Gingerbread

[pstamler]

Hi folks:

I tried to post this when the holidays were in full swing; the server wouldn't accept it. I'm now going to follow the suggestion of eliminating all "special characters" -- in the first sentence I had included the symbol for "degrees". We'll see if it works. If so, this is a favorite recipe; merry post-holidays

Fort Chartres Gingerbread, v. 8.0 (9x9", but see below for doubling the recipe)

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Start boiling a kettle of water on the stove. Using "spreadable butter", grease and flour a 9x9" baking pan. In a large bowl, cream:

1/2 cup (= 1/4 lb.) "spreadable butter" (see note 2 - very important)
2 tbsp. sugar

In a small cup or bowl, combine:

1-1/2 tsp. Ener-G Egg Replacer (formerly Jolly Joan Egg Replacer -- see note 3)
2 tbsp. tap water

[OR, if you're not serving it to me, beat one egg.]

Mix into large bowl. Stir in:

1 cup light molasses (I prefer Grandma's but Brer Rabbit works fine too)
1 cup boiling water

Set aside. Sift and measure:

2-1/4 cups unbleached white flour

Resift into a smaller bowl with:

1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. ground ginger
1 tsp. ground cinnamon

Stir into the wet ingredients; beat using electric mixer (on low) until smooth, typically 2 minutes. Pour into the baking pan; bake for 45-50 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool on a rack. Goes very well with fresh blueberries.

NOTES: 1) This is an adaptation of "Fort Atkinson Gingerbread", a recipe dating from 1870 that was published in Betty Crocker's Picture Cook Book (McGraw-Hill/General Mills, c. 1950).

2) The crucial ingredient in this recipe is the spreadable butter, which is actually 30% canola oil; I haven't found any other fat that works as well. (Shortening makes it too crumbly, regular butter or stick margarine too heavy.) For a long time I used Canola Harvest soft nargaribe, but it seems to have disappeared from local groceries, and the producers aren't answering their e-mail. If you try a margarine (which I no longer recommend for the gingerbread) It's vital that the margarine is really margarine, not a "reduced-fat spread". These are partly water, and don't work for baking. If you're not sure about a particular product, check the nutrition label; real margarine has 11 g. of fat per 1 tbsp. serving. But the spreadable butter works best, has no trans fat, and less saturated fat than regular butter.

3) The egg replacer makes it safe for me (I'm allergic to eggs) as well as cholesterol-free; you can get it at most health-food stores, including Whole Foods.

4) Do sift the flour; modern flours are indeed pre-sifted, but are denser than flour you sift on the spot. This is an older recipe, which means the measurements were designed for sifted flour. I use King Arthur Unbleached; Gold Medal Unbleached works well too but is usually more expensive.

5) You can double the recipe and bake it in a 9x13" pan; this takes longer to bake and produces a high-rise gingerbread.

  - Christmas, 2004; revised Christmas 2005; revised again Christmas 2007, Christmas 2008, and September 2010 -- but I've been making this recipe for nearly forty years.

Peace,
Paul

 

[haima]

Thanks Paul, I love a good gingerbread, and a good recipe recommendation!

I'm allergic to eggs

I'm Coeliac, so i'll have to try a gluten free variation... Which is hard to get right.... But I can eat eggs though! 

 

[pstamler]

That is difficult. Maybe buckwheat flour?

Peace,
Paul

 

[haima]

That's an option... but sometimes buckwheat's flavor can be a little strong though - for me at least.

Most of my favourite cookies (we call the biscuits in Australia!) use a combination of different types of rice flours, tapioca starch & xanthan gum.

Also, ground nuts like almond meal or hazelnut meal add a great flavour and texture.

There are some great Italian recipes which are basically a meringue (whipped egg whites & sugar) with hazelnut meal and sometimes chocolate - not well suited to your diet Paul I know, but awesome for me!

BTW,"Bob's Red Mill" is a great brand for these gluten free ingredients in the US - I wish we could get their gluten free pancake mix here in Australia - every time I'm in the states and have access to a stove top it's the first thing i buy ;D Might have to reverse engineer the recipe!

 

[pstamler]

Is corn flour gluten-free?

Peace,
Paul

 

[SSLtech]

The flour...

All-purpose, or bread flour? NOTE: In different parts of the US, if you don't go with a national 'brand-name' flour like King Arthur, the composition can vary WILDLY (here in the south, general purpose flour is MUCH more stodgy, all the better for making 'biscuits' (the 'biscuits-n-gravy' variety, not the UK/Eurpoean meaning) so the brand name and exact type can be very important.

Also, what's your altitude over sea-level there... I'm afraid my US geography isn't too good, and I've never visited.

Keith

 

[haima]

Is corn flour gluten-free?

Yes, provided it's actually made with corn (!) Some "corn flour" in Australia is made of wheat. Thankfully they have to declare that pretty clearly now.

People who have Coeliac disease have to be pretty vigilant, some grains are "gluten free" to begin with, but if they are stored, milled, packed, and transported with wheat flour the likelihood of cross contamination gets pretty high. That's why manufacturers like "Bob's Red Mill" are so good, as they understand this problem and keep their gluten free products separate.

Back to the discussion of good 'ol wheat flour!

 

[pstamler]

The flour...

All-purpose, or bread flour? NOTE: In different parts of the US, if you don't go with a national 'brand-name' flour like King Arthur, the composition can vary WILDLY (here in the south, general purpose flour is MUCH more stodgy, all the better for making 'biscuits' (the 'biscuits-n-gravy' variety, not the UK/Eurpoean meaning) so the brand name and exact type can be very important.

Yes, indeed. I use all-purpose unbleached white flour. I used Gold Medal for a long time, switched to King Arthur about four years ago, and have been very happy. The few times I tried all-purpose bleached, the texture was wrong. Maybe not enough gluten? I've never tried this recipe with bread flour; I expect it'd have too much gluten.

There's a Baby Bear quality about all this. Same with the fat; making it with Crisco it's too light and crumbly, but making it with regular butter or stick margarine it's too heavy and greasy. The "spreadable butter" (which is actually 30% canola oil) is just right.

Also, what's your altitude over sea-level there... I'm afraid my US geography isn't too good, and I've never visited.

167 meters. The city's on the bluffs of the Mississippi.

Peace,
Paul

 

[pstamler]

Is corn flour gluten-free?

Yes, provided it's actually made with corn (!) Some "corn flour" in Australia is made of wheat. Thankfully they have to declare that pretty clearly now.

Well, I asked because someplace around here I have a fantastic cookie recipe from a lady named Wanda (not a fish, a lady). They're made with corn flour and coconut. I think that notebook is over at Rebecca's house right now, but I'll retrieve it (or at least that recipe) and post it.

Peace,
Paul