Tips for Making and Rolling out Gingerbread Houses

This is the first in a series of three Gingerbread House Tutorials. Here are a few baking tips for your Gingerbread, along with a few patterns for your convenience.

Gingerbread House Recipe

• 1/3 cup soft shortening
• 1cup brown sugar, packed
• 1-1/2 cups dark molasses
• 2/3 cup cold water
• 7 cups flour
• 2 tsps. Baking soda
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1 tsp. allspice
• 1 tsp. ginger
• 1 tsp. ground cloves
• 1 tsp. cinnamon

Mix shortening, brown sugar, and molasses thoroughly.  Stir in water, Blend all dry ingredients; stir in. Chill dough.

A few tips for rolling out gingerbread:

Once your dough is chilled, it is easier to manage. Cut dough in half.

Cut parchment to fit an 10X15” jellyroll pan.  Spray pan and paper with a light coat of nonstick spray.

Form dough into a rectangle, then roll out on a floured silicone mat.

Roll with equal pressure from the center of the dough to the ends.

Flip the rolled dough onto the paper lined jellyroll pan; Make a 10X15 solid cookie by rolling the dough to 1/8” thickness. 

Place your pattern on the dough and score with a pizza cutter.

For the porch pillars, just roll out dough into two 1/2" diameter logs.

Using a toothpick, score a light indention or two on the logs to create a bit of interest.

Keep your cutter clean while working.

Trace pattern pieces, leaving all dough in place to prevent dough from spreading or changing shape while baking.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Bake gingerbread  7-8 minute just until edges begin to brown slightly.

Remove from oven and and lightly roll hot gingerbread to flatten our any humps from baking.

Re-score on scored lines while gingerbread is still  quite warm

Work quickly and carefully.

If the dough cools too much the pieces will crack, however dough can easily be cut while hot. Nest carefully place the parchment paper with the scored gingerbread onto a baking rack to cool completely.

When cooled, remove from the parchment paper and allow the bread to set for a 24 hour period to harden.  Allow to harden at least one day before attempting to piece house together.  ***  Below are a few patterns just to get you started. Cut your patterns from cardboard or foam core and assemble with tape beforehand, especially if you are adding elements to your structure, such as a porch, vestibule, gables or any other addition you want to create. This step makes it easier to envision your assembly when constructing with gingerbread and sugar and well worth the extra time.

If you label your cardboard pieces, you will find it much easier to identify how your pattern should be placed. Be creative and have fun!

PATTERNS

 

 Gingerbread recipe shared from ICES, New Mexico chapter.

Jacque Benson—October 2007 In the next tutorial, a few easy tips for constructing your house.

This tutorial and photography is the property of Jacque Benson- copyright 2012- and used with permission from the author. This material may not be used, copied or printed without expressed permission from the author, Jacque Benson.

Building a Gingerbread house

After designing and baking your gingerbread house, it is time to assemble and decorate. Here are a few tips for assembly, followed by suggestions for decoration. Ultimately, it is your creation, so you can keep it simple or make your house as elaborate as you desire

Supplies

• Gingerbread pieces
• ½” foam core
• ¼” foam core for small houses
• Pencil
• Ruler
• Xacto Knife
• Royal Icing **
• at least 4 unopened cans to use as weights to stabilize while drying
• small embroidery scissors
• gelatine sheets

Lay out your gingerbread pieces out flat with house corners touching on a sheet of paper.

Move two facing sides inside the corner by exactly the width of your gingerbread. If your baked pieces are ¼” thick, then move two sides inward by ¼” each side.

With a pencil, trace the inside space. Straighten lines and shore up the corners to be a perfect right angle (90 degrees,) then cut the pattern for your foundation.

Lay the pattern over ¼- ½” foam core. Trace the pattern and cut the foamcore. If you are adding additions to your house, cut the addition to your pattern. The additions will be built on separate foundations and secured together later.

Run a bead of royal icing around the edge of the foam corn and set up two corner walls, securing with royal icing.

At this point, it is easier to secure your windows. Using embroidery scissors, just cut a square of gelatine sheets and secure with royal icing.

 You can also use poured sugar windows made ahead of time, then glue in with royal icing. It is easier to affix the windows while flat, but you can also place inside before you place your roof, if you like.

Set cans against the two walls to secure.

Repeat the process with the two remaining walls.

Pipe an extra line around each corner and allow to set for a few minutes until secure.

Pipe a line of royal icing around the top edge of your walls.

Place the roof. Depending on how large your house is and how heavy the roof, it may be necessary to secure with reinforcement (extra cans).

Pipe royal icing at the seam where roof meets on top.

Allow to set until dry.

Steeples and Chimneys can be constructed at this point, securing with royal icing.

Allow to dry before attaching to roof.

*If you have additions on your house, construct separately and allow to dry, then attach to the rest of your structure. At that point, you can add the roof.

Let the house completely dry before moving to the next step…the fun part! Decorating the house!

When the icing securing the roof has completely hardened, your house can be decorated with Fondant, Pretzels, Cereals, Candies ( gum drops, mints, pastilles, skittles, hard candies ect) Shredded wheat, Pastas, bitesized crackers, lentils, or beans!
 Just use your royal icing to secure the decorations.
 When dry the icing will act as a glue and hold the decoration firmly in place. For my houses, I cut fondant strips and overlaid them on the exterior.

For one house's roof, I textured a rectangle of fondant to make a shingled roof,

but pastilles can be used to make a wonderful shingled roof or siding too.

For a fast and easy shingled roof, just pipe scallops directly onto your gingerbread roof!

 You can also spread a layer of "snow" made of royal icing.

There are no rules now. Anything goes as long as it is edible.
Wilton makes a product called Sparkle Gel.
I used it to make icicles, but you can also pipe icicles using royal icing.

Just be creative and have loads of fun. That's what it is all about!

**Royal Icing Recipe

6 Tbsp meringue powder

12 Tbsp water

2 lbs powered sugar

Mix all ingredient until moist, them beat at a low speed for 7 minutes. Keep icing covered with a moist cloth when not in use to prevent hardening.

On the final gingerbread tutorial, a few ideas for accessorizing your landscape, and adding life to your edible abode!

Copyright - All rights reserved   Jacque Benson 2012
Material from this website cannot be republished or reproduced in any form without permission from the author.