.
  Grinded bitter almonds, lemon and orange zest are also added.
  Dry perfumes (flavoring and aromatic additives) are added at the dough kneading stage so that they properly saturate the gingerbread dough with their odors.
  You can use the compositions suggested below or come up with your own signature - the main thing is that the prepared spices are pleasant to you in the finished and mixed form.
  If any component seems out of place or you simply don’t like its smell, change it at your discretion.
  – 35% coriander,
  - 30% cinnamon,
  – 10% cardamom,
  – 10% nutmeg,
  - 5% cloves,
  - 5% star anise,
  – 5% allspice
  Typically, 1-2 tsp is added per 1 kg of gingerbread dough. mixture, be sure to grind it into the finest dust.
  (how much of this mixture to put into the dough is decided according to your own taste, i.e. for the first time we just add a little, smell and taste the dough, during subsequent preparations we add according to our experience)
  - as additional elements, you can add grated lemon zest, orange zest, fried and then grated nuts (for example, walnuts), and a little vanilla to the gingerbread dough.
  All components must be thoroughly ground into dust and kneaded into the dough when it is still quite liquid.
  Good results are achieved by adding 1-2 tbsp. spoons of good cognac or rum per 1 kg of flour. Or, according to taste, part of the water can be replaced with good fortified wine (sherry, port, muscat, tokay, various dessert wines).

 SOME MORE OPTIONS FOR GINGERBERRY DRY PERFUME
These and other versions of gingerbread mixtures are used mainly in the confectionery industry, where 1-2 teaspoons of powder are used per 1 kg of dough.
1st OPTION (in teaspoons):
- cinnamon - 4,
- star anise - 2,
- nutmeg - 1,
- ginger - 1,
- Jamaican pepper - 1,
- orange zest - 1,
— nutmeg color — 1/2,
- anise - 1/2,
- black pepper - 1/2.
2nd OPTION (in teaspoons):
- star anise - 3,
- anise - 2,
- cinnamon - 2,
- ginger - 1,
- lemon zest - 1,
- cloves - 1/2,
- nutmeg - 1/2,
- cardamom - 1/2.
3rd OPTION (in teaspoons):
- cinnamon - 4,
- star anise - 2,
- nutmeg - 1,
- ginger - 1,
- cardamom - 1/2,
- cloves - 1/2,
- lemon zest - 1/2,
- orange zest - 1/2,
- orange zest - 1/2,
- black pepper - 1/2,
- Jamaican pepper - 1/2.
NOTE.
Confectionery spice mixtures are used in many types of baked goods.
Usually they include in various versions such spices as anise (cookies, gingerbread, gingerbread); star anise (Easter cakes, cookies, muffins, gingerbread); vanilla (all baked goods, cream, cakes, curd products); cloves (gingerbread); oregano (pizza); ginger (cookies, gingerbread, candies, marmalade, jelly; an essential component of “dry perfume”); cardamom (Easter cakes, cookies, honey cakes, gingerbreads, yeast dough pies); coriander (bread, cookies, gingerbread, gingerbread); cinnamon (cookies, rolls, biscuits, gingerbreads, gingerbread); lemon balm (cakes, pastries); nutmeg mixed with cinnamon, cloves, cardamom, star anise (gingerbreads, gingerbreads, cookies); black pepper (gingerbread); allspice or Jamaican pepper (gingerbread; included in “dry perfumes”); caraway seeds (bread, cookies, gingerbread, buns, bagels, cheese sticks, cheese and feta cheese cookies); saffron (as a flavoring and yellow coloring for Easter cakes, muffins, rum baba).

 Baking powder. Good results are obtained by replacing baking soda with ammonium carbonate or a 1:1 mixture of soda and ammonium (baking powder). Soda slightly changes the taste of the dough and does not change its color; ammonium does not give the dough any flavor, but gives the eggs included in the dough a slightly greenish color (this is completely harmless, but it is not noticeable in tinted dough).

 If you could not find rye flour or it is not provided for in the recipe, then you can tint the dough:
- burnt sugar (burnt sugar) - burnt sugar is added in the form of a thick syrup along with spices into the still liquid dough;
- grated chocolate or cocoa powder;
- various dry berries crushed into a fine powder (tinting with berries is the best option).
All coloring additives are added at the beginning of kneading the dough.


The filling for gingerbread cookies (not to be confused with the layer) can be thick fruit jam, marmalade, jam well strained from the liquid, as well as marzipan or nuts minced, thoroughly mixed into a thick mass with egg whites whipped with sugar. It is useful to add a small amount of good cognac to the filling.
The filling is placed into the products before baking in a thin, even layer and the edges of the dough are carefully pinched until completely sealed.
When making printed gingerbread cookies with filling, a layer of dough is placed in a greased gingerbread mold, then the filling is applied (make sure that the filling does not get on the edges), covered with a second layer of dough and everything is carefully pressed into the mold for a good seal of the relief (when making large gingerbread cookies, a press is used ). Then the mold is tipped over, the gingerbread is released and sent for baking.

When baking parts for gingerbread houses, filling is usually not used. For large gingerbread houses, the assembly parts can be sandwiched by gluing them from 2 or more baked thin layers (6-8 mm thick), then trim the edges of the glued part with a knife (chop the resulting scraps and use them for decoration).


 Gingerbread products must be baked well, but should not be baked for a long time, otherwise their taste will deteriorate - gingerbread dough is one of the fastest baked doughs.


 Gingerbread products should be stored in a cool, well-closed place.
It is best to store gingerbread cookies wrapped in paper in a wooden or metal box in which several slices of apple are placed - then they do not go stale for a long time and retain their taste and aroma well.
ADVICE. If the gingerbreads are dry, you can grate them, mix them with a mixture of condensed milk and butter softened at room temperature (1:1 by volume) and prepare delicious Potato cakes (it is advisable to add a little cognac to the mixture).

Gingerbread dough recipe

Depending on the sugar and honey content, the main gingerbread dough has three varieties: honey dough, sugar dough (without honey) and honey-sugar dough.

The dough can be prepared in two ways: raw and choux.

· Gingerbread products made from raw dough dry quickly and become hard.

· Gingerbread cookies made from choux pastry are much tastier and remain fresh and aromatic for a long time.

IMPORTANT NOTE FOR HONEY TEST:
Real gingerbread cookies are prepared without chemical leavening agents (without the addition of soda, ammonium carbonate, etc.).
Preparing gingerbread dough only with honey (without sugar or molasses) with the addition of thick sour cream (fat content not less than 20%) after brewing and cooling the dough, 100-300 g per 1 kg of flour (the amount of sour cream is selected according to the resulting consistency of the dough), makes the addition of baking powder unnecessary necessary.
In combination with honey, sour cream produces a slight fermentation, accompanied by slight gas formation, which moderately, almost imperceptibly, loosens the dough. It is this slight loosening that creates the special consistency of real gingerbread dough.
For additional loosening, it is always useful to add 4 tbsp per 1 kg of flour. spoons of vodka or cognac, rum.
Adding soda to such a dough will prevent “gingerbread” sour cream and honey fermentation.

The main thing is that any gingerbread dough should be thoroughly kneaded until the products are evenly distributed in it, i.e. until complete homogeneity is achieved.
Actively kneading the dough with your hands can take from 10-20 to 40 minutes.
The better the dough is kneaded, the softer and fluffier the gingerbread cookies will be.
Preparing the dough using the custard method(This is the only way to make real gingerbread!)

Put honey, sugar in a saucepan, pour in water and heat to 70-75°C, add half the sifted flour and finely ground spices and mix quickly with a wooden spatula or a strong spoon.

If, after pouring flour into hot syrup, you leave it unstirred for 1-2 minutes, lumps will form that will be difficult to stir.

The kneaded dough should be thoroughly cooled to room temperature (so that no warmth is felt in it! - this is important), only then add eggs, full-fat sour cream (from 100 to 300 g per 1 kg of flour - according to the consistency of the dough) or baking powder, leftover flour and knead until the dough has a soft consistency (depending on the amount of dough, knead vigorously for 10-20-40 minutes).

The finished dough should be plastic, not very sticky to the table or hands, and easy to mold.

The kneaded dough should be immediately cut up and started baking, otherwise it will take longer and the products will turn out to be of poor quality.
Preparation of dough using the raw (simplified) method
(this method is not recommended, although it is often used)

Place honey in a bowl or pan, add pre-mashed butter, eggs, spices and mix everything for 1-2 minutes, then add sifted flour mixed with soda and knead a not very stiff dough.

If the honey is sugared, it is heated until the crystals dissolve. Honey should not be boiled, as this will cause it to lose its flavor. After heating, the honey is cooled to room temperature and the dough is kneaded as described above.

When making sugar gingerbread, bring sugar and water to a boil, skim off the foam with a slotted spoon, add butter to the syrup, stir and cool the syrup to room temperature. If the syrup turns out to be liquid, boil it until it is tested on a thick thread. Add spices, eggs, and then flour mixed with soda to the cold syrup, stirring.

About permissible changes in the recipe

Cow butter can, but is highly undesirable, be replaced with margarine or vegetable oil, since it is not very sensitive in gingerbread. You can prepare the dough with double the amount of fat (including by adding fatty sour cream) or without fat. Gingerbread without fat will, of course, taste worse than with fat.

You can also add twice as many eggs to the dough or not at all, changing the dosage of water accordingly.

If a recipe calls for sugar (sucrose), it is always advisable to replace it with an equal amount of fructose (fruit sugar).

Gingerbread cookies, as a rule, are made from first-grade wheat flour, but you can also use second-grade flour, and the gingerbread will be slightly darker. For certain types of gingerbread, premium flour is desirable, as indicated in the corresponding recipes; You can make gingerbread from pekled rye flour or from a mixture of wheat (2 cups) and rye (1 cup).

The amount of flour may vary depending on the thickness of the syrup or honey, the amount of fat and eggs.

You cannot knead very stiff dough, as it will not rise well and the finished product will turn out unsatisfactory in appearance and hard in taste. Very soft dough is difficult to shape; when baking, it spreads, and the gingerbread turns out shapeless and without a pattern.

The finished dough should be plastic, not very sticky to the table or hands, and easy to mold. Baking soda can be replaced with ammonium carbonate, but it is best to take the same amount of soda and ammonium, this will weaken the taste of alkali and the smell of ammonia in the finished gingerbread.

Dough flavoring and coloring

Gingerbread cookies prepared with honey have a strong aroma of honey, so they should be lightly flavored. Gingerbread without honey needs to be flavored much more. Finely ground dry spices are added as aromatic substances. For the spice mixture, take 35% coriander, 30% cinnamon, 10% cardamom, 10% nutmeg and 5% each of cloves, star anise and allspice. You can change the spice ratio to taste. In addition, for aroma and taste, you can add another 1/2 cup of peeled, roasted chopped nuts, peanuts or almonds, candied fruit, lemon or orange zest and 5-10 g of vanilla sugar.

If gingerbread is made from dark varieties of honey and dark varieties of flour, then you should not tint the dough. Gingerbread cookies made with sugar or from light varieties of flour and honey should be tinted with burnt sugar (burnt sugar) until light brown.
The burner is added to the syrup at the beginning of the batch.

It’s even better to tint the dough by adding various dried berries ground into powder at the beginning of kneading (choose berries according to taste and availability).

You can tint the dough by adding cocoa powder or dark dark chocolate (65% cocoa or higher) slightly heated in a water bath until softened.

Cutting and baking gingerbread dough

The finished dough is placed on a flat board or table. To prevent it from sticking to your hands and to the board, sprinkle the board and dough with flour. Form the dough into a brick shape with your hands, place it on a floured board, sprinkle flour on top and roll it out with a rolling pin into an even layer 5-8 mm thick. When making a gingerbread, the prepared layer, 10-12 mm thick, can be rolled onto a rolling pin and placed on a baking sheet.

If gingerbread or shortcakes are prepared, then the finished layer of dough is cut with a knife or using notches into all kinds of figures. The weight of one gingerbread, depending on the size of the notch, can range from 20 to 40 g. Certain varieties of gingerbread, for example Batony, Tula, can weigh up to 100 g.

Gingerbreads are gingerbread products that differ from piece gingerbreads in their large size. The gingerbread is usually a large baked layer with or without filling and decorations, which is cut into pieces when finished.

For baking, hard gingerbread dough can be placed on a clean, washed baking sheet without grease, and soft dough can be placed on a greased baking sheet, otherwise it will stick to the baking sheet and the products will turn out with large bubbles and torn bottoms.

Before baking gingerbread, sweep away excess flour and brush with egg or, better yet, egg yolks. To prevent the gingerbreads from moving when greased, you need to spray the baking sheet with water before placing them.

To speed up the work, brush the entire layer of dough with an egg and, if desired, make various designs with a fork or pastry comb; You can also sprinkle the layer greased with egg with peeled, unroasted chopped nuts, almonds, peanuts, and when the egg grease dries, divide the layer with a knife or using grooves into different figures and transfer to a baking sheet.

Small and thin gingerbreads are baked at a temperature of 220-240°C for 8-15 minutes, and large products and gingerbreads - at a temperature of 180-220°C.

Immediately after baking, wipe the surface of the gingerbread with a soft cloth or brush. This increases the shine of the products.

Glazes for gingerbread
and other confectionery products

Glazes are used to cover the surfaces of flour confectionery products. Apply the glaze to the products with a brush, and then dry them in a low-heat oven (at 80-100°).
Products can be glazed in two ways: simplified or real glaze.
Products with real glaze (with egg whites) look prettier and taste better.

Protein glaze (real glaze)
(frosting with beaten egg whites is real glaze)

:
- 2 egg whites,
- 1 glass of water,

Boil sugar and water until tested on a soft ball. Beat the whites into a thick foam. Gradually (with continuous whisking) pour the resulting thick hot syrup in a thin stream into the previously well-beaten whites, without stopping beating the mass.
Then put the mixer (or whisk) aside, add aromatic substances and food colors to color the glaze in the desired color and, stirring with a spatula, heat to 60-65°.
After this, glaze the product with a brush and then dry it.
The glaze will be even better and tastier if in this recipe instead of sugar syrup you use honey boiled to the desired thickness.
Gingerbread cookies with real glaze look more beautiful, retain their freshness better and taste more pleasant.

Powdered sugar icing
(if the glaze is prepared without egg whites, this is simplified glaze)

Ingredients for 200 g glaze :
- 1 glass of powdered sugar,
- 3 tbsp. spoons of water,
- aromatic substances and food colors.

Sift the finest powdered sugar through a sieve, pour into a saucepan, pour in warm water and add aromatics. Heat the glaze, stirring with a spatula, to 40°. If the glaze is too thick, add water, and if liquid, add powdered sugar.
The glaze can be painted any color.
To speed up drying and improve the quality of the glaze, instead of water, add 3 egg whites to the glaze (i.e., replace every 1 tablespoon of water with 1 white in the recipe).

Chocolate glaze

Ingredients for 270 g glaze :
- 1 glass of granulated sugar,
- 1 teaspoon cocoa powder,
- 1/2 glass of water.

Mix sugar with water and cook until it tastes like a thick thread.
Then add cocoa powder, cool the glaze to 60-80°C and, to cause the sugar to crystallize, periodically dip a spatula or spoon into the glaze and rub it on the edges of the pan.
Friction makes the glaze lighter and a thin shiny crust forms on its surface, which indicates the readiness of the glaze.

White sugar icing

- 1 protein
- 1/2 cup powdered sugar.
Pour the egg white into a small bowl and, continuously whisking it, add powdered sugar (it should be freshly ground), sifting through a strainer.
The consistency of the finished glaze should be quite thick and at the same time fluid.
To improve the taste, add a few drops of lemon juice.

Strawberry, cranberry, raspberry glaze

- 200 g of powdered sugar,
- 3-4 tablespoons of strawberry, raspberry, cranberry, viburnum or red currant juice,
- 1-2 tablespoons of hot water.
Sift the powdered sugar through a strainer into a small bowl, add berry juice and hot water and rub thoroughly with a wooden spoon until a smooth, shiny mass is obtained.
To color it pink, gradually add berry juice.

Sea buckthorn glaze

- 200 g of powdered sugar,
- 1 protein,
- 3-4 tablespoons of sea buckthorn syrup.
Beat the egg white with a whisk, gradually, 1 teaspoon at a time, adding powdered sugar.
When the mass becomes fluffy and white, you also need to gradually add sea buckthorn syrup to it.
Even a small addition of this syrup gives the glaze a wonderful delicate color, taste and aroma.
NOTE. If you replace sea buckthorn syrup with mint syrup, you will get a mint glaze that has a delicate light green color and a mint aroma.

Cocoa glaze

- 100 g of powdered sugar,
- 3 teaspoons cocoa powder,
- 2-3 tablespoons of hot water.
Mix powdered sugar with cocoa powder, add hot water and grind well.

The process of making gingerbread houses is the same and necessarily includes rolling out the gingerbread dough into a layer of the required thickness for subsequent cutting out parts from it.
When rolling the dough into a layer with a rolling pin, it is convenient to use slats of the required thickness laid on the sides, as shown in the photo.
This allows you to make the layer perfectly even in thickness and with straight side edges (which significantly reduces the number of trims when cutting out the house parts).

The details of the gingerbread structures are glued together:
- or chocolate heated in a water bath (this is the most convenient to work with, quite strong and quickly hardening compound),
- or thickly boiled (caramel) hot sugar syrup with the addition of citric acid (a drop of such syrup hardens on a saucer; citric acid prevents the crystallization of sugar and is added until a pleasant sweet and sour taste of the syrup is obtained),
- or - protein-sugar drawing mass.
As supports that hold the parts in the desired position when the gluing hardens, it is convenient to use glass jars of suitable sizes, partially filled with water for their stability.

White and tinted in different colors Various patterns are drawn and snow imitations are made.
You can also use a candy store for drawing and snow .

Decorative multi-colored figurines for decorating compositions with houses can be sculpted from thickly diluted, from ( ) and from .

Gingerbread house windows:
- or before assembly they draw on the baked parts ,
- or made in the form of unclosed slits, shaped around the edges or ; This is done more often if they fill the house with sweets, which are beautifully visible through the cut openings;
- or cover the window slits from the inside with thin slices of marmalade, gluing them :

Icing is a fairly thick plastic mass obtained by grinding fresh egg whites with sifted powdered sugar with the addition of some acidifier for plasticity - lemon juice, dry citric acid, cream tartare, etc.Sometimes, for greater plasticity, glucose syrup or a little glycerin is added to the mass, but the addition of glycerin can make the mass too sticky, which will complicate its subsequent detachment from the polyethylene backing. When depositing the mass directly onto the surface of the gingerbread to be decorated, i.e. when subsequent detachment of the icing lace is not expected, the addition of glycerin can significantly facilitate the work.Procedure for working with icing:

1) Draw future patterns on paper or print ready-made templates. It is very convenient to use children's coloring books as templates.

2) Place a drawn paper template under plastic wrap or place it in a plastic “file” (a thin transparent bag for documents). Here we use the property of polyethylene that it does not stick to anything. Products may stick “tightly” to tracing paper, parchment or wax paper, especially if the icing mass is too liquid.

For better subsequent unsticking of icing products, a thin layer of olive oil is applied to the plastic film (it is non-drying, i.e. non-polymerizing). Sunflower oil is extremely undesirable (!), because... upon contact with air, it polymerizes by combining with oxygen and hardens (like oil paint), therefore it can additionally glue the product, especially during prolonged drying of large parts.

HELPFUL NOTE: It is the property of the applied layer of sunflower oil to polymerize by combining with atmospheric oxygen and harden into an impenetrable insoluble film that is used when impregnating new wooden kitchen boards with sunflower oil, which makes the impregnated boards non-hygroscopic, easy to clean and almost eternal. To impregnate with oil, new boards are allowed to dry additionally in a dry room, then they are generously lubricated on all sides with sunflower oil, which can be heated, the oil is allowed to soak in for 1 hour, then they are generously lubricated again and left for 3-4 days for final drying.

Preparing icing
Royal Icing

:
- 1 fresh egg white, carefully separated from the yolk;
- about 250 g of powdered sugar until the desired thickness is obtained; Be sure to sift the powder first to loosen it;
- about 0.5 tsp. lemon juice or dry citric acid on the tip of a knife, maybe a little more if you want the icing to taste more sour; add lemon juice towards the end of cooking, otherwise the finished products will turn out too fragile;
- for greater plasticity, you can add 1 teaspoon of a strong (saturated) glucose solution to the mass.
NOTE. In the absence of powdered sugar, it can be obtained by sifting granulated sugar through a fine sieve, because Granulated sugar always contains some fine powdered sugar.

		Carefully separate the egg white from the yolk. Even traces of yolk are unacceptable.
		Beat the whites with a fork until a light foam forms. The goal of this procedure is not to beat the protein, but only to sufficiently destroy its structure until it liquefies. There is no need for air bubbles in the finished icing mixture.
		Then we begin to gradually add powdered sugar to the protein in portions, each time thoroughly rubbing until smooth.
		In the middle of cooking, add dry citric acid or almost at the very end - lemon juice. Toward the end of cooking, you can add the desired food coloring.
		Adding powdered sugar in portions, grind and knead until a homogeneous, stable, viscous plastic mass of the desired consistency is formed. Our icing is ready for making jewelry by jigging from cornet. NOTE. For jigging with a cornet, the mass is made more liquid, and for sculpting with your hands, it is made thicker, easily kneaded with your fingers. When sculpting by hand, the icing can be dusted with powdered sugar.

Irina Kamshilina

Cooking for someone is much more pleasant than cooking for yourself))

Content

Gingerbread owes its name to the spices that must be in this delicacy. In addition to them, the composition initially also included molasses with honey, but today sugar is more often used to add sweetness. What is the most delicious and simple gingerbread recipe? You can choose any one you like from the options below.

How to make gingerbread dough

In general, there are three types of gingerbread dough - sugar-honey, honey and sugar. The latter is made on the basis of burnt oil, i.e. burnt sugar. When honey is added it resembles caramel. Whey is also often used. In general, preparing gingerbread dough at home has two main options:

1. The base turns out to be hard, which is convenient for baking various gingerbread houses, snowflakes or stars.
2. A soft base that is mixed according to the recipe without adding eggs. Only white flour, honey, spices and sugar are used.

Gingerbread dough recipe

As for specific ways to prepare gingerbread dough, there are also two of them. These are raw and custard methods. For the latter, the flour is pre-brewed. The starch in its composition is partially gelatinized, as a result of which the gingerbread does not go stale for a long time. According to the raw method, the delicacies are loose in consistency, but viscous. You can choose a specific recipe for gingerbread dough from the ranking of the most popular ones.

Goat dough

• Cooking time: 1 hour 35 minutes.
• Number of servings: 10 persons.
• Calorie content of the dish: 359 kcal.
• Purpose: for a festive table / for tea.
• Cuisine: Russian.

Roes are those classic northern Christmas cookies. They are also prepared on the basis of gingerbread dough. The goat cookies themselves are often made in the shape of animals. They are believed to protect the house from evil spirits. Goat gingerbread dough is based on sugar and honey. As a composition for dry perfumes, i.e. flavoring additives, take a mixture of nutmeg with cinnamon and cloves.

Ingredients:

• water – 2 tbsp.;
• sugar – 2 tbsp;
• butter – 100 g;
• coarse rye or wheat flour – 1 kg;
• honey - 1 tbsp.;
• mixture of nutmeg, cinnamon and cloves - 1 teaspoon.

Cooking method:

1. Mix honey, water and sugar in a saucepan and bring to a boil.
2. Then, stirring occasionally, cook over medium heat until the mixture turns brown.
3. When the mass has cooled to a warm state, add softened butter with spices and stir.
4. Add flour next. Stir again and let cool completely. It is better to leave for an hour in a cool place.
5. The base should become elastic and soft, then it can be rolled out and cut out into shapes.
6. Bake the goat dough for 10 minutes at 210 degrees. Decorate with a glaze of egg whites whipped with sugar.

Gingerbread dough

• Cooking time: 1 hour.
• Number of servings: 20 persons.
• Calorie content of the dish: 353 kcal.
• Cuisine: European.
• Difficulty of preparation: medium.

The recipe for honey and gingerbread is also a holiday recipe. In Western countries, such a delicacy is already considered a sweet symbol of Christmas. But you don’t have to wait for this bright holiday if you suddenly want delicious gingerbread. Find out how to prepare this delicacy. There is one win-win recipe where honey and ginger are mandatory.

Ingredients:

• egg yolk – 0.5 pcs.;
• salt – 0.25 tsp;
• flour – 175 g;
• butter – 65 g;
• powdered sugar - 75 g for glaze and 100 g for dough;
• ground ginger – 1 tsp;
• ground cinnamon – 1 tsp;
• maple syrup – 2 tbsp;
• soda – 0.25 tsp;
• egg white – 0.5 pcs.

Cooking method:

1. Sift flour with baking soda, ginger, salt and cinnamon into a bowl.
2. Add softened butter, powdered sugar and maple syrup to the resulting mixture.
3. Lightly beat the yolk and also add to the flour mixture, knead into a thick dough, and leave it in the refrigerator for half an hour.
4. Next, roll out the gingerbread base on baking paper in a layer about 5 mm thick.
5. Cut out shapes into shapes and place them on a baking sheet.
6. Bake gingerbread cookies at 180 degrees. This will take about 10-12 minutes.
7. Beat the egg whites until stiff, gradually adding powdered sugar.
8. Decorate the finished treat with protein glaze.

Gingerbread dough for a house

• Preparation time: 2 days 9 hours.
• Number of servings: 6 persons.
• Calorie content of the dish: 353 kcal.
• Purpose: for a festive table / for tea / for children / for the New Year.
• Cuisine: European.
• Difficulty of preparation: medium.

On New Year's holidays, the whole house is decorated with a variety of little things, including the festive table. The gingerbread house occupies a special place on it. This is a stunningly beautiful Christmas dessert. The dough for a gingerbread house is important, because thanks to it the structure of the dessert will not fall apart. You will find the process and technology of how to prepare the base in the recipe with photos.

Ingredients:

• ground cloves – 0.25 tsp;
• egg – 3 pcs.;
• egg white – 1 pc.;
• honey – 250 g;
• soda – 0.5 tsp;
• vodka – 50 ml;
• flour - 1 tbsp;
• ground ginger – 0.25 tsp;
• powdered sugar – 180 g;
• cognac – 1 tsp;
• cinnamon – 0.25 tsp;
• butter – 200 g;
• ground cardamom – 0.25 tsp;
• sugar – 200 g;
• ground allspice – 0.25 tsp;
• lemon juice – 1 tsp.

Cooking method:

1. Combine all the spices in a small bowl and grind them thoroughly.
2. Sift the flour into another bowl, add soda to it.
3. Pour sugar into the spices, add honey and vodka. Add melted butter and eggs to this and beat everything with a fork until smooth.
4. Add the flour next, knead the mixture for about 15 minutes, wrap it in a bag and put it in the refrigerator overnight. Cling film will also work.
5. For now, get busy with the details of the gingerbread house - draw them on cardboard and cut them out.
6. In the morning, you can take the base out of the refrigerator and let it warm up at room temperature.
7. Next, roll out the layer 0.5 cm thick and place cardboard parts on it.
8. Using a sharp knife, cut out the elements of the gingerbread house along the outline.
9. Next, bake the products at a temperature of 180 degrees. 10 minutes is enough for this. Then leave them for a day under a towel.
10. Make the glaze - add lemon juice to the whites, beat them gradually, adding powdered sugar, let stand for 1 hour to thicken.
11. Lightly “file down” the edges of the parts with a grater for better fastening, and coat these places with glaze. She can decorate everything at her own discretion.
12. After the decorative layer has dried, assemble the gingerbread house. Let the structure stand for 1 day.

Honey gingerbread dough

• Preparation time: 1 day 3 hours.
• Number of servings: 10 persons.
• Calorie content of the dish: 336 kcal.
• Purpose: for a holiday table / for tea / for children.
• Cuisine: European.
• Difficulty of preparation: medium.

Honey gingerbreads are no less fragrant. They also fit perfectly into the holiday menu. But besides the table, you can decorate a Christmas tree with them or give them to friends. The base for gingerbread decorations is prepared in advance. It should sit for about a day to be completely saturated with spices. This way the taste of the finished delicacy will be more intense, not to mention the aroma. The recipe for honey gingerbread dough will help you prepare it.

Ingredients:

• salt – 1 tsp;
• cinnamon – 1.5 tsp;
• lemon juice – 1 tbsp;
• water – 0.5 tbsp.;
• soda – 1 tsp;
• flour – 4.5 tbsp;
• baking powder – 1 tsp;
• egg white – 1 pc.;
• honey – 3.5 tbsp;
• granulated sugar - 1 tbsp.;
• powdered sugar – 1.5 tbsp;
• ground ginger – 0.5 tsp;
• cloves – 0.5 tsp;
• lemon juice – 1 tbsp.

Cooking method:

1. Mix honey with water and granulated sugar, put in a saucepan on fire, cook until the latter dissolves.
2. Next, add all the spices, add butter and remove from heat when it melts.
3. Sift the flour into a separate bowl along with baking powder and soda, add to the honey-sugar mixture.
4. Knead the base, roll it into a ball and leave it in the refrigerator overnight.
5. In the morning, roll out a thin layer, cut out the gingerbread cookies and place them on a baking sheet with parchment.
6. Bake for 5-6 minutes at 200 degrees.
7. Decorate the finished treats with a mixture of whites whipped with lemon juice and powder.

Gingerbread dough using choux method

• Number of servings: 5 persons.
• Calorie content of the dish: 336 kcal.
• Purpose: for a holiday table / for tea / for children.
• Cuisine: European.
• Difficulty of preparation: medium.

Experienced chefs believe that real gingerbread is made only from choux pastry. Its preparation includes three main stages - brewing flour, cooling and direct kneading. For the first step, you need a saucepan without a lid. In it, molasses is heated with water and sugar, everything is mixed, then cooled to 70-75 degrees. The resulting syrup is used to brew the flour. It is important to mix it quickly so that the choux gingerbread dough does not turn out with lumps.

Ingredients:

• soda – 0.5 tsp;
• flour – 3 tbsp;
• egg – 2 pcs.;
• water – 0.5 tbsp.;
• granulated sugar - 3/4 tbsp.;
• butter – 20 g;
• honey – 0.5 tbsp.;
• cardamom, cloves, dry mint, star anise, ginger powder - 0.5 tsp.

Cooking method:

1. Place water with honey and sugar in a saucepan, stir and heat over low heat to 70-75 degrees.
2. Next, sift half the flour, add spices, stir quickly with a wooden spoon.
3. Then cool to room temperature, add the remaining flour, softened butter and eggs. Stir for about half an hour until smooth.
4. Roll out, cut out gingerbread cookies and bake at 200 degrees. This will take 7-10 minutes.

Raw gingerbread dough

• Cooking time: 40 minutes.
• Number of servings: 5 persons.
• Calorie content of the dish: 270 kcal.
• Purpose: for a holiday table / for tea / for children.
• Cuisine: European.
• Difficulty of preparation: medium.

The raw method of preparing gingerbread dough differs from the custard dough in temperature. With the latter method, flour is poured into a hot syrup of sugar, honey and water. In the raw method, these ingredients are heated, but then allowed to cool. What is the basis then? Its consistency is loose and viscous at the same time. It is important to stir the mixture thoroughly so that all the sugar dissolves.

Ingredients:

• vanillin – 1/4 tsp;
• flour – 3 tbsp;
• butter – 50 g;
• soda – 0.5 tsp;
• water – 0.5 tbsp.;
• sugar – 1.25 tbsp.

Cooking method:

1. Mix sugar with vanilla, add water, put this mixture in the microwave for 7 minutes, then cool completely.
2. Next, add softened butter and mix.
3. Next add flour and soda, knead the base, then roll it out into a layer about 6 mm thick.
4. Using molds or a knife, cut out the products and place on a baking sheet.
5. Bake at 190-200 degrees. The optimal time is 12-14 minutes.

Gingerbread dough without honey - recipe

• Cooking time: 2 hours.
• Number of servings: 20 persons.
• Calorie content of the dish: 298 kcal.
• Purpose: for a holiday table / for tea / for children.
• Cuisine: European.
• Difficulty of preparation: medium.

Gingerbread dough without honey is no less tasty and soft, and has a fragrant smell. It is made tender by kefir. It also contains soda, which is extinguished with vinegar. As a result, the base rises, and the gingerbread cookies themselves come out tall and fluffy. Cocoa powder gives the delicacy a light chocolate taste. Its proportions can be changed at your discretion.

Ingredients:

• egg – 1 pc.;
• flour – 6 tbsp;
• kefir – 1 tbsp.;
• cocoa powder – 1 tbsp;
• soda – 1 tsp;
• sugar – 1 tbsp. for the base, 0.5 tbsp. for glaze;
• vegetable oil – 1 tbsp.

Cooking method:

1. Pour the kefir into a deep bowl, add sugar and butter, and mix.
2. Next, add cocoa powder, yolk and soda slaked with vinegar.
3. Mix until smooth, and then add flour and knead into an elastic mass.
4. Next, form small balls, place them on an oiled baking sheet, place in the oven for 35 minutes and bake at 200 degrees.
5. Meanwhile, make the glaze - beat the egg white until stiff, gradually adding a glass of sugar.
6. Place the gingerbread cookies in a saucepan and pour in the protein mixture.

Shortbread gingerbread dough

• Cooking time: 1 hour.
• Number of servings: 15 persons.
• Calorie content of the dish: 245 kcal.
• Purpose: for a holiday table / for tea / for children.
• Cuisine: European.
• Difficulty of preparation: medium.

Shortbread gingerbread dough can be classified as a quick recipe. The finished base is infused for only half an hour, and only then it can be rolled out. The baked goods are soft, tender and crumbly. The store-bought one cannot be compared with it. The basis of the delicacy is baking, i.e. a mixture of butter with flour, sugar and eggs. You can also use margarine, but the delicacy will have a slightly different taste.

Ingredients:

• vanilla sugar – 10 g;
• flour – 2 tbsp;
• granulated sugar – 4 tbsp;
• butter – 200 g;
• egg yolk – 2 pcs.

Cooking method:

1. Divide the eggs into whites and yolks, grind the latter with sugar.
2. Next, add softened butter and vanilla sugar.
3. Gradually add flour and knead the base. When ready, roll into a ball, wrap in cling film and place on the refrigerator shelf for half an hour.
4. After the specified time, roll out the gingerbread cookies using molds, bake for 15 minutes at 200 degrees.

Gingerbread dough - a simple recipe

• Number of servings: 12 persons.
• Calorie content of the dish: 278 kcal.
• Purpose: for a holiday table / for tea / for children.
• Cuisine: European.
• Difficulty of preparation: medium.

Simple gingerbread dough is prepared without honey. Moreover, it is even suitable for creating structures in the form of houses or boxes. To do this, you just need to roll out a layer about 0.5 cm thick and cut out the necessary elements from it. Although just gingerbread cookies will also turn out very tasty. You can decorate them with the same protein glaze or make them with filling, for example, jam.

Ingredients:

• sugar – 250 g;
• salt – 1 pinch;
• soda – 0.5 tsp;
• water – 125 ml;
• egg – 3 pcs.;
• butter – 100 g;
• spice mixture – 30 g;
• flour – 500 g;
• orange – 0.5 pcs.

Cooking method:

1. Melt half the sugar in a small saucepan. Then add boiling water and cook for a couple more seconds.
2. Add the remaining sugar and continue dissolving it.
3. Next, add oil, spices and orange zest.
4. Sift the flour along with soda and salt, add 1 whole egg and 2 yolks.
5. Leave the kneaded base in the refrigerator for a day.

Sugar-honey gingerbread dough

• Preparation time: 1 day 1 hour.
• Number of servings: 20 persons.
• Calorie content of the dish: 345 kcal.
• Purpose: for a holiday table / for tea / for children.
• Cuisine: European.
• Difficulty of preparation: medium.

Gingerbread dough with sugar and honey is valued for its thick consistency, bright taste and amazing aroma. Another advantage is that even without freezing it can be stored in the refrigerator for several months. This is very convenient, because you can knead more at once, so that you can treat yourself and your loved ones with a delicious treat at any time. And it’s also easy to make a gingerbread house from it.

Ingredients:

• egg – 3 pcs.;
• spices – 2 tsp;
• honey – 450 g;
• quicklime soda – 1 tsp;
• cocoa – 30 g;
• sugar – 450 g;
• flour – 1.3 kg;
• butter – 160 g.

Cooking method:

1. Fry a glass of sugar in a frying pan until dark brown.
2. Next, pour a glass of boiling water into it. Cook until the grains are completely dissolved.
3. Add remaining sugar. Stirring, cook until it dissolves.
4. Add honey and butter to the hot syrup, add spices and flour.
5. Next, beat in the eggs, salt and add cocoa and soda, mix until smooth.
6. Place the resulting mass on a floured surface and gradually knead into a thick, thick base.
7. Place in the refrigerator for a day.

Making gingerbread dough - the secrets of delicious baking

It is important not only to combine the products, but also to properly knead the gingerbread dough. If it is wet, the cut out figures will begin to spread during baking. A base that is too dry will simply crack in the oven. To avoid this, cook only with room temperature ingredients. You shouldn't beat the sugar and butter too much either. Baking will take 5-10 minutes, no more, otherwise the products will dry out.

Video: Dough for soft gingerbread

Choux gingerbread dough is prepared in three stages. At the first stage, the flour is brewed in one of the types of syrups: sugar syrup, sugar honey or syrup made from honey, sugar and molasses. The resulting brew is cooled, after which the remaining ingredients are added to it at the final stage.

Brewing the flour is done in an open pan, for which molasses or sugar is poured into the bowl and filled with water. While stirring, the composition is brought to a temperature of 75 degrees until the sugar is completely dissolved. The resulting syrup should be transparent. It is filtered through a sieve and allowed to cool to 68 degrees. At the next stage, pre-sifted flour is added to the mixture and quickly mixed. If the syrup is cooled more than required, the quality of the finished gingerbread will suffer.

The resulting brew is cooled in baking trays. The dough is laid in layers, greased with oil or sprinkled with crumbs to prevent the formation of a single mass. When the brewing temperature is 27 degrees, the dough is kneaded, adding the remaining products specified in the recipe. The dough kneading time is 30-40 minutes until a homogeneous creamy mass is obtained.

The second way to prepare dough for custard gingerbread is semi-brewed. To do this, add sugar and margarine to water heated to 70 degrees, continuing to heat the mixture to 90 degrees. The amount of water is 80% of the intended volume according to the recipe. The composition is thoroughly mixed, adding flour (45%) to it. The resulting mass is cooled to 25 degrees. Add soda and honey to the remaining water, combine with the cooled mass, then add eggs and part of the flour. The dough is kneaded for 10 minutes and shaped.

If gingerbread is made from dark varieties of flour and honey, the dough does not need to be tinted. Products made from light varieties of flour and honey, or with sugar, are tinted with burnt sugar until light brown.

The Bogorodsky Gingerbread company offers a large selection of gingerbread products. will be an ideal gift for:

• New Year;
• February 23;
• Easter;
• March 8.

Tasty and aromatic products baked according to an individual design will delight your loved ones and will be an excellent option for a corporate gift or souvenir for dear guests.

If you want to please your household with delicious baked goods, you can try making gingerbread cookies yourself using a simple recipe.

Gingerbread trifle (yield - 600 g)

• Water - 85 ml;
• Cinnamon - 0.5 teaspoon.
• Margarine - 50 g;
• Honey - 2 tbsp. spoons;
• Flour - 2 cups;
• Granulated sugar - 0.7 cups;
• Soda - 0.5 teaspoon;

Mix flour with cinnamon and soda and sift. Add sugar to the water, add honey, and heat until the sugar dissolves. The syrup is cooled, after which margarine and the remaining ingredients are added. The dough is thoroughly kneaded and rolled out into a layer 6-8 mm thick. Use cookie cutters to cut out gingerbread cookies, place the figures on a dry baking sheet and bake at 220 degrees for 10 minutes.

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AND Gingerbread dough products come in a variety of shapes and contain large amounts of sugar and various spices, which give them a special aroma. The mixture of spices added to the gingerbread dough is called "bouquet" or "dry perfume". It consists (in%): cinnamon 60, cloves 12, allspice 12, black pepper 4, cardamom 4, ginger 8. In addition to gingerbread, gingerbreads are baked from the same dough, sandwiched with fruit filling or jam.

Sometimes, instead of sugar, artificial honey or invert syrup is added to the dough, and part of the wheat flour (50%) is replaced with rye flour. This improves the quality of gingerbread and reduces their shrinkage during long-term storage due to the increased hygroscopicity of these products.

Flour for the dough should have a low gluten content (26-28%). Loosen the dough with chemical leavening agents (soda).
The dough is prepared in two ways: raw and choux. With the custard method, part of the flour is boiled before kneading the dough. The peculiarities of the recipe and preparation of gingerbreads contribute to the fact that many types of them can be preserved for a long time without becoming stale.

Gingerbread dough contains honey and molasses, which delay the staling process. In addition, brewing flour and invert syrup greatly delay the staling process. To prepare gingerbread dough you need the following products:
Flour 1 kg, sugar 300 g, water 200 ml, honey 100 g, eggs 2 pcs., butter or margarine 150 g, salt 4 g, dry spices 5 g, soda 1 g.

Preparation of dough using the raw method

The dough prepared using the raw method has a loose and at the same time viscous consistency due to the high content of sugar, honey, and molasses in it. Sugar or sugar syrup, water, honey, molasses or invert syrup, eggs are mixed well for 6-10 minutes. Sugar dissolves in the liquid and is evenly distributed throughout the mixture. The higher the temperature at which the dough is kneaded, the shorter the kneading time, otherwise the dough may turn out to be too long.

After mixing, add finely ground spices, soda, softened butter or margarine and flour. Knead the dough for 4-12 minutes depending on the amount of dough and the temperature conditions of the room. The finished dough is a homogeneous mass of astringent, loose consistency.

Preparing the dough using the custard method

The process of preparing this dough consists of three stages: brewing flour in sugar-honey, sugar-and-saccharide or sugar-and-sweet syrup: cooling the brew; mixing tea leaves with all other types of raw materials.
Brew flour in an open pan. To do this, add sugar and molasses, pour in water and heat (70-75°C) with stirring until the sugar is completely dissolved. The transparent syrup is filtered through a fine sieve, cooled to a temperature of at least 68°C, sifted flour is gradually added and quickly mixed. If the syrup is cooled to a lower temperature, it will reduce the quality of the gingerbread. When the flour is brewed, partial gelatinization of the starch occurs, which helps keep the gingerbread fresh for a longer period of time. The starch gelatinization temperature is 67.5°C. Flour is mixed with hot syrup as quickly as possible (10-12 minutes), since prolonged contact of mixed flour with hot syrup may cause lumps to form.
If the recipe calls for a lot of eggs and butter, then boil some of the flour, and use the remaining flour when kneading the dough, leaving 6-8% for dusting.
Cool the brew in baking trays, where the dough is placed in layers and greased with vegetable oil or sprinkled with crumbs so that a monolithic mass does not form. The brewed dough is cooled to a temperature of 25-27°C. It is impossible to knead the dough without pre-cooling, as it loses its properties, the gingerbreads become dense, non-streamlined, and the leavening agents and aromatic substances evaporate.
After cooling the brewed dough, it is kneaded, combined with the rest of the products specified in the recipe, and kneaded until a homogeneous consistency is obtained for 30-40 minutes. The dough should be evenly mixed and have a creamy consistency. With less kneading time, products are obtained with a dense structure.

You can prepare the dough in a semi-brewed way. To do this, take 80% water according to the recipe at a temperature of 70°C. add sugar, margarine and heat to 90°C, mix thoroughly, gradually add 45% flour. Continue stirring for another 6-8 minutes. This mass is cooled to 25°C. Honey and soda are dissolved in the remaining water, combined with the cooled mass, eggs and the remaining flour are added. The dough is mixed for 10 minutes and cut.

Shaping and baking

The finished dough is laid out on a table heavily dusted with flour, kneaded and given an oblong shape. The layer is gradually rolled out with a smooth wooden rolling pin in different directions, periodically dusting with flour, to a thickness of 8-10 mm. The layer must be rolled out evenly, otherwise the products will be of different thicknesses and bake unevenly. Before molding the products, test molding is carried out in different places of the formation to determine the uniformity of its rolling. The pattern is applied to the surface of the formation with a serrated or corrugated rolling pin. To mold products, various devices are used in the form of metal recesses, which are cone-shaped rims with pointed edges, the shape corresponding to the products being produced. Wooden forms with a design or inscription engraved on the board are used. If products need to be given a certain shape and a design applied to the surface, wooden forms are used in combination with metal recesses. Products are formed from a rolled out layer of dough using a knife, disk cutters or using notches.
Using a notch, press the dough layer five to six times, separating pieces of a certain shape from it, and lay them out in even rows on baking sheets. The recess is periodically immersed in flour, this prevents the dough from sticking to it. Before laying on the sheets, sweep the flour from the products with a brush. For gingerbreads and loaves, the dough is rolled out into a layer 12 and 8 mm thick, respectively. The layer must correspond to the size of the baking sheet. The loaves are cut with a knife or disk cutter into rectangular pieces of the appropriate size. After rolling out, the layer of dough for the gingerbread is placed on a sheet previously greased with vegetable oil or dusted with flour.

The surface of the product is moistened with cold water and pierced in several places with a knife to avoid swelling.
Pieces of hard dough are placed on dry sheets dusted with flour or greased with oil. On products stuck to the sheet, voids form, and the bottoms turn out different. If the products are greased with egg before baking, then so that they do not move during greasing, they are placed on sheets greased with a mixture of fat and warm water. Before baking, the surface of some types of products is sprinkled with sugar, crumbs, chopped nuts or almonds, and decorated with raisins, candied fruits or nut kernels.

Gingerbread cookies are baked at 200-240°C for 10-15 minutes immediately after cutting, and gingerbread and mint gingerbread cookies are baked at 190-210°C. The baking mode and duration depend on the thickness of the products. The thicker the baked goods, the lower the temperature and the longer the baking time.
At high baking temperatures, a crust will quickly form, which will prevent moisture from being removed from the crumb. After baking, the product will shrink under the weight of the raw crumb. The low temperature in the oven makes the products blurry from excess sugar. Timely formation of the crust preserves the shape of the gingerbread.

After baking, the gingerbreads, greased with egg, are rubbed several times with a soft brush to obtain a better shine.
Gingerbread cookies can be glazed with sugar syrup. For this purpose, boilers with a capacity of 3 to 5 liters are used. Cooled products are poured with pre-prepared sugar syrup at a temperature of 85-90°C. The gingerbreads are mixed with the syrup with a wooden paddle for 1-2 minutes, and then taken out and placed in one row, dried.