Ginger bread(medieval/elizabethan)

 
                    GINGER BREAD (MEDIEVAL/ELIZABETHAN)
 
 Recipe By     : 
 Serving Size  : 8    Preparation Time :0:00
 Categories    : Desserts
 
   Amount  Measure       Ingredient -- Preparation Method
 --------  ------------  --------------------------------
    1       c            Honey
      1/4   ts           Powdered ginger (generous)
      1/8   ts           Ground cloves
      1/8   ts           Cinnamon
      1/8   ts           Ground licorice
    1 3/4   c            Dry bread crumbs
    1       tb           Anise seeds
 
   Course Ginger Bread--Take a quart of Honey clarified,
   and seeth it till it be brown, and if it be thick, put
   to it a dash of water: then take fine crumbs of white
   bread grated, and put to it, and stir it well, and
   when it is almost cold, put to it the powder of
   Ginger, Cloves, Cinamon, and a little Licorice and
   Anise seeds:  then knead it, and put it into a mould
   and print it.  Some use to put to it also a little
   Pepper, but that is according unto taste and
   pleasure.--Gervase Markham, The English House-wife
   Gingerbread was traditionally boiled rather than
   baked. This recipe is not significantly different from
   medieval recipes found in fourteenth- and
   fifteenth-century manuscripts, except for the
   licorice-a brilliant touch.
   
   Loaves of gingerbread, like squares of quince and
   other fruit pastes, were often stamped with decorative
   designs.  You may wish to experiment with a cookie or
   butter press on the top of this little loaf while it
   is still warm and malleable.
   
   1.  In the top of a double boiler, heat honey.  Add
   spices except anise seeds, and stir to blend. 2. Add
   bread crumbs and mix thoroughly. Cover and cook over
   medium heat for 15 minutes. Mixture should be thick
   and moist. 3. Place gingerbread on a large sheet of
   waxed paper. Fold up sides of paper and mold dough
   into small rectangular shape. 4. Sprinkle anise seeds
   on top and press them gently into dough with the side
   of a knife. 5. Cover and refrigerate for 2 hours. 6.
   Serve gingerbread at room temperature in thin slices.
   
   To The Queen's Taste by Lorna J. Sass "Desserts"
   ISBN--0-87099-151-5
  
 
 
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