I decided it might be fun for the kids and I to make a gingerbread house from scratch. We want to build it today and then decorate it on Thanksgiving. I used a recipe that seemed to be referenced in many of the blogs. It seems pretty straight forward. I followed the directions exactly. After kneading it, it still seems a bit dry. I think it is a little more crumbly than it should be. I am not sure what to add to it to help this. Should I just add a touch more molasses? Maybe another egg? Anyone out there with gingerbread making experience have any ideas. We aren't terribly concerned about affecting the taste...we won't be eating it (none of us really like gingerbread).
http://www.simplyrecipes.com/recipes/how_to_make_a_ginger...
Here''s the recipe we used.
Thanks ladies. A little extra molasses appears to be doing the trick. I run a cake decorating business out of my home, so I am not completely out of my element...just a little because I haven't worked with ginger bread before. And Laura thanks for the tip on trimming it down, that was not suggested in the directions I am using and I would have missed that! Thank you!
I bought a kit for $10 at the store... i admire your intentions but... ;o)
I know you are going the home made route, but a good alternative is graham crackers and either a hot glue gun or frosting as cement.
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We make a cookie house, making a house out of freezer boxes. We then reuse the house for the next year.
I doesn't really answer your question, sorry.
I don't know about the recipe/crumbliness of it, but after you roll it out and place your cut outs on the dough, cut it out and bake it, be sure to replace the cutouts on top of the hot, fresh out of the oven pieces and recut them. Gingerbread will "spread" while baking, making the walls of the house more round and thus, harder to ice together. It's nearly impossible to cut the walls after it has cooled. As for your original question, I would _think_ that adding a little more water or molasses would help...? Good luck and let us know how it turned out! :)
if it feels crumbly, you may want to try adding more of the "wet" ingredients. A little more molasses, a drop or two of water until it gets the consistency you want.
good luck!! it sounds like fun.
