Gluten-free Gingerbread
Photography by Simeon Crofts
DIETARY – Gluten-free, Vegetarian, Nut-free
The festive season is almost upon us which means it’s time to indulge in our favourite bakes from mince pies and Christmas pudding to spiced liqueurs and chocolate Yule log. One such delicious seasonal delight is gingerbread; a traditional ginger-soaked treat laden with syrup and other warm spices like nutmeg and cinnamon. Popular during December, gingerbread takes on all forms from jolly men to elaborate iced houses. These gingerbread houses date back to the early 1800s when edible fairy-tale retreats would pop-up across Germany at Christmas-time, though gingerbread existed in various forms long before that.
Gingerbread has always been a family favourite for me, especially at Christmastime, and now my hubby has been diagnosed with celiac disease a new challenge has arisen to make this, his favourite festive biscuit, completely gluten-free. That wasn’t the only challenge as hubby had some other special requirements… he wanted his gingerbread man soft with a little crunch, to have a tickle of ginger heat but nothing more, and a beautiful cinnamon aftertaste. In other words, much like Goldilocks, he wanted a gingerbread man that was just right.
I must admit I love gingerbread too, so I agreed it had to be pretty perfect to be worthy of publishing. The quantities I went with for my final recipe below might look quite different to other gingerbread recipes out there, but I assure you this is a straightforward, fool-proof recipe that everyone, young or old, will enjoy baking, regardless of skill or experience. In fact, I highly recommend trying it out with the kids as the dough can be rolled out and cut into all sort of fun shapes. Then comes the really entertaining bit – icing them! You can go to town decorating your gingerbread shapes with colourful icing and your favourite candies and chocolates.
My top tip would be to refrigerate the dough for 15 minutes before you roll it out. This will make it much firmer and easier to work with. I actually rolled mine out in two halves to give me more time before the dough got really soft and difficult. Make sure you let the biscuits cool completely before decorating to avoid any melting messes, and you’ll be good to go!
Gluten-free Gingerbread
Ingredients
- 300g gluten-free plain flour
- 1 tsp xanthan gum
- 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
- 2 tsp ground ginger
- 1½ tsp cinnamon
- Pinch of salt
- 120g soft light brown sugar
- 145g butter
- 1 egg yolk
- 80g golden syrup
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 75g icing sugar
- 2 tsp water
Method
- In a bowl, mix all of the dry ingredients.
- Make a well in the middle and add the wet ingredients all at once then mix with your hands, a spoon or an electric mixer to combine and form a soft dough.
- Chill the dough in the fridge for 15 minutes before rolling it out.
- While the dough is chilling, line two baking trays with baking paper and pre-heat the oven to 180°C (160°C Fan)/ 350°F/Gas Mark 4.
- Once chilled, roll the dough out to around 1cm/100mm thick and cut out your desired shapes. Place them on to the prepared baking sheets spaced a little apart. Continue until all of the dough has been used up – you can keep re-rolling it.
- Bake your gingerbread for approximately 12 minutes until golden and firm. Allow to cool for 5 minutes on the trays then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
- Once cool, mix the icing sugar and water until stiff and thick. Pop into a piping bag or a sandwich bag with the corner snipped off and decorate your gingerbread biscuits as desired. The gingerbread will keep in an airtight container for up to one week.