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Pain d'épices (gingerbread) originally comes from
China and was imported in
France in the Middle Ages, in particular in East France, with the
cities of Dijon
and Reims as leading producers. Today, pain d'épices remains a specialty
of Eastern France (Dijon, Alsace…). If you are visiting Burgundy
and Dijon you
have to go to the superb old shop "Mulot-Petitjean", the oldest
local producer,
that is maintaining the same recipe for 2 centuries.
Pain d'épices that usually contents 30% of honey is very energetic
(180 calories
for 1 slice) and was considered as a very good medicine.
There are various sorts of pain d'épices depending on region and
cities, for example,
some are with almonds or dried fruit.
Pain d'épices is specially appreciated by kids and is good at breakfast
or
afterschool snack, either nature or with butter. Pain d'épices is
prepared
without fermentation, fat, milk or egg whites
GINGERBREAD
I bet very few grand mothers still bake their own "Pain d'Epices"
!
Here is a recipe for it :
- Ingredients for 8 persons : 220 gr [1/2 lb] plain white flour
/ 220 gr [1/2 lb]
wheat flour / 200 gr [7oz] honey / 200 gr [7oz] sugar / 200 gr [7
oz]
(unsalted) butter / 80 gr |3oz] brown sugar / 40 gr [1.5 oz] baking
powder /
100 gr [3.5 oz] orange zests / 30 gr [1oz] cinnamon / 20 gr [3/4
oz] nutmeg /
4 cloves / 5 juniper berries / 6 aniseeds.
- Grind/crush all seeds and spices ; thinly cut the orange zests.
- In a sauce pan, put the honey, the sugar, 150 gr [5oz] butter,
and the milk ;
add the spices and the zests then bring the whole to the boil. Let
it warm
down then mix with the flour and baking powder.
- Keep 4 hours in fridge.
- In a saucepan, melt the left butter ; use this to butter a loaf
tin
(use a brush) then cover the inside surface with the brown sugar
(this will make the outside of the cake slightly crusty).
- Pour the preparation inside the tin and bake in preheated oven
at 170°C /
340°F for 45 minutes.
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