Gingerbread is always a holiday

Gingerbread is a confectionery product whose tastehas been familiar to us since childhood. And how many species there are: honey, nut, chocolate, gingerbread with cinnamon, honey, painted well, and, of course, Tula gingerbread.

Types of gingerbread

Gingerbread is a flour confectionerya product made from a special gingerbread with the addition of jam, honey, jam, nuts, candied fruits and other sweets. Few people know that the carrot has a very long time, but in many countries it is this kind of sweetness that symbolizes a holiday, happiness.

The first mention of it appeared in Rus in the IX century. And it was the carrot that he began to call it after they began to use various spices for cooking.

The shape of this product is flat, it can be round, oval or square, but with a special drawing on it.

There are several types of gingerbread:

1. Printed, made with the help of specialgingerbread boards. As a rule, wood of apple or pear tree was used for their production. To do this, it was carefully dried and then artisan craftsmen applied their skilful design to it. And it was a very difficult and responsible procedure. Figures were different, from simple with congratulatory inscriptions to complex in the form of angels, animals, matryoshkas.
2. Gingerbread sticks. They could be blinded by hand.
3. Gingerbread silhouette, the so-called royal gingerbread. It differed in its special beauty, shape and painting using various elements, such as gold leaf, feathers.

Tula cakes

None of the carrots in the world can compare with Tula. The recipe was carefully guarded for a long time and passed strictly by heredity from generation to generation and only to sons.

Tula confectioners were famous throughout the worldquality and taste of their gingerbread. Even special fairs were held in St. Petersburg, where the Tula masters had the opportunity to present their next masterpiece.

It was in this city that baked gingerbread cookies with a filling, unusual form, honey, custard were baked.

World confectioners claim that the main secretTula gingerbread consists in correct conformity of a flour and water. However, craftsmen insist that the main secret lies in the preparation of it on the Tula land, from Tula flour enriched with delicious Tula air.

On any holiday as a gift it was prestigious to present as a gift exactly this Tula painted carrot.

Just recently a carrot museum opened in Tula. Despite a small age, the museum already enjoys great popularity among tourists.

Recipe for a Tula gingerbread

You can try to cook a Tula gingerbread at home. This recipe is designed for cooking gingerbread with filling. To do this, you need:

• 100 grams of butter or margarine;
• 1 cup of sugar;
• 2 tablespoons of honey;
• half a glass of milk;
• 1 teaspoon of soda;
• half a spoonful of cinnamon;
• 1 egg;
• jam or jam;
• 3.5 cups of sifted flour;
• Ground ginger and a pinch of black pepper.

To mix the dough, you need to melt the margarine, andProtein from one egg whip whisk. Mix all the remaining ingredients and pour in the protein, then melted butter. Knead the elastic dough. Then roll out one half of it with a thickness of 6-7 mm. Put on a baking sheet covered with parchment paper. Lubricate your favorite jam, and cover the top with the remaining dough. It is possible to cut out different figurines or flowers from the remains of the dough using conventional molds. Top with a yolk. Bake in the oven for about 20 minutes at a temperature of 180 degrees. The royal carrot is ready.

Gingerbread painting: types

Gingerbread canvas is not only a delicious confectionary product, but also an object that can be used to decorate a whole art.

To date, there are so many types of gingerbread decorations, as well as bakers. The recipe for making a cream can be the most unique, but basically all of them are made on the basis of glaze.

The technique of decorating a carrot can be the mostordinary: just applying a smooth layer of sweet glaze on the entire surface of the carrot. Noteworthy is the fact that it should be applied only after the carrot itself has cooled well, otherwise the sugar used for the glaze can simply melt and spread.

The next kind of decoration and gingerbread painting isdrawing on it carved figurines from a gingerbread test. To glue the carrot adornment, it is necessary to rub it with another raw base thoroughly with the egg yolk, and then on top of it already have an ornament that is also lubricated.

Art painting. There will already be need for imagination and the availability of skills. If you can not draw, then you can get out of the situation in a simple way: to prepare the glaze of different colors. To do this, you need to add hot colors to it in order to achieve the desired color. Again - the glaze needs to be applied to the carrot frozen.

The recipe for the carrot glaze

Prepare the glaze is very simple. For this we need:

1. Sugar powder, if it is not, then the usual sugar will have to be ground in a coffee grinder.
2. Protein from one egg.

Mix sugar powder with protein from egg inthe ratio of 250 grams of powder 1 protein. If the glaze is liquid, then add more powder, if thick, then you can add a little water. But do not overdo it - we do not need syrup.

If you have achieved a successful glaze consistency, you should immediately transfer it to a bag or confectionery bag and start decorating the gingerbread as desired.

This kind of glaze can be used both forfilling the carrot completely, and for its painting. Important advice: if the glaze turned out too much, then it is recommended to store it before use under a damp towel, otherwise it will dry up.

If in the process of applying to the carrot will beto form air bubbles, then just take a toothpick and pierce them. Gingerbread canvas is a whole heritage, it's a tradition passed on for centuries. Bake gingerbread is always a holiday, fun and joy!