Gingerbread how to make it? Gingerbread is a spiced dough typical of Northern Europe. It’s made by mixing molasses or honey with brown sugar, and the dough is flavored with cinnamon, ginger, cloves, and nutmeg. It is mainly prepared during the Christmas season, and you can create the famous gingerbread men. Gingerbread men have a history dating back to the court of Elizabeth I of England; it was she who created these at one of her famous banquets. With this dough, you can make many creations, such as gingerbread houses that are very popular with children. Let’s see together how to make this delicious dough.
- Difficulty: Easy
- Cost: Medium
- Rest time: 2 Hours
- Preparation time: 20 Minutes
- Portions: 8
- Cooking methods: No cooking
- Cuisine: European
- Seasonality: All seasons
- Energy 482.66 (Kcal)
- Carbohydrates 71.20 (g) of which sugars 28.33 (g)
- Proteins 7.96 (g)
- Fat 20.40 (g) of which saturated 12.82 (g)of which unsaturated 7.14 (g)
- Fibers 2.67 (g)
- Sodium 242.76 (mg)
Indicative values for a portion of 60 g processed in an automated way starting from the nutritional information available on the CREA* and FoodData Central** databases. It is not food and / or nutritional advice.
* CREATES Food and Nutrition Research Center: https://www.crea.gov.it/alimenti-e-nutrizione https://www.alimentinutrizione.it ** U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. FoodData Central, 2019. https://fdc.nal.usda.gov
Gingerbread ingredients how to make it
- 3 cups all-purpose flour (add 1/8 to 1/4 cup more if needed, the dough should not be too sticky)
- 2 teaspoons ground ginger
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- Half teaspoon ground cloves (ground)
- Half teaspoon ground nutmeg (ground)
- 1 egg
- 1 pinch salt
- 2/3 cup sugar (You can also use fine-grained cane sugar)
- Half teaspoon baking soda
- 5 oz butter
- 1/2 cup honey (wildflower)
Tools for preparing gingerbread
- 1 Stand Mixer
- 1 Sieve
- 1 Rolling Pin
- 1 Parchment Paper
Steps gingerbread how to prepare it
The gingerbread dough should be rested in the fridge for a minimum of 2 hours before use. It can be kept in the fridge for about 4 days or frozen for future use.
In the stand mixer, or by hand if preferred, combine 3 cups of sifted flour with all spices. Add the butter cut into pieces, honey, baking soda, and the egg. Start mixing at medium speed if using the stand mixer. If the dough becomes too soft, likely due to the egg size, add an additional 1/8 to 1/4 cup flour to form a smooth, compact dough. You’ll know it’s ready when it forms a ball on the mixer hook. Allow it to rest in the fridge wrapped in cling film for at least two hours.
After resting, roll out the gingerbread dough on a lightly floured surface or on parchment paper. Let your creativity flow and create cookies, houses, gingerbread men, and more… Enjoy the process!
Here are some recipes you can create with gingerbread:
Storing Gingerbread
Gingerbread can be stored for 4 days in the fridge or frozen for 30 days.
