Ginger Bread(Medieval/Elizabethan)

* Exported from MasterCook *

GINGER BREAD (MEDIEVAL/ELIZABETHAN)

Recipe By :
Serving Size : 8 Preparation Time :0:00
Categories : Desserts

Amount Measure Ingredient -- Preparation Method
-------- ------------ --------------------------------
1 c Honey
1/4 ts Powdered ginger (generous)
1/8 ts Ground cloves
1/8 ts Cinnamon
1/8 ts Ground licorice
1 3/4 c Dry bread crumbs
1 tb Anise seeds

Course Ginger Bread--Take a quart of Honey clarified,
and seeth it till it be brown, and if it be thick, put
to it a dash of water: then take fine crumbs of white
bread grated, and put to it, and stir it well, and
when it is almost cold, put to it the powder of
Ginger, Cloves, Cinamon, and a little Licorice and
Anise seeds: then knead it, and put it into a mould
and print it. Some use to put to it also a little
Pepper, but that is according unto taste and
pleasure.--Gervase Markham, The English House-wife
Gingerbread was traditionally boiled rather than
baked. This recipe is not significantly different from
medieval recipes found in fourteenth- and
fifteenth-century manuscripts, except for the
licorice-a brilliant touch.

Loaves of gingerbread, like squares of quince and
other fruit pastes, were often stamped with decorative
designs. You may wish to experiment with a cookie or
butter press on the top of this little loaf while it
is still warm and malleable.

1. In the top of a double boiler, heat honey. Add
spices except anise seeds, and stir to blend. 2. Add
bread crumbs and mix thoroughly. Cover and cook over
medium heat for 15 minutes. Mixture should be thick
and moist. 3. Place gingerbread on a large sheet of
waxed paper. Fold up sides of paper and mold dough
into small rectangular shape. 4. Sprinkle anise seeds
on top and press them gently into dough with the side
of a knife. 5. Cover and refrigerate for 2 hours. 6.
Serve gingerbread at room temperature in thin slices.

To The Queen's Taste by Lorna J. Sass "Desserts"
ISBN--0-87099-151-5



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