Pain d’épices - Spiced French loaf with Honey

Today we're doing "Pain d'épices", sometime incorrectly translated as gingerbread, a delicious spiced loaf sweetened with honey. It's a compact bread to slice finely, perfect for breakfast or tea time toast.

Origins of this cake go back as far as Ancient Egypt, where they first made a  type of "honey bread". Europeans brought back the recipe during the Crusades, and it's around the XIV century that some bakers from Reims, had the idea to add a combination of spices to the bread. They created the Corporation of Spice Bread Makers of Reims in 1571, claimed monopoly on the recipe, and were later officially recognized by Henry IV of France in 1596.

Nowadays, the recipe has some variation but we're making the original Reims Pain d'épices, without milk, eggs and butter. If you're living in Ireland, you might need visit a specialized store to get the rye flour (we got it from Holland&Barrett).

To unleash the full potential of this cake, you will need to roll it in cling film and leave to rest for 2 to 3 days (if you can wait that long) for the flavors to spread in the cake, but it may as well be eaten out of the oven ! Also, because of the amount of honey used in this recipe, this cake can be preserved a long time - probably 3-4 weeks - that is, of course, only if you're using real honey.

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15 minutes

60 minutes

10-12 slices

Ingredients

For the batter

170 ml of water

250 grams of real honey 

250 grams of rye flour

50 grams of brown sugar

1 teaspoon of bicarbonate / baking soda

1/2 teaspoon of salt

8 grams of gingerbread spice (or the following equivalent)

For the gingerbread spice

1 teaspoon of ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon of ground ginger

1 teaspoon of ground anise

1/2 teaspoon of ground cloves

1/2 teaspoon of ground nutmeg

Bakeware
Loaf Tin ~ 1 kilo

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Make the batter
>> Warm up the water in a sauce pan over a medium heat.
>> Once warm, add the honey and mix well until fully dissolved.
>> In a mixing bowl, mix the rye flour, brown sugar, bicarbonate, salt and the spices together.
>> Add the water and honey, little by little while mixing continuously, to obtain a smooth paste.

Bake it
>> Preheat your oven to 180°C
>> Grease a loaf pan, place a strip of non-stick paper at the bottom and pour the batter in.
>> Lower the oven heat to 150°C and cook for 1 hour.
The cooking time may vary depending on your oven. Leave it longer if needed. The cake should be cooked through, a knife should come out of the cake clean.
>> If you're the patient type, carefully roll the cake in cling film while still warm (so it keeps the moisture) and leave it for 2-3 days in a dry place : The cake will be even tastier ! Otherwise, wait until the cake is cold to enjoy.