LOVE GINGERBREAD? Join my Facebook Group, “Gingerbread Tips & Tricks”, where I post tutorials and videos for different techniques. It’s a great community of people talking about gingerbread! Share your project photos, ask questions, make suggestions, and laugh a little!
POST EDIT: I recently put together a new post with 6 different popular gingerbread recipes! I tested them all out by making, baking, tasting, and building them. There’s some great info and tips. There’s something for everyone, so check it out!
I’ve come quite a long way this past year with my gingerbread knowledge and learned skills. I look back on my post from 2016, “Gingerbread House Construction Tips“, and I laugh a little. Don’t get me wrong, there is nothing wrong with the information provided in that post. It served me well and got me a local contest win. However, the techniques showcased were those of a gingerbread rookie. I’ve significantly upped my game and I’m ready to share some of the things I’ve learned.
Starting with Construction Grade Gingerbread.
Construction grade gingerbread is basically a gingerbread recipe that’s been stripped of any rising or softening agents. You can adjust any recipe you currently use. Just keep in mind that construction grade gingerbread isn’t for eating. Sure, you CAN eat it, but you probably don’t want to. It’s more appropriate for building structures and display pieces. If you want to eat your creations, this post isn’t for you, but my other post would be perfect!
I’ve tried a few recipes that my talented friends have offered up, but the one below is by far my favorite one. It’s easy and bakes super hard. At this point, I’m not even sure where I got it, so I can’t offer proper credit.
While I’m part of a great network of gingerbread fanatics, not everyone has easy access to really good gingerbread tips, tricks, techniques, and recipes. Before I discovered the underground network of gingerfriends, I didn’t even know what construction grade gingerbread was. So, I certainly had no reason to search for it.
Construction Grade Gingerbread
Ingredients
- 2 C granulated sugar
- 1/2 C honey
- 1 TBS warm water
- 4 eggs
- 2 TBS ground ginger
- 2 tsp cinnamon
- 2 tsp cloves
- 6 C flour
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325 degrees F
- Pour sugar into mixer
- Heat honey in the microwave for 20-30 seconds, then pour onto sugar
- Mix until combined
- Add water and eggs
- Mix until combined, scraping the sides as you go
- Add ginger, cinnamon, and cloves
- Mix until combined, scraping the sides as you go
- Add flour one cup at a time
- Mix until smooth
- Switch your mixer to a dough hook and continue to mix
- Add more flour if needed, until the dough starts to separate itself from the sides of the bowl
- Remove dough from bowl and put into a gallon ziplock bag
- Refrigerate for an hour (optional but recommended)
- Flour the surface of a baking mat and start rolling the dough out
- Use a flour duster if it's sticky
- Roll until flat and cut out your gingerbread pieces
- Bake the pieces at 325 degrees F for 15-20 minutes, rolling the dough once after 10 minutes
- When the pieces are firm, remove them from the oven, lay them on a flat surface, then put the pan on top of them so they cool nice and flat
- Build and decorate!
TIPS & TRICKS:
If the mix looks crumbly, add water. If it’s too wet and sticky, add flour. It should be easy to handle without leaving much residue on your hands. You can use it as is or store it in a ziplock bag in the fridge until ready to use.
The longer it stays in the fridge, the harder it will be to work with, but you can take it out an hour or so before you want to use it and it will become easier. That’s really only necessary if you’re going to leave it in the fridge for more than 3 days (something I do a lot). It is easiest to roll out when fresh. However, it also tends to stick to surfaces more. I suggest using a dusting pouch filled with flour to keep it from sticking to your surfaces.
I bake all of my gingerbread in the oven at 325 degrees. I can’t really say how long to bake it. That completely depends on the size and shape of your pieces. If you’re baking walls, I’d start at 15 minutes and just monitor and adjust from there. I will say that I always pull my pieces out after about 10 minutes and roll them flat before putting them back in to finish baking. That gets rid of any bubbles or rise. It also eliminates sugar crystals forming on the surface of the pieces, which sometimes happens with this recipe.
I like to flip my sheet pans upside down in the oven and bake the gingerbread that way. I roll the pieces out onto a Silpat and bake them straight on the mat. Then, when they’re finished baking, I pull them out and lay them on a flat surface and put the pan on top of them. This recipe can be weird sometimes and the pieces can bend a little when cooling. The weight of the pan during that time will prevent that from happening.
The longer you bake the gingerbread, the harder and browner it will get. I like to overbake mine a little. It makes it much easier to cut with power tools, but it does make it more brittle and “shatterable”, if that’s even a word.
DISCLAIMERS:
This recipe tends to be a bit inconsistent sometimes. The 6 cups of flour is more of a suggestion. I usually have to start with that and add some more as I go (but not always).
This recipe does not produce gingerbread that is pretty. In fact, it’s kind of ugly. It’s a tan, mottled color, but it’s the hardest gingerbread recipe I know and that’s why I use it. It’s for structure, not appearance or taste.
Click here to get some other recipes that are prettier and tastier.
This recipe is super easy to make, but I would definitely read through the tips and tricks above to get the most out of it.
I hope this recipe and these tips help you achieve all your gingerbread dreams! Keep an eye out for more tutorials and recipes in the near future. Gingerbread season is approaching and I’m getting my entry ready for the Omni Grove Park Inn National Gingerbread House Competition!
Other Cake Decorating and Gingerbread Posts:
6 Popular Gingerbread Recipes (and what to use them for)
Construction Grade Gingerbread Recipe (for building, not eating)
Gingerbread Recipe (for eating and building)
Reindeer Playing Poker – National Gingerbread House Competition 3rd Place Winner
Santa’s Gingerbread Mountain Chalet
Cardinal Family Christmas – Gingerbread Birdhouse
Gingerbread House Construction Tips
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