Spiced Gingerbread Loaf

In our home, there are a few confections that show up every Christmas. It just isn’t a Lord Byron Christmas without copious amounts of gingerbread in all forms and shapes. This year, I’m adding this Spiced Gingerbread Loaf to the mix. All of the gingerbread ingredients you’d expect, like molasses and brown sugar are present, but with the addition of warming ground spices.

I think we start eating gingerbread-flavoured baked goods, like this Spiced Gingerbread Loaf, in late September. And, it really does continue until well into January.  (That’s because I’ve baked so much, that our freezer is probably still running over with it until mid-January!)

Gingerbread is most commonly eaten at Christmastime. Why is that? Why do we only eat the most delicious things once a year? It’s like those of us who save our best china for when company comes to visit? Why does company deserve better than your own family? I say that life is too short to not use the fine china every day if you have it. And, just like the fancy dishes, apply the same logic to eating this loaf too!

I’m going to tell you all about this recipe and how you can make it in your home this holiday season. But first, I want to tell you about what you can expect from Lord Byron’s Kitchen this Christmas. Over the past seven Christmases, I have built a reputation for sharing series-type recipes. The most popular would be my annual 24 Cookies of Christmas, which was fashioned after an advent calendar. But, I have others that are only 12 days, which were fashioned after the 12 Days of Christmas.

Before we get to a list of ingredients and instructions for today’s recipe, let me tell you about this series and more! Welcome, Dear Reader, to my second Christmas series this holiday season! I’m calling this series Lord Byron’s 12 Holiday Breads and Loaves.

Just like every other series that I’ve shared over the years, this one will also see a new recipe shared each day for the next 12 days – even on Saturday and Sunday! You might be asking yourself, how many Christmas recipes could one possibly have or need? Well, I say you can never have too much of a good thing. And, I love having lots of choices. Who wants to prepare the same holiday recipes year after year?

SUBSCRIBE NOW SO THAT YOU NEVER MISS OUT ON NEW RECIPES!

So, welcome, Dear Reader, to Lord Byron’s 12 Holiday Breads and Loaves Series! Even though this is the second series for this holiday season, you can always look back at previous years if you just cannot wait until the next recipe is published. Also, some of my favourite recipe collections from previous years are my 75 Homemade Gifts from Your Kitchen, my 50 Make Ahead Freezer Friendly Christmas Recipes, and my 30 No-Bake Christmas Recipes post.

You really don’t want to miss one of these recipes, so if you have not yet subscribed to Lord Byron’s Kitchen, I encourage you to do so. That way, a new recipe will be emailed to you every day. You won’t have to bother to come looking for it! Like in previous holiday recipe countdowns, I like to mix up the recipes in the series so that there is something for everyone. Are you ready!!??

THE ORIGINS OF GINGERBREAD

The history of gingerbread is quite the story, and quite lengthy too.  I love to learn about where food comes from and why we make food items the way we do. Gingerbread is no exception.  The origins of gingerbread can be traced back to the year 992. It was created by an Armenian monk.  He was responsible for teaching the French how to bake gingerbread.

In the 13^th century, the Germans brought gingerbread to Sweden. Swedish nuns adopted gingerbread; they believed it to be medicinal and would help with issues like indigestion.  They were responsible for the decoration of gingerbread and would paint them to look like church windows.

Fast forward to the 17^th century. Gingerbread was being sold in pharmacies and town squares, again for medicinal purposes.  Eventually, gingerbread found its way to North America and was first recorded in a cookbook dated 1796.

WE LOVE GINGERBREAD!

Lord Byron’s Kitchen is certainly no stranger to the wonderful spices that make up the awesomeness that is gingerbread. But, when it comes to gingerbread recipes itself, I’m afraid my blog is lacking.  I have my Gingerbread Bundt Cake and my Gingerbread Truffles.  There’s just so much more to do with the flavours of gingerbread!

I think when most of us hear the term gingerbread, we automatically think of an icing-covered, candy-coated, barely-standing-up-straight, too-tough-to-bite, cookie house at Christmastime.  I used to love helping and watching McKenna decorate those when she was a kid, but Lord, it was messy!

My worry was that the cats were going to eat the icing and we all know just how that would end up!  The gingerbread house was never eaten.  It was always too hard, and by the time we got around to it, it had been sitting for a few days.  Gross. Trust me, this Spiced Gingerbread Loaf won’t be sitting around for too long at all. It’s just so delicious!

INGREDIENTS NEEDED TO PREPARE THIS RECIPE

The following is a list of the ingredients needed to prepare this recipe. For exact amounts and measurements, refer to the printable recipe card located near the bottom of this post.

• Butter – Make sure your butter is at room temperature!
• Brown Sugar
• Eggs – Make sure the eggs are at room temperature.
• Molasses – When baking, the best molasses is fancy molasses.  Stay away from dark or blackstrap molasses unless instructed otherwise.  Fancy molasses is light molasses. 
• Flour – No need for anything special. Just use regular all-purpose flour. I have not tried this recipe with any other type of flour.
• Spices – You will need ginger, cinnamon, cloves, allspice, and nutmeg.
• Baking Soda
• Salt
• Water

HOW TO MAKE A SPICED GINGERBREAD LOAF

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly grease a loaf pan with non-stick cooking spray. Set aside. Sift together the flour, ground ginger, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, allspice, and salt. Set aside. In a large mixing bowl, beat together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the egg and incorporate into the mixture. Add the molasses and incorporate into the mixture. Set aside the batter.

Add the baking soda to the boiling water and stir to dissolve. Beat 1/3 of the sifted flour mixture into the batter until just combined. Next, beat in 1/2 cup of the boiling water and baking soda mixture. Repeat with another 1/3 of the sifted flour, followed by the remaining boiling water, and finally, the last of the sifted flour.

Transfer the batter to the loaf pan. Tap the pan firmly on your countertop. Bake for 45-55 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the cake comes out clean. Cool for 30 minutes before turning out onto a cooling rack. Dust with confectioner’s sugar before serving.

SERVING YOUR LOAF

Here’s the thing about breads and loaves – they both come from humble beginnings. Even looking at it, you can tell that it isn’t pretty, it isn’t spectacular, and it surely isn’t show-stopping. But, that certainly doesn’t mean that your bread shouldn’t be served with style!

Like scones and biscuits, I think breads lend themselves quite well to what most people would call English Tea. I like to think of English Tea as an afternoon snack. And, afternoon snacks are terribly underrated! I like to partake whenever time permits. Hot coffee and a slice of this Spiced Gingerbread Loaf, or any other sweet treat, is a great break from the 9-5 routine.

With the cooler weather approaching, I can’t think of a better way to serve this bread than putting out a full set of tea. Sure, it might seem I have too much time on my hands, but life is short, folks – enjoy it! Take the tea set out of your cabinet, dust it off, and take a well-deserved afternoon break!

QUESTIONS?

If I have not answered all of your questions in the text above, don’t hesitate to reach out to me! You can contact me by sending me a message in the comments section further down the page. I will try my best to answer as soon as possible! You might reach me even faster by following me on Facebook and sending me a private message. Scroll down to follow me and never miss another recipe!