Traditional Gingerbread (perníček)

recipe

This recipe belongs to the category of those that most closely resemble old traditional recipes. Notice that it contains no sugar or fat, but instead has a large amount of honey in proportion to flour. On the other hand, it contains quite a lot of cocoa, which began to be added to gingerbread dough for color, so it certainly wasn't in the original recipe.

Preparing the dough takes approximately 30 minutes because it requires thorough kneading on a board. Keep in mind that due to the large amount of honey, it sticks to your hands quite a bit. Therefore, it's important to let it rest for at least 24 hours before baking. A longer period will benefit it even more.

You can also use this recipe if you'd like to try making gingerbread pressed into carved wooden molds. All you need to do is omit the leavening agent (ammonium) when preparing the dough.

This is somewhat how gingerbread tasted to our ancestors. They were without sugar and, of course, without cocoa. You can therefore try the recipe without cocoa as well.

Benefits

  • without sugar
  • long shelf life of gingerbread 
  • suitable for 3D baking

Ingredients 

  • 900g fine wheat flour
  • 500g liquid honey
  • 100 ml water
  • 10g gingerbread spice
  • 25g cocoa
  • 4 egg yolks
  • oil for greasing the baking sheet 
  • 20g ammonium
  • 1 whole egg for brushing
  • condensed milk for brushing

Preparation procedure

  • In a deep bowl, carefully mix half the amount (450 g) of flour, and everything else like spices, cocoa, and ammonium in the given amounts.
  • Separately, mix the liquid honey with water and egg yolks, and gradually pour it into the dry mixture.
  • Thoroughly work it with a wooden spoon. Then gradually add more flour, and when the dough becomes so thick that you can't manage it with the spoon, turn it out onto a board and finish kneading it by hand.
  • The final consistency of the dough must be such that after forming it into a loaf, it slowly spreads. This means that sometimes it's not necessary to use the entire amount of flour. 
  • Carefully wrap the finished dough in a plastic bag and let it rest in a cool place (around 5 degrees Celsius - refrigerator, cold pantry on the floor) for at least 24 hours. A longer period is not harmful.
  • Roll out the rested dough to a sheet about 5 mm thick, cut out the gingerbread cookies, place them on a baking sheet very lightly greased with oil, put them in an oven preheated to 180°C, and bake for about 6 minutes.
  • While still hot, brush them with egg beaten with a little condensed milk.

Tips from my experience

  • Roll out the dough immediately after removing it from the refrigerator, when it will be easiest to work with.
  • Properly prepared dough doesn't need much dusting. You can tell because it's smooth, elastic, and barely sticks to the surface.
  • Cocoa is used exclusively for color, so you can safely omit it. The gingerbread cookies will be lighter.

My Recommendations

The traditional gingerbread dough is good for cutting out both smaller and larger shapes. Another great feature is that it bonds excellently when baked, even though the edges aren't as rounded as with other recipes. We can therefore successfully use it for smaller assembled shapes (four-leaf clovers, double hearts), as well as for larger compositions.

Because the dough is firmer, it's also suitable for shaping on 3D molds; it's an ideal choice for baking Christmas balls or Easter eggs. Houses will also look good made from it.

You can also use this recipe if you'd like to try making gingerbread pressed into carved wooden molds. All you need to do is omit the leavening agent (ammonium) when preparing the dough.

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