A few months ago, gripped by baking fever, I purchased Mary Berry's Baking Bible. I quickly decided to embark upon a mission to bake everything in the book, and turn myself from an occasional baker into a bit of an expert. My Grandad Ern was a Master Baker by trade; the man responsible for introducing Danish Pastries to England in fact, and I wish it had occurred to me to spend more time learning from him, rather than simply enjoying the fruits of his effortless labours. This project is almost a way of making amends for that; I'd like to follow in his footsteps (if not in my career, at least as a hobby) and continue the proud heritage of baking in my family.
I credit my friend Rachel with the idea to write a blog about my baking exploits, hoping that there will be more successes than failures as I attempt all 213 of the Queen of Baking's recipes.
So as not to bore the husband with a monotonous diet of sponges, followed by weeks of biscuits, I've decided to tackle the recipes by selecting the first bake from each chapter, followed by the second recipe and so on. I'm not going to pick and choose; I'm determined to face my baking demons and learn how to do everything baking-related, even if the consequences are disastrous!
Everything will be photographed, with comment about how I found baking it, and a husband rating (to be taken with a pinch of salt as he has a very selective cake-tooth).


Sunday, 7 August 2016

81. Gingerbread Men

Having discovered that the (not so) little one quite likes ginger biscuits, I was quite excited about baking these. She's started to become a keen assistant of late, and particularly enjoys using the cutters, so I knew she'd find these fun to make. I did the dough bit, which was very straightforward, albeit a little on the messy side, and then we began the quite lengthy process of turning out our squadron of biscuity soldiers. Time became a bit pressing, with the fan over blowing impatiently away, so after a few toddler cut-out sessions, I took over and delegated the task of applying currant eyes and buttons to my assistant (ably supported by Grandma, who made sure an equal amount of currants found their way onto the gingerbread men after a few diversions to a little mouth). They had to be baked in shifts, due to the quantity (20) and number of baking trays needed, but it was good fun churning out man after man and piling them up on the cooling rack. There's something very satisfying about baking in large quantities!
Baker's verdict: easy to make and great for baking with children. I thought they could do with a bit more ginger to ramp up the warm spice.
Husband rating: unfortunately too long ago to be able to supply one (slapped wrist for the blogger).


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