Month: December 2019

Gingerbread take 2

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Having forgot to add salt to the last time I made this recipe, I decided to try it again with salt and see how it taste.  Kidding.  I changed a few other things around.

  • 3/4 cup unsalted butter (seriously, couldn’t be bothered to measure out 2/3 of a cup)
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 1/2 cup AP flour
  • 1 cup whole wheat flour
  • 1 cup light rye flour
  • 1/4 teaspoon anise extract
  • 3 large eggs (forgot to warm this before cooking)
  • 1/2 cup milk
  • 1/2 cup molasses
  • 2 teaspoon ginger (bumped the ginger)
  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1/2 teaspoon cloves
  • 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
  • 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease and flour a loaf pan
  2. Cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy (protip: if you have a stand mixer, use the paddle, not the whisk). Beat in 1/4 cup of the flour, add the anise extract, then beat in the eggs, one at a time, mixing until each is absorbed before adding the next. Stir in the milk and molasses.
  3. Whisk together the flours (wheat, rye and 1/4c of AP), the baking soda, salt, and spices. Add to the wet ingredients, a third at a time mixing between each addition.
  4. Transfer the batter to the prepared pan and bake for 60 to 65 minutes, tenting it with foil for the last 15 minutes. The cake is done when a tester inserted in the center comes out clean.
  5. Remove the cake from the oven. Cool it in the pan for 10 minutes, then turn it out of the pan onto a rack to finish cooling completely before slicing

Cheese rolls

  • 500g flour
  • 400g water
  • spoonful of salt
  • spoonful of yeast
  • 50g of olive oil
  • cheese (I used a mix of parm/reggiano and some mozz – about 9 oz. total)

Mix all of the ingredients into a bread dough, prove until doubled in size (probably an hour at 82 degrees).

Divide into 12 equal sized pieces. Roll flat, and put 10g of cheese in the middle and fold into a ball.

Place together on a cookie sheet seam side down and cover with cheese. Allow to rise for another hour or so.

45 minutes into the second prove, pre-heat oven to 350 (assuming your oven needs 15 miutes to heat).

Bake for 20-25 minutes.

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Molasses poundcake

Adapted from King Arthur Flour’s molasses poundcake.

  • 2/3 cup unsalted butter
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 2 1/2 cups AP Flour
  • 1/4 teaspoon anise extract
  • 3 large eggs, at room temperature
  • 1/2 cup milk, at room temperature
  • 1/2 cup molasses
  • 1 teaspoon ginger
  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1/2 teaspoon cloves
  • 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
  • 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
  • (Recipe was supposed to have 1/2 teaspoon salt, but I forgot it)
  1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease and flour a loaf pan
  2. Cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy (protip: if you have a stand mixer, use the paddle, not the whisk). Beat in 1/4 cup of the flour, add the anise extract, then beat in the eggs, one at a time, mixing until each is absorbed before adding the next. Stir in the milk and molasses.
  3. Whisk together 2 cups of flour, the baking soda, salt, and spices. Add to the wet ingredients, a third at a time mixing between each addition.
  4. Transfer the batter to the prepared pan and bake for 60 to 65 minutes, tenting it with foil for the last 15 minutes. The cake is done when a tester inserted in the center comes out clean.
  5. Remove the cake from the oven. Cool it in the pan for 10 minutes, then turn it out of the pan onto a rack to finish cooling completely before slicing

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More historical cookery

Found a reference to the English Huswife (text transcription) which led to the following:

Banbury cake

Eccles cake

Chorley cake

There’s also a list of old cookbooks and you can find digitized versions of some of them:

The Frugal Housewife

I’m not sure it’s worth the time to ‘translate’ the recipes and convert the measures to something I could use.

Foods of England is an interesting website, as well.

Random Baking Thoughts

Part of me keeps wanting to make historical recipes, like the original gingerbread recipe from American Cookery.

Then I realize I don’t really want to have to source pearlash.  Even though I can substitute.

Anyway, gingerbread has a long history, and it’s pretty cool (link is a recipe for each of the last 5 centuries).

Here’s another historical gingerbread recipe. (side note: it alleges to be a 17th century recipe, but it calls for baking powder)

Another historical gingerbread recipe.