According to many people, no type of baking can withstand competition with gingerbread cookies. They are mainly made from natural ingredients such as honey, sugar, flour, molasses and water with the addition of fragrant spices (cinnamon, cloves, ginger). Fat and eggs in the preparation of gingerbread are not used at all or are used, but in a minimal amount. The taste and aroma of the products is simply magical. In our article we will dwell in more detail on how raw gingerbread is prepared. And in order to better understand production technology, compare them with custard products. Below we will definitely offer home-made recipes for this type of baking.
Gingerbread production technology in accordance with GOST
High-calorie sweet and fragrant confectionery products of flour (350 kcal per 100 g) have always been produced with or without filling. In their manufacture used the simplest and most affordable ingredients, spices, as well as chemical disintegrants and essences in small quantities.
The gingerbread production scheme includes the following main stages:
- Preparation of raw materials. The main ingredients for the production of gingerbread: premium or first grade wheat flour, sugar, honey, molasses, spices (cloves, cinnamon, cardamom, nutmeg, star anise). Oil, eggs, almonds, and filling are added to some varieties.
- Kneading dough. Kneading machines are used for this stage. However, in small pastry shops, the dough can also be kneaded manually. In addition to the main ingredients, chemical disintegrants (ammonium carbonate and soda) are introduced into it. Yeast is not added to the gingerbread dough.
- Forming products. At this stage, the dough is passed through special machines. The result is a test tape from which, on separate equipment, gingerbread cookies of a certain shape are stamped with or without a pattern. In some industries, products are cut manually using metal cuttings.
- Gingerbread baking. Gingerbread cookies are baked on metal sheets in special ovens at temperatures from 190 ° C to 240 ° C.
- Finishing products. Individual batches of prepared gingerbreads are glazed with strong sugar syrup and dried. As a result, a shiny sugar crust forms on the products, which gives them an appetizing appearance and prevents them from drying out.
Raw and custard cakes: differences
These two types of flour confectionery products are divided according to the method of their preparation. The main difference between raw gingerbread and custard is in the features of the production process. The former are obtained by traditionally mixing thick and dense dough with or without syrup. It turns out non-sticky and enjoyable in work. From it you can even make a tourniquet, and then cut it with a string into parts.
Custard cakes are cooked a little differently. First, the liquid ingredients are heated to a temperature of 90 ° C, and then this part of the dough is poured into a flour mixture, thereby brewing it. The result is a sticky and viscous mass, which is sent to special machines for molding.
The process of producing raw gingerbread is less labor intensive and more budgetary. At the same time, it is almost impossible to find visual differences between products prepared by the first and second method.
Production of raw gingerbread with syrup
Dough for flour products of this kind is prepared using syrup or on water. Each of the methods has its own characteristics.
Raw cakes with syrup are prepared in the following order:
- The preparation of confectionery begins with the cooking of syrup. For this, the amount of water provided for in the recipe will be heated to 70-80 ° C.
- Sugar and molasses are introduced into the prepared liquid according to the recipe.
- The syrup is cooked at a temperature not lower than 65 ° C and with constant stirring until the sugar is completely dissolved.
- As soon as the syrup becomes homogeneous, it is cooled to 30-40 ° C. As it cools, it will become more dense.
- Chilled syrup is loaded into a dough mixing machine. All raw materials provided for in the recipe, with the exception of flour and baking powder, are also added to this. The mass is mixed for 2 minutes, after which the remaining ingredients are loaded. The total kneading time is no more than 12 minutes.
- The dough is sent to the molding of products.
Gingerbread dough without syrup
The production of confectionery in this way has its own characteristics:
- The ingredients provided by the recipe are sequentially loaded into the dough of the dough mixing machine: sugar, water, molasses, zhenka, invert syrup, various essences. They are mixed for 2-10 minutes, after which baking powder and water are loaded into the machine.
- The kneading time of the dough is from 5 to 12 minutes. At this stage, it is important to control its humidity. If this indicator deviates from the level of 23.5-25.5%, the quality of finished products decreases.
- The test temperature should be 22 ° C. If it is higher, the kneading time should be reduced.
- Gingerbread cookies are baked at a temperature of 200-240 ° C.
- Finished products after cooling to a temperature of 40-50 ° C are covered with glaze, if this is provided for by the technology for preparing raw gingerbread.
Features of the production of custard gingerbread
The production technology of the presented flour products includes three main stages:
- Syrup preparation. At this stage, sugar, honey and molasses are added to the water, the amount of which is indicated in the recipe. Then the ingredients are heated to a temperature of 65 ° C until sugar is completely dissolved. Once the mass is homogeneous, the syrup will be ready.
- Brewing flour. Hot syrup is poured into the bowl of a dough kneading machine, and gradually all the flour intended for gingerbread is poured. If the temperature of the syrup is below 65 ° C, then the flour will not brew. Brewed dough is unloaded from the machine, transferred to special containers and sent for proofing.
- Kneading dough. Brewed flour mass is again sent to the bowl and the rest of the raw materials are loaded, including baking powder dissolved in water. The dough is kneaded from 30 to 60 minutes. Then it is sent to molding and baking.
Gingerbread Quality Criteria
To evaluate the gingerbread, I use the following criteria:
- The form. It must be regular, convex, consistent with the name of the product.
- Surface. It should be dry and even, without cracks, burnouts. For glazed products, the coating should be uniform.
- Taste and smell. It is important that they match the name indicated. The taste should not be bitterness.
- Color. Raw gingerbread should be light, cream, and custard - a dark shade. Porosity is good, with no traces of undermount.
Raw and custard cakes should be stored at a temperature of 18 ° C and humidity not higher than 75%. Then they will not dry out and become stiff.
Gingerbread assortment
The presented flour products are made from premium and first grade flour. Raw gingerbread can be glazed and without glaze. Both that, and others turn out equally tasty and fragrant.
So, unglazed products with the addition of various essences are produced from premium flour. This gingerbread "Mint", "Lemon", "Vanilla", "Baby" and others.
Glazed products are made from first-grade flour. They are made in the form of fish, birds, horses. Gingerbread cookies with filling have an interesting taste: Tula, Nizhny Novgorod, Vyazemsky and others.
Raw Homemade Gingerbread Recipe
The dough for these flour products is kneaded in one step at a temperature of 22 ° C. According to this recipe, raw gingerbread is very simple to prepare, but nevertheless they turn out to be very soft and tasty.
The sequence of cooking at home is as follows:
- Sift flour (1 kg) with baking powder (20 g).
- Bring water (450 ml) to a boil, pour sugar (625 g) into it. Boil the syrup until sugar is completely dissolved, then cool it to a temperature of 20 ° C.
- Add the melted margarine (25 g), a small egg and peppermint essence (0.5 tsp) to the chilled syrup. Mix.
- Add flour with baking powder to the resulting mass. Knead the dough quickly.
- Roll out the dough into a layer. With the help of molds, cut out the products and put them on a baking sheet. Bake gingerbread cookies for 12 minutes at a temperature of 180 ° C.
- Coat cooled products with glaze as desired.
Custard gingerbread cookies at home
For comparison, we offer to cook flour products in a custard way:
- In a saucepan, bring to a boil water (1/3 tbsp.) With sugar (150 g) and honey (100 g). Cool the resulting syrup to 80 ° C.
- Add 125 g flour, melted butter (30 g), egg, soda (0.5 tsp) and spices to the liquid hot mass. Mix. After that add another 125 g flour.
- Knead the dough. Divide it into balls weighing 40 g each, flatten a little by hand and put on a baking sheet.
- Bake custard cakes for 15 minutes at 200 ° C, cool, then cover them with sugar glaze.