Recipe Manuscript

How To Make Gingerbread

Name: How To Make Gingerbread
Prep time: PTPT30M
Cook time: PTPT1H30M
Yield: 30
Cuisine: European
Ingredients: 2.7 kg plain wheat flour; 950 ml pure honey; 900 g white granulated sugar; 140 ml dry sherry (or medium sherry as substitute for 'sack'); 30 ml brandy; 2 tablespoons ground ginger (or more, to taste); 2 teaspoons crushed aniseed; 2 teaspoons crushed caraway seeds; 2 teaspoons crushed coriander seeds; Butter and extra flour for greasing pans

1700

From the treasured pages of Receipt book

Unknown Author

Renaissance (1400 - 1700)European Intermediate Dessert Snack

Original Recipe • 1700

Original Manuscript(circa Renaissance, 1400 - 1700)

As inscribed by the original author's hand, transcribed with care by Lost Kitchen Scrolls

How To Make Gingerbread

"Take 6 pound Flower a quart of hony and 2 pound of white suger set the hony and suger on the fier let it boyle a litle and then take it off and when it is a litle Coole put in aboute a quarter of a pint of sack and a litle brandy then put into the Flower such a quantity of beaten Ginger Anniseeds Caraway seeds and Coryander seeds as sutes best with your pallate brusid. stirr in the liquor indifferent hot flowere the pans before you put it in cut the past on the topp and set it in a quick oven an hour and halfe will bake it"

Note on the Original Text

The recipe employs seventeenth- and early eighteenth-century English spelling and punctuation—notice 'fier' for 'fire', 'boyle' for 'boil', and 'flowere' for 'flour'. Quantities are generous, suggesting large-scale household baking. Instructions are flexible ('as sutes best with your pallate'), inviting the baker's personal taste and experience. The recipe is written for someone already confident around the kitchen, with little explanation of method beyond the basics. Recording precise temperatures or pan sizes was uncommon; judgment and the senses ruled the day.

Modern Kitchen Interpretation

Recipe's Origin

Receipt book - Click to view recipe in book

Title

Receipt book (1700)

You can also click the book image above to peruse the original tome

Writer

Unknown

Era

1700

Publisher

Unknown

Background

A delightful glimpse into the kitchens of the early 18th century, this historic culinary manuscript promises a feast of recipes, remedies, and perhaps a pinch of mystery. Expect both practical fare and elegant inspiration for the curious cook.

Kindly made available by

Folger Shakespeare Library

Historical Background of the Recipe

Learn about old traditions

This gingerbread recipe hails from around 1700, a time when English gingerbread began to shift from a spice-laden preserve to a more recognizable cake. Wealthy households would often serve such treats at feasts and holidays. 'V.b.272' is the reference code for the original manuscript source, typical of recipe notebooks compiled by women in the English gentry. Sack and brandy show the celebratory and luxurious nature of baking in this period, as spices and spirits were symbols of hospitality and status.

Culinary Tools when the Recipe was Crafted

Tools and techniques from kitchens of old

The recipe would have been prepared with large earthenware or wooden bowls for mixing and a stout wooden spoon to stir the thick dough. Heavy iron or tin baking pans would be greased and dusted with flour. The cooking would have been done in a wood-fired oven, its heat judged by experience rather than by temperature gauge—a "quick oven" indicating a hot and lively fire.

Modern Kitchen Adaptation

Ingredients and techniques for today's cooks

ounces, cups, Fahrenheit

Prep Time

30 mins

Cook Time

1 hr 30 mins

Servings

We've done our best to adapt this historical recipe for modern kitchens, but some details may still need refinement. We warmly welcome feedback from fellow cooks and culinary historians — your insights support the entire community!

Ingredients

6 lbs plain wheat flour
2 pints (4 cups) pure honey
2 lbs white granulated sugar
5 fl oz dry sherry (or medium sherry as substitute for 'sack')
1 fl oz brandy
2 tablespoons ground ginger (or more, to taste)
2 teaspoons crushed aniseed
2 teaspoons crushed caraway seeds
2 teaspoons crushed coriander seeds
Butter and extra flour for greasing pans

Instructions

Begin by weighing out 6 lbs of plain wheat flour.
In a large saucepan, combine 2 pints (4 cups) of pure honey with 2 lbs of white granulated sugar.
Warm the honey and sugar together, bringing it just to a gentle simmmer, then remove from the heat.
Allow the mixture to cool slightly—just warm to the touch.
Add about 5 fl oz of sherry (sack) and a small splash (about 1 fl oz) of brandy.
In a separate bowl, prepare your flour by adding ground ginger (to taste, but 2 tablespoons is traditional), and 2 teaspoons each of roughly crushed aniseed, caraway seeds, and coriander seeds.
These can be ajusted to suit your palate.
Gradually mix the spiced flour into the warm honey-sugar-brandy mixture, stirring until well combined.
Grease and flour your baking tins or trays, spread in the gingerbread mixture, make decorative cuts on the top, and bake in a preheated oven at 350°F (a 'quick oven') for about 1.5 hours, or until golden and set.

Estimated Calories

420 per serving

Cooking Estimates

Baking the gingerbread takes about 1.5 hours, and preparing the ingredients and mixing the dough takes about 30 minutes. This large batch can make around 30 generous servings. Each serving contains about 420 calories, mostly from honey, sugar, and flour.

As noted above, we have made our best effort to translate and adapt this historical recipe for modern kitchens, taking into account ingredients nowadays, cooking techniques, measurements, and so on. However, historical recipes often contain assumptions that require interpretation.

We'd love for anyone to help improve these adaptations. Community contributions are highly welcome. If you have suggestions, corrections, or cooking tips based on your experience with this recipe, please share them below.