Beatrix Potter’s Gingerbread Recipe (2024)

FAQs

Beatrix Potter’s Gingerbread Recipe? ›

Bicarbonate of soda, or baking soda, is an alkali which is used to raise soda breads and full-flavoured cakes such as gingerbread, fruit cake, chocolate cake and carrot cake. It needs an acid (as well as moisture) to activate it so is often combined with cream of tartar, yogurt, buttermilk or milk.

Bicarbonate of soda, or baking soda, is an alkali which is used to raise soda breads and full-flavoured cakes such as gingerbread, fruit cake, chocolate cake and carrot cake. It needs an acid (as well as moisture) to activate it so is often combined with cream of tartar, yogurt, buttermilk or milk.

Food historians trace the origins of gingerbread back to the ancient Egyptians, who used it for ceremonial purposes. The ancient Greeks followed suit with the first known recipe for gingerbread around 2400 B.C.

Making Curved Gingerbread Pieces

Using an old curved cookie cutter (or you can cut out a pop can) for the shape. Place the cookie dough over the metal and then freeze for 20 minutes. Place it on the cookie sheet with the other pieces.

Something to comfort the stomach

Medieval gingerbread was not just about showing off to your guests, it also had a practical purpose at feasts. Gingerbread was well known for helping with digestion – it was served at the end of a meal to help dinner 'go down' and to sweeten the breath.

A typical gingerbread has molasses and possibly sour cream also, the bicarbonate not only balances the acidity of the molasses and sour cream flavorwise, but it leavens the gingerbread in the process.

No, soda crystals are not exactly the same as baking soda or bicarbonate of soda. Soda crystals are sodium carbonate decahydrate, which is chemically similar to baking soda. However, soda crystals are more alkaline and so are better, for example, at removing grease and stains.

Some gingerbread recipes require some time to soften after baking because they are initially firm. Gingerbread is made harder by molasses and honey, but it becomes softer when water is absorbed by the sugar.

Instead, the dough is moistened with corn syrup so it bakes up nice and flat, with little to none of the puffing that steam would create. Corn syrup also keeps freshly baked gingerbread pliable and soft, allowing the warm pieces to be cut without shattering.

Under-baking can cause a sunken cake and over-baking can cause a dry one, so making sure your gingerbread is properly baked is critical! Gingerbread is inherently slightly dense and heavy in texture, but each bite is perfectly flavored and moist and just melts in your mouth.

What are the three types of gingerbread? ›

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. The trend for gingerbread houses must have spread to Britain at some point during the nineteenth century.

It's royal for a reason because royal icing is the king of glues for gingerbread houses. As my go-to choice for edible cement I can't really fault it's versatility and strength. Royal icing for the uninitiated is a mix of egg white and icing sugar.

A common chemical raising agent used in food is baking powder, which contains two active ingredients, bicarbonate of soda (sodium bicarbonate - something called an alkali) and cream of tartar (potassium hydrogen tartrate - something called an acid).

Bicarbonate of soda (sometimes called baking soda)

Known to those in white coats as 'sodium bicarbonate' and sometimes shortened down to 'bicarb', this fine powder is capable of giving sponges that extra oomph.

A leavening agent is a substance that causes dough to expand by releasing gas once mixed with liquid, acid or heat. Rising agents give baked goods optimal volume, texture and crumb and can include baking soda or baking powder, whipped egg whites or cream, active or instant dry yeast, and even steam.