For a long time, everyone has known such a delicious treat as gingerbread cookies. It appeared in ancient Russia in the ninth century. Then the gingerbread cookies were presented in the form of a usual mixture of rye flour and honey, and berry juice was also actively used. They were the simplest and most likely delicious delicacies, as the content of honey in them was about fifty percent.
Where did the name gingerbread come from?
Gingerbread cookies were called before quite different from what they are today. They were called honey bread. Nowadays, the name “honey gingerbread” is more common, photos of which can also be found in many sources. In general, they began to call them gingerbread somewhere in the twelfth century. This was due to the fact that they began to add various spices more and more often, because of which a characteristic smell appeared. Therefore, to this day in gingerbread this sign is considered the main.
Persian gingerbread with honey are confectionery products containing a large number of spices. The usual Russian delicacies include in most cases such ingredients as cloves, cinnamon, cardamom, lemon peel, star anise, Jamaican pepper, anise, nutmeg, mint, ginger. In addition, matsis, vanilla and coriander are sometimes used to make these items.
The composition of the gingerbread dough
The remaining obligatory and characteristic components of gingerbread include molasses confectionery (sometimes black and white), caramelized sugar and honey, which is part of the majority of gingerbread recipes. Also, jam, various dried berries, marmalade and jam are put in certain types of such products. They act as fillings or glues between gingerbread surfaces or are added directly to the dough used.
If you do not take into account all of the above components, the dough itself, from which the Persian gingerbread is made, is absolutely nothing special. As a rule, its basic composition includes only flour and water. And only some of its species are added a little eggs and milk (usually one or two yolks and a glass of milk per kilogram of flour). At the same time, a gingerbread dough is created and bound not with flour, water or milk and eggs, but rather by using honey, sugar and molasses.
It is this composition that can explain the particular density of the products, since there is no need to wait for the dough to fit. Indeed, in their manufacture, neither soda nor various baking powder are used. In them, as a rule, in general, some kind of liquid is present quite rarely. Only in some cases can you pour half a glass of milk on a specified amount of flour.
How to cook gingerbread dough?
It’s not difficult to make gingerbread dough . Usually the whole process consists in the elementary connection of all the components that make up the gingerbread with honey. The recipe (both purchased and home-made gingerbread cookies) requires a rather long stirring.
In most cases, it is necessary to carry out the procedure for baking gingerbread at the same time, and sometimes, for example, for custard products, in two stages. But in order to knead the gingerbread dough into a continuous homogeneous mass, you need to try very hard and thoroughly mix the components. The resulting dough should be perfectly washed, especially when it comes to large pieces consisting of several kilograms. Then he needs to "rest" for about fifteen minutes.
In the old days, the so-called beaten gingerbread cookies were baked from one whole piece of dough. It was impossible to wash it with one hand, so most often it was beaten with the help of special wooden bats and beater, which is why these gingerbreads began to be called that.
Modern conversion of gingerbread dough
Currently, sometimes in gingerbread dough, soda or baking powder has been used as a baking powder. Previously, in ancient Russian cuisine, these baking powder were usually honey or sour cream, which was added in small portions (two hundred grams per kilogram of flour). Together with honey, it gave some fermentation, which was accompanied by a slight gas formation, and it, in turn, imperceptibly loosened the dough. It is such a weak process of loosening that skillfully creates the necessary consistency of the dough, from which Persian gingerbread with honey is obtained.
Today, the use of sugar instead of honey, as well as the introduction of more muffin elements (eggs, milk, butter) in the current production, has led to a significant change in the assortment. There are many varieties of dough.
Modern types of gingerbread
Indeed, now such products are distinguished by a huge variety of species. To achieve such a huge selection of these delicacies, various variations of tastes and aromatic components were required. In modern times, Tula, Rzhev, Moscow and Gorodets cakes are very famous . However, it is quite possible to find the simplest honey gingerbread recipe .
In any form of such baking, there is certainly some kind of its main component. These are honey, lemon, rye, mint, wheat, syrup, almond, raspberry, sugar and many other products. In addition, additional technological methods for the preparation of gingerbread, as well as their appearance, can also be understood based on their names. For example, raw, beaten and custard, or written, curly, printed, and so on.
Basically, most gingerbread cookies are glazed on top. It can be both multi-colored, for example, pink, and white. In addition, many gingerbread cookies have characteristic relief patterns.
The process of glazing products
Persian gingerbread with honey can be glazed in two main ways: using simplified and real glaze. The first is obtained by mixing a pound of sugar and an incomplete glass of water. This sugar syrup is brought to a boil, while carefully monitoring the removal of foam and other impurities.
Then the gingerbread cookies are placed in a special wide enameled container (a basin is quite suitable) in one layer and slowly, evenly pour on top with the obtained sugar syrup. After this, they are mixed with a wooden spoon so that this glaze evenly covers the product. Then the gingerbread cookies are spread on a sheet and with the help of an oven they are dried for about one minute.
The method of obtaining this glaze
The second type is real glaze. It is obtained by mixing four hundred grams of sugar, five egg whites, half a glass of water. In some cases, special dyes and characteristic spices such as zest are still added to such a glaze. These products have a rather pleasant taste, so today gingerbread cookies with honey, a simple recipe for which will be discussed below, are very popular.
During cooking, the sugar is melted in water and continues to boil until it acquires the desired consistency. That is, if you take a boiling sugar with a spoon and cool it in water, it should have about the same density as sour cream. At the same time, you need to beat the whites to a dense foam.
Then, very slowly and in small parts, pour the hot sugar into the prepared proteins, which, in turn, should continue to be whipped without stopping. This can only be done if two people are involved. After that, the gingerbreads are brushed with such a sugar and egg mass and dried in a specially prepared preheated oven until a dry crust appears, but the fire is not turned on. Ready-made Persian gingerbread cookies coated with real glaze have an attractive appearance and are also very tasty.
Homemade Honey Gingerbread Cookies
One of the simplest and most common recipes for these products involves the use of the following components:
- half a kilogram of wheat flour;
- one hundred grams of rye flour;
- two egg yolks;
- one glass of milk or kefir;
- one hundred twenty grams of sour cream;
- a pound of honey;
- one tablespoon of sugar;
- a teaspoon of cinnamon;
- two capsules of cardamom;
- four buds of cloves;
- a teaspoon of lemon zest
- half a teaspoon of soda.
This recipe for honey cakes with photos can be found in many sources. According to him, honey is cooked in a saucepan under low heat until red, while the foam is removed. Then part of it is brewed with rye flour, then mixed with the remaining honey. After that, it cools to a warm temperature and whips to a white color.
Sugar is mixed with yolks, milk is added, and wheat flour is mixed on such a mixture. Before this, it must be mixed and mixed with powdered spices.
Then this mixture is combined with honey mixture and sour cream, they need to be thoroughly beaten. The resulting dough is placed in a mold or baking sheet, which is greased with oil. The layer should be one or two centimeters thick. The product is baked on low heat for twenty or thirty minutes. At the very end, the finished gingerbread cake is cut into rectangular shapes.
Here is such a simple recipe for gingerbread with honey, which allows you to get delicious products as a result.
Cooking Sugar
To make the sugar-burnt sugar, you need to mix the thick sugar syrup and heat it over low heat with a small metal pan. At the same time, it must be constantly stirred until a yellow tint is obtained. Then you need to make the fire quieter and mix until a beige or light brown color is obtained. However, sugar should not be burnt, because as a result, as a rule, it smells of caramel, not burning. To achieve this, carefully and continuously stir and regulate the fire. The resulting light brown mass is used to tint and give a pleasant caramel flavor to these products.
To date, there are many ways to prepare such delicacies, of which the most simple honey gingerbread recipe can be distinguished.
Lean honey gingerbread cookies
Today, there are many gingerbread recipes for every taste. These are Persian gingerbread with honey, and Tula, and Russian, and many others. For example, for those who do not eat muffin because of diet, fasting, or some personal beliefs, there is a recipe that allows you to taste honey cakes:
- honey - a couple of glasses;
- flour - seven glasses;
- sugar - one glass;
- water - three glasses;
- soda - on the tip of a knife.
To prepare such products, you need to mix water, sugar and honey in a pan and heat to a boil. Then the mixture should cool, and slowly, in small portions, pour the flour into it, while constantly kneading the dough. Then you should leave it for thirty minutes so that it cools down a little. After this, you need to mix the diluted baking soda into the finished dough and not touch it for ten minutes. This is necessary so that it is well infused and then easily rolled out.
Now you can roll out the dough to get an approximate thickness of one and a half centimeters. After that, you should make figures using a glass or molds. At the next stage, on a baking sheet sprinkled with flour, you can spread the gingerbread cookies in such a way that there is some distance between them, and begin to bake for twenty minutes in the oven at two hundred and forty degrees. The result is a delicious gingerbread with honey, recipes with photos of which can be seen in many books.
Glaze Technology
To prepare the glaze for such lean gingerbread, you need to pour one glass of sugar into a small container, and then pour it with a small amount of water (half a glass). This mixture should be boiled under low heat, constantly stirring and removing foam from it, until the syrup thickens. Then you can add vanilla sugar or cinnamon to your taste. After that, wait until the icing has cooled, and you can glaze the gingerbread cookies.
Such a gingerbread recipe with honey involves a fairly simple glaze application. Small-sized gingerbread cookies can easily be dipped in a pan with whole syrup, and large ones can be covered on top with a brush. After applying the glaze, the gingerbread should be placed on a baking sheet and dried in the oven at a temperature of fifty degrees until a white glossy crust forms.
Here is such a simple and economical recipe. Such honey gingerbread cookies will not only bring great pleasure, but also will bring benefits. After all, this product has high nutritional value and contains a significant amount of fiber. Therefore, today many skilled housewives and pastry chefs offer their recipe for honey gingerbread with photos.