Gingerbread (perníčky) with Lard

recipe

 If fat is used in the preparation of gingerbread (perníčky), then it is most often butter or - as in this case - lard. This recipe comes from Haná and is special in that it contains a small amount of honey and, conversely, quite a lot of fat.

Given that some of the ingredients need to be rubbed for some time, we must count on at least 30 minutes when preparing the dough. It is also important that the lard is softened; sugar and eggs will then easily and well work into it. I don't usually recommend it, but in this case, we can make the work easier by using a kneader. When finishing on the board, you will appreciate that the dough doesn't stick to your hands at all. It contains only a small amount of honey. If you don't like baking soda as a leavening agent, which leaves a taste trace in gingerbread (perníčky) that not everyone finds pleasant, you can safely replace it with half the amount of ammonium bicarbonate.

The technological procedure for this dough is a bit different, but not more complicated. I recommend following it step by step to achieve the excellent gingerbread (perníčky) that they truly are.

Benefits

  • the dough doesn't stick during processing
  • the dough rolls out and cuts well
  • the gingerbread (perníčky) are beautifully plump

Ingredients

  • 800 g fine wheat flour
  •  300 g powder sugar 
  • 10 g baking soda 
  • 120 g lard 
  • 1 tablespoon of cocoa
  • 1 tablespoon of gingerbread spice
  •  1 baking powder
  • 5 tablespoon of honey
  • 4 eggs
  • 1 egg yolk for brushing 

Postup

  • First, mix part of the flour (about 500 g) with baking powder, baking soda, gingerbread spice, and cocoa.
  • Separately in a bowl, rub all the sugar with lard, eggs, and egg yolk, gradually adding liquid honey.
  • Then pour the mixture into the bowl with flour and work the dough. First use a wooden spoon, then finish on a board.

  • Properly processed dough is beautifully elastic and rolls out easily; smaller and larger shapes can be easily cut from it.

  • We verify the correct consistency of the dough with a ball test (see ball test) and possibly fine-tune it by adding the remaining flour.
  • Carefully wrap the dough in a plastic bag or food wrap and let it rest in the cold for 24 hours. If you can wait 48 hours to let the dough rest, it will be even better.
  • Roll out portions into a sheet approximately 5 mm thick, cut out the required shapes, and bake at 180°C for 8-10 minutes depending on the size of the shapes.
  • Immediately after removing from the oven, brush the gingerbread (perníčky) with egg beaten with a bit of milk.

Tips from my experience

  • The dough works best when cold, so roll it out in portions right after taking it out of the refrigerator. Put the rest back in the cold.
  • The gingerbread (perníčky) rise a lot during baking, so it is necessary to place them on the baking sheet farther apart so they don't stick together. They are beautifully round, even plump.
  • The finished gingerbread (perníčky) have a pleasantly brown color, but one brushing for their glossy surface is not enough. So if you are not going to cover them entirely with icing, I recommend repeating the brushing twice.

My Recommendation

In my experience, these gingerbread (perníčky) really rise a lot during baking, so if - like me - you don't particularly like baking soda, you can either replace it with ammonium bicarbonate in this case or omit it completely. Baking powder is more than sufficient as a leavening agent.

The dough is also suitable for baking smaller 3D shapes such as hearts or eggs because, thanks to the lard content, they come off these molds beautifully.

On the other hand, this dough is not very suitable for more complex assembled motifs made of smaller elements, because they somewhat lose their shape after baking.

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