Gingerbread Making

From festively shaped biscuits to extravagantly decorated gingerbread houses, gingerbread has become a culinary staple of Christmas. But this wasn’t always the case

Hundreds of years ago, spices were incredibly expensive (and some, like saffron, still are to this day). As a host, if you served generously spiced food – perhaps sprinkled with cinnamon – it was a way to demonstrate your wealth. And what better way to showcase a whole collection of spices than in gingerbread?

In medieval times, gingerbread was not just about showing off to your guests. It also served a practical purpose at feasts. Gingerbread was served as a sweetmeat at the end of a meal as part of the clearing of the table between courses. By the fifteenth century the sweet course was served at the end of the meal to aid digestion and sweeten the breath.

Given gingerbread’s connection to indulgent occasions it is perhaps not surprising that it should eventually become associated with Christmas. The future Queen Victoria even gave her beloved King Charles Spaniel, Dash ‘two bits of gingerbread surrounded with branches of holly and candles’ for Christmas in 1833. Prince Albert – the queen’s consort – would dress up as Saint Nicholas and give his children gingerbread and apples for being good during the year. Today, the ultimate Christmas gingerbread incarnation is of course the gingerbread house. It has been suggested that these edible structures originated in Germany between the 16th and 18th centuries.

Whether you’re attempting a gingerbread house or just a few gingerbread men, here’s MyCanterbury’s failsafe recipe for perfect ginger biscuits, every time.

Ingredients

350g plain white flour

1 tsp bicarb of soda

2 tsp ground ginger (or 3 tsp if you like it stronger!)

110g butter

175g soft, light brown sugar

1 egg, beaten

4 tbsp golden syrup

Method

Sift flour, bicarb and ginger into a bowl.

Rub in the butter to fine crumbs. Stir in the sugar.

Make a well in the centre.

In another bowl, stir together the syrup and the egg

Pour the syrup mix into the centre of the flour mix, and work into a fairly firm dough, then knead until smooth.

Divide mix in half and roll out mix to around 5mm thickness.

Cut out your stars, gingerbread men, or Xmas shapes and place on a lightly greased tray

Cook at 190 deg for 12-15 mins until golden.

Leave on the baking sheet for 2 mins, then transfer to wire rack to cool.

You can punch small holes in the warm biscuits (with skewer) ready to string them with ribbon to hang on the Christmas tree when cold.

Decorate with icing, colour paste or edible glitter if desired (why not? It’s Christmas!)

Eat, enjoy, savour, share.