Hello from NL 44; this is Bake Sense—a somewhat ordered record of ramblings concerning the world of baking. Along the way, you’ll find recipes and insights from life in and out of the professional bakery and plenty of fruitful chat.
Through December, I’m sharing flour-forward recipes highlighting the ease and joy of using wholegrain flours in baking in the most simple and accessible way…biscuits!
Biscuit making has a long history, long, long. The reason!?! It’s one of the most life-affirming activities you can find! Especially when it comes to enjoying time in the kitchen. The effort can be minimal, and the payoff is huge!
There is no real need for complicated recipes that require special equipment. Neither of these factors will increase the pleasure you get from eating still-warm biscuits from the oven nor the joy you’ll bring sharing them with others.
Today’s festive biscuit recipe is a case in point. Lebkuchen are an age-old tradition originating in Germany, which, over centuries, has developed nuances dependent on region. The proportion of nuts to flour, sugar to honey and the exact spice blend are parameters that have offered ample play to generations of bakers.
The version I am sharing today very much celebrates the rich and textural quality of whole, dark rye flour, along with nature’s sweetest gift, honey and uses a combination of spices that you most likely have on hand but that is customisable to your preferences.
But what really makes the case for this being a biscuit to add to your make list this year is its ease and accessibility. These biscuits are the soft comfort kind, more cake-like than crisp; gingerbread adjacent in technique and ingredients means that they keep well, perfect for making ahead.
You can take the decoration to a level that fits your available labour; they’re just as good unglazed as they are glazed with icing or melted chocolate or mosaic the surface with nut pieces before baking.
Rye Lebkuchen
Ingredients
Yields approx 16, depending upon the shape and size of the cutter
200g honey
85g unsalted butter
200g dark rye flour
100g ground almonds
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp bicarbonate of soda
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp ground mixed spice
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1 tbsp cocoa powder
1/4 tsp fine sea salt
Method
Place the butter and honey in a pan and gently heat until melted; avoid boiling the mixture.
Once melted, remove from the heat, pour into a large heatproof bowl, and allow it to cool for 10 minutes.
Meanwhile, combine the dry ingredients in a separate bowl, mixing them to distribute evenly. Once the honey butter mixture has cooled, add the dry ingredients to the bowl and combine so no dry pockets remain. The mixture will be sticky.
Cover the bowl and place the mixture in the fridge for 1 hour to chill completely.
Prepare two baking sheets with greaseproof paper.
Remove the chilled dough from the fridge and place it on a sheet of parchment paper, cover it with another sheet of parchment, and roll the dough to be approximately 8mm thick.
Choose a cutter of your liking and go to town stamping shapes; transfer these to the greaseproof-lined baking sheet and set them around 2cm apart. Gently piece any scraps together and smooth over with the rolling pin to yield more biscuits.
For the best-shaped results with crisp lines and detail, you can chill the cutouts completely in the fridge for at least 1 hour. You can also freeze the biscuits at this point and bake them at a later time.
To bake the biscuits, heat the oven to 165 degrees C. I find biscuits approximately 5-6cm in diameter bake for around 12 minutes with a rotation of the trays halfway through to encourage even baking. Indicators of doneness are that the edges should just be colouring very slightly; they will have a dry, matt appearance, but they will still appear soft.
These were delicious and a real hit with friends and family over Christmas. Thank you for sharing!