Gingerbread

Hi.. I know I know, I didn't think I'd be back either, but well here we are.

I've had gingerbread on my mind for months. I've been obsessed with the idea of making gingerbread cookies, the hard cookies, like gingerbread people, for ages, but I don't have cookie cutters. So then I started looking into making actual gingerbread, like a loaf of old school gingery goodness. Mind you, I've never made gingerbread, I've made gingersnaps... another story for another time.

I did not intend to make another post, especially about gingerbread, so I didn't really take pictures of the process. This was an experiment. I found what looked like a great recipe, but I don't know why I hate recipes, maybe I don't want to be told what to do? Who knows, let me be. Buuuuuuuut I actually wrote down what I did this time. Who am I becoming? 

I picked this recipe because the cake was pretty, and I had most of the ingredients. I of course decided to modify the recipe, with no actual knowledge of anything gingerbread or gluten free gingerbread at that. Give I strength.
I was actually scared when I cut into the finished loaf, because I really wasn't sure what I'd get. But all my modifications worked. Yay!.

When I got to the number 3 on the directions list, I realised that i didn't have enough butter, so I scooped out half of the dry mix and put it in a ziploc in the fridge for another time. I keep all my gluten free flours in the fridge anyway, so it should be ok. I have plans for it, hence the experiment today.

This pan, you can see how filled it is, held half of the entire recipe. 

This is the recipe I liked.
This is how I modified it:

Ingredients
1 1/2 cups Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free All Purpose Flour
1 1/2 cups Bob's Red Mill Coconut Flour
2 tsp ground cinnamon
2 tsp ground clove
1 1/2 tsp black pepper (get a pepper grinder and peppercorns ok, thank me later)
1 1/2 tsp pink Himalayan sea salt
2 tsp baking soda
1 cup unsalted butter (softened)
1 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup molasses (I used Grandma's)
1/2 cup nutmeg syrup (I got it on a trip to Grenada last year) it looks like this
2 medium eggs (i dunno, maybe they were large, they just looked like eggs)
2 tbsp freshly grated ginger
1 1/4 cups milk (i ended up adding a bit more because I though the batter was too stiff)

Directions
1. Preheaat overn to 350f, (I believe that's 175c.. something along those lines) and grease or line your pans. The original recipe is for 2, 9" round tins. I used a fancy tin that holds about 6 cups. (half the mixture)

2. Mix the dry ingredients and put aside (mixed by hand in a bowl)

3. Cream the butter and sugar (I used a mixer for this bit) until it becomes a lighter colour and slightly fluffy

4. Add the molasses, nutmeg syrup, and fresh ginger. Mix a bit, then add the eggs and mix until it's all blended

5. Alternate between adding the dry ingredients and the milk. (I try to start and end with flour) don't over beat the mixture, you just want it to be smooth and all the ingredients to become friends.

6. Bake for about 35-40 minutes. (Because my pan was deep, I actually removed the loaf from it after 40 minutes, flipped it onto a cookie sheet and baked it for about 5-10 minutes more, which actually resulted in a nice crust.)

​7. Remove from oven, allow to cool (or like me, just cut and eat it hot)


A few things to note.
1. The All Purpose flour blend doesn't have Xanthan Gum in it (thats what gives GF baked goods the texture, it mimics what gluten does in wheat flour). I believe the basic rule is, in cakes and muffins etc, its  1tsp of XG to every 1 cup of flour.

2. You can sub baking soda for baking powder, just increase the acidic content of your ingredients. I added lime juice (lemon would be fine). So add 1tsp lime juice to every extra 1/2 tsp of baking soda (honestly I squeeze limes into a squeezy bottle and keep it in the fridge, I really didn't measure this bit). Also, you don't need as much baking soda as you would baking powder.

3. When using fancy pans, you definitely want to make sure you grease them properly, I suppose a spray would work, I just used an old butter wrapper, and make sure all the batter has settled properly, or you won't get the pattern. I knocked mine on the floor (on the kitchen mat) a few times. Or just fold a towel on the kitchen counter and do it there. you don't need to hit it hard, you don't want to break tiles or dent the bottom of your pan, just to make sure all the air pockets are gone and the batter is distributed well.


The gingerbread came out nice and moist, with a bit of a crusty exterior, which I quite like. 
happy baking