Dutch ginger bread was a luxury treat in the middle ages. The spices came from the tropics by ship, including the ginger. At the time rye was the predominant available grain. Today it has become a staple at breakfast and as a snack during the coffee break. Also the ginger free version is very popular.
The art of making Dutch ginger bread
Many recipes exist that do vary considerably and also will yield a different tasting bread. Here we have chosen to use roughly 2/3 rye and 1/3 whole wheat flour as the grains. We use candied ginger in syrup, sucrose (normal crystal sugar) and dark candi sugar syrup as the sweeteners. The recipe is milk and fat free, although we bast with a little oil on top before baking.
The spice mixture is home-ground, but in The Netherlands you can buy this mixture. Please find the composition of the spice mixture here. We use Sodium bicarbonate (baking soda) as the leavening agent. As a luxury addition crushed almonds enrich the dough. The dough is aged in moistened form for about 6 h. We use baking paper to cover the mold from the inside. Then it is baked at 160 C for about 60-90 min in an oven. For a narrower mold use the shorter time of the range.
Special equipment
spice grinder (mortar and pestle) and something more capable for grinding the star anise and cloves
bread or cake form to bake in
Ingredients
Method
- Mix the solid ingredients with a spoon or fork
- Mix the liquid ingredients carefully with a spoon
- Add the liquid to the solid part and mix with a spoon, so that the mixture becomes homogeneous
- Cover and set aside for 6 h
- Place baking paper in a bread or cake form
- Fill the form, touch the top with some oil and place in a pre-heated oven at 160 C
- After 60 min check for doneness with a needle; larger bread forms may take longer
- Take out and let cool for a while in the form; therafter remove from form and wrap the bread during the cooling down period . This way it remains moist and soft.
- You can store the bread in a closed container for several weeks in a cool environment
Notes
Food allergy & intolerance information: gluten (from wheat and rye)
Remarks
Traditional the rye flour is mixed with hot water, for over 12 h. This helps to convert starch into sugars and makes the dough more pliable. In view of the acidic ginger syrup, and the leavening agent, we have mixed the solids with the liquid at room temperature (28 C in the summer kitchen in Hong Kong). This because the leavening agent will decompose at 60 C and will be accelerated by the lightly acidic environment. The bread came out very nice!
