Tula gingerbread

The recipe for the Tula gingerbread includes the following ingredients: wheat flour, granulated sugar, natural honey, butter, chicken eggs, baking soda. As spices for gingerbread dough, I use cinnamon, cardamom and nutmeg — in dry and hammer. The filling for the Tula gingerbread, as a rule, is a plum jam, but if you do not have this, take some other, preferably sweet and sour. For the glaze, you will need only two ingredients — granulated sugar and water.

We will make a gingerbread dough in a custard, so we will take some kind of saucepan or bowl into which we break up a couple of chicken eggs. We chat the eggs with a fork or whisk.

Next, add butter (with a fat content of at least 72%, and ideally — 82%), granulated sugar and natural honey (nimbled directly in this form).

Add spices in a dry hammer. I buy powdered cinnamon and cardamom in bags, but I prefer a nutty nut — we just rub it on small theros. We do not visit food soda — we put 1 teaspoon without a slide in a saucepan.

We put dishes with aromatic contents in a water bath. This means that in addition we will need another saucepan, in which the first is well placed — it does not fail and does not slide. Pour a couple of glasses of water into the lower dish, let it boil. After that, insert a saucepan with foods and, stirring, warmly warm in a water bath (the water in the lower pan constantly boils).

Gray until all the ingredients are completely dissolved-it will take about 10 minutes, but again the time depends on the temperature of the products and the heating force. The result is a rather liquid, flowing mass.

Now we will brew wheat flour. In general, for this recipe, I use the flour of the highest grade (Lida), but you can prepare the Tula gingerbread on the first grade flour. We sift all the flour in advance and begin to add it in parts to a hot liquid base.

Mix everything with a spoon or fork so that there are no lumps left. You can use a whisk or a mixer — even faster and more convenient. When it becomes very difficult to mix with a spoon or fork, it's time to switch to the table.

We pour all the flour on the working surface that remains (as a rule, in the first part I go 400 grams, and I pour 100 grams on the table), and dump the gingerbread dough on top. Although it is quite thick, it instantly begins to spread to the sides.

We roll the hot dough in flour so that the hands do not stick strongly to him. At first, it is most convenient to help yourself with a scrap so as not to get burned. We rake part of the flour to the side and begin to knead the dough. Gradually add flour so as not to overdo it. If you add too much flour, the finished gingerbread will turn out to be hard and dry.

As a result of short manipulations, all the dough will be connected to flour and turn into a completely homogeneous mass, which in consistency resembles a soft plasticine and sticks a little to the hands. At the end of the batch, I have a little wheat flour left — I rake it into a separate bowl, and then use it when rolling.

We divide a slightly warm gingerbread dough into two equal parts. We transfer them to a cutting board or a wide dish, tighten it with cling film, foil or plastic bag (so as not to be bored). We send to the refrigerator for at least half an hour so that it cools well and becomes more dense. Ideally, of course, to withstand the custard gingerbread dough in the cold for several hours, but it can also be done in advance and stored in the refrigerator for several days.

When the dough cools and freezes, sprinkle the working surface with a small amount of wheat flour. We take one piece of gingerbread dough and roll it with a rolling pin into a layer according to the size of the baking shape. The thickness of the dough can vary, but it is best to make 1-1.5 centimeters.

We apply plum jam into the gingerbread dough with an uniform layer, not reaching a few centimeters to the edges. If it is too thick, just warm it in a microwave or on a stove. By the way, for lack of jam, you can take a plum or apricot jam — boil it to the required density over medium heat.

Similarly, roll out the second piece of dough and put it on top of the first, covering the filling. With our hands, we press all the dough and edges so that the air comes out and the layers are sticking together.

You can trim the workpiece in any convenient way — I personally like to use special cooking for cookies. In general, a fork, a pizza knife or a simple knife is perfect.

The baking dish is covered with parchment paper — it is not necessary to lubricate. I have a rectangular shape (30×20 centimeters), but you can bake the Tula gingerbread in round, oval, square or directly on a baking sheet. Gently transfer the workpiece to the shape. From scraps we make jewelry — those that you like and which your culinary imagination allows. This decor does not need to be attached to the workpiece — in the process of baking the dough itself will stick perfectly.

We bake the Tula gingerbread in the oven pre-heated to 180 degrees at an average level for 40-45 minutes. It is very important to understand that the baking time can differ very much from the specified in the recipe! It depends not only on the oven (I have gas, but you can have an electric one), but also its character, as well as the size of the shape for baking. After 25-30 minutes from the beginning of the baking, it will be possible to check the readiness of the Tula gingerbread: at first it will rise well, after which it will gradually blush. The last 10 minutes in the oven are the most important, since it is then that the gingerbread begins to darken rapidly (not burning, but to acquire a characteristic color). When you press the finished dough in response, it almost does not bend and slightly spring.

We take out the Tula gingerbread from the oven and immediately prepare the glaze for its coating. To do this, pour 100 grams of sugar into a bowl and pour 30 milliliters of water. We put everything in a microwave oven at the highest power for 2 minutes or cook on the stove — after boiling for a minute 1.5-2.

Hot sugar syrup quickly and quickly cover the hot gingerbread. The fact is that the glaze instantly grasps and freezes, so it is important to work with a brush at a pace. Let the Tula gingerbread completely cool down and you can enjoy. In the finished form, our yummy weighs about 1 kg of 400 grams.

Undoubtedly, the tastes of the Tula gingerbread is fresh, that is, after 5-6 hours from the moment of readiness, but after 3-4 days (store it tightly wrapped in foil), it will remain the same soft, tasty and fragrant. True, I really doubt that it will remain with you for so long — it is impossible to break away from this dessert. Irochka, many thanks for this awesome order — I am waiting for impressions and, if possible, a report. Prepare for health, friends, and pleasant to you appetite!