{"id":8507,"date":"2013-01-25T19:53:36","date_gmt":"2013-01-25T18:53:36","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/coquinaria.nl\/?p=8507"},"modified":"2019-12-01T13:40:41","modified_gmt":"2019-12-01T12:40:41","slug":"peperkoek-dutch-gingerbread","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/coquinaria.nl\/en\/peperkoek-dutch-gingerbread\/","title":{"rendered":"Peperkoek, the Dutch version of gingerbread"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"DutchA delicious treat<\/h2>\n
\n

This ‘pepper cake’ is very popular in the\u00a0Netherlands<\/span>, and is known under several other names, like\u00a0ontbijtkoek<\/em>\u00a0(breakfast cake) and\u00a0kruidkoek<\/em>\u00a0(spice cake<\/span>), or connected to regions like\u00a0Groninger koek<\/em>\u00a0or\u00a0Deventer koek<\/em>. It is promoted by the food industry as a healthy\u00a0snack<\/span>, because it contains no fat. However, sweeteners like honey and sugar constitute more than 50% of the total ingredients. So, whether you find this cake healthy or not depends on where your priorities lie.
\nThis recipe is published because\u00a0peperkoek<\/em>\u00a0is on of the ingredients in a Dutch beef stew, called\u00a0hachee<\/a>. Although gingerbread may be used as substitute, I wanted to provide you with the original recipe.\u00a0Peperkoek<\/em>\u00a0has ‘old roots’: the use of rye meal and honey indicate medieval origins. The spices that the cake is named after on the other hand, were only used in the kitchens of the rich in the Late Middle Ages. So, although peperkoek is now a common between-meals snack, it used to be a special and expensive treat!
\nThere are many modern variations on\u00a0peperkoek<\/em>, using refined wheat flour, using onmy sugar instead of honey, or adding butter and\/or (butter)milk. For this original recipe you’ll need patience. All those spices want to get to know each other before entering the oven! By letting the dough stand for a night the taste will be all the better.
\nFor a gingerbread\u00a0of 800 gr<\/span>; preparation in advance<\/em>\u00a010 minutes<\/span><\/span>, at least 12 hours rest, and again 10 minutes; preparation<\/em>\u00a060 minutes<\/span><\/span>.<\/p>\n

\"BeforeDough<\/em>
\n100 gr (\u00bd cup) sugar<\/span>
\n275 gr (\u00be cup) clear honey<\/span>
\n1\u00bc dl (\u00bd cup) water
\n350 gr\u00a0rye flour<\/span>
\n\u00bc to \u00bd tsp salt
\n3 Tbsp dark castor sugar
\n1 Tbsp (15 gr)\u00a0baking powder<\/span>
\n3\u00bd tsp\u00a0mixed spices<\/span>\u00a0(see below)
\nspices (everything powdered, together 1 Tbsp plus \u00bd tsp)<\/em>
\n1 tsp each of cardamom<\/a> en kaneel
\n\u00bd tsp ginger
\n\u00bc tsp each of cloves, nutmeg and black pepper
\n\u215b tsp each of aniseed and coriander seed
\nAnd for the top<\/em>
\noil or milk<\/p>\n

Preparation in advance<\/h3>\n

Put in a mixing bowl: rye flour, spices, baking powder, castor sugar and salt.
\nPut in a sauce pan: sugar, honey and water. Bring to a boil.
\nMix dry and liquid ingredients with an electric mixer with dough hooks until you have a firm dough. You can’t use your hands, because the dough initially will be very hot. Continue mixing (or kneading) for several more minutes.
\nDress a cake tin with parchment baking paper and fill with the dough. Because that is very firm, start with deposing some dough in the corners of the tin, then add the rest. Smooth the top over with a wet spoon. Cover with cling film and leave to stand for at least twelve hours. You can keep the dough in the refrigerator, but that is not really necessary.<\/p>\n

Preparation<\/h3>\n

Preheat the oven to 340 \u00b0F\/170 \u00b0C. Remove the cling film and coat the surface with oil or milk if you want to.
\nBake the cake in the middle of the oven for about 60 minutes. Check after 45 minutes, because not every oven works in the same way. You can also bake with a lower heat (300-320 \u00b0F\/150-160 \u00b0C), for a little longer (70 to 90 minutes).
\nRemove the cake from the oven, remove the baking paper and leave the cake to cool on a cake rack.<\/p>\n

\"ATo serve<\/h3>\n

Thickly spread with creamy butter! The crust is crunchy and firm, I love it that way. Spice cake keep for weeks if kept in an airtight box. Taste and structure will even become better with time. When you buy\u00a0peperkoek\u00a0<\/em>in a shop, the crust is always soft. That is because the cake is wrapped tightly immediately after baking, so the moisture can not escape.<\/p>\n

Variations<\/h3>\n

Replace 3\u00bd tablespoons (75 gram) honey with 2\u00bd tablespoons (40 gram) soft butter, and add 3 to 4 tablespoons chopped preserved ginger, hazelnuts, raisins or rock sugar.<\/p>\n

Alternatives<\/h3>\n

I have also taken a glance at German\u00a0Honigkuchen<\/em>\u00a0and American\u00a0gingerbread<\/em>. These are often made with wheat flour, but there also recipes using rye. These recipes often appear to have a Dutch or Belgian origin. But these cakes are often glazed, while\u00a0peperkoek<\/em>\u00a0is not.<\/p>\n

Ingredients<\/h2>\n

All descriptions of ingredients<\/a><\/p>\n

<\/a>Rye<\/h4>\n

This grain (Secale cereale<\/em>) originates in Central Asia, and reached Europe with travelling nomads as a weed in crops of wheat and barley. Rye was not cultivated as a separate crop since about 400 BC, which was much later than the grains it had travelled with. Rye grows on on poor soil and in cold climates, and was planted especially in Northern and Central Europe. Rye is low in gluten, that is why it is often combined with wheat to makea lighter bread. Rye bread is typically leavened with sourdough. Bread baked with wholegrain rye meal is black (or dark grey).
\nIn exceptionally wet seasons rye can be contaminated with a parasitic fungus, Egrot (Claviceps purpurea<\/em>). This fungus infests the grains and replaces them. It is very poisonous. If contaminated rye is harvested and used, it will cause hallucinations, aborted pregnancies, gangrene and even death. During the Middle Ages there were several outbreaks of ergotism, and it may have been a factor in the\u00a0witch trials in Salem<\/a>\u00a0in 1692. Ergotism is also known as Saint Anthony’s Fire.<\/p>\n

Recipe for Dutch ‘peperkoek’ (gingerbread)<\/em><\/span>
\n\u00a9 Author Christianne Muusers<\/span><\/small><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A delicious treat This ‘pepper cake’ is very popular in the\u00a0Netherlands, and is known under several other names, like\u00a0ontbijtkoek\u00a0(breakfast cake) and\u00a0kruidkoek\u00a0(spice cake), or connected to regions like\u00a0Groninger koek\u00a0or\u00a0Deventer koek. It is promoted by the food industry as a healthy\u00a0snack, because it contains no fat. However, sweeteners like honey and sugar constitute more than 50% of…<\/p>\n

Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":8520,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[96,107,165],"tags":[270,273,409,415],"class_list":{"0":"post-8507","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-traditional","8":"category-netherlands","9":"category-pastry","10":"tag-honing","11":"tag-honey","12":"tag-rogge","13":"tag-rye","14":"entry"},"acf":[],"modified_by":"Christianne","jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/coquinaria.nl\/wp-content\/uploads\/ontbijtkoek4kl.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/coquinaria.nl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8507","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/coquinaria.nl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/coquinaria.nl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/coquinaria.nl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/coquinaria.nl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8507"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/coquinaria.nl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8507\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":16275,"href":"https:\/\/coquinaria.nl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8507\/revisions\/16275"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/coquinaria.nl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/8520"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/coquinaria.nl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8507"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/coquinaria.nl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8507"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/coquinaria.nl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8507"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}