The Science of Gingerbread Houses

[pooleparty]

Here's a question for all you food chemistry eggheads: If the goal is sturdiness and long shelf life (unaided by non-edible support structures), not taste, then what aspect of a gingerbread house dough recipe is most important? Submitted for your approval are a collection of multifarious recipes, all of which are reputed to be the perfect concoction for making gingerbread houses:

1.) Teresa Layman's Recipe (Author of Gingerbread for All Seasons)

http://www.vegsource.com/talk/veganism/messages/953365.html

2.) Deni's Deluxe Dough (Top 10 finalist at the Grove Park Inn National Gingerbread House Competition)

http://home.comcast.net/~frankysattic/denidough.htm

3.) Christina Banner's Recipe (Grand Prize winner of the GPI competition and Food Network Challenge winner)

http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/recipes/re...6_32442,00.html

4.) Elizabeth Prioli's Recipe (Grand Prize winner of the GPI competition)

http://www.cottageliving.com/cottage/food/...1127969,00.html

5.) Good Housekeeping Recipe ("Nettie's Gingersnap Dough" printed year after year in the annual Christmas issue)

http://www.goodhousekeeping.com/recipefind...read-dough-1571

6.) Pastry Chef Central ("The finished baked items will not absorb moisture nor become dry and brittle!")

http://www.pastrychef.com/Gingerbread-House_ep_105.html

But what is it that really makes one recipe superior to another? Are the specific ingredients used the most important element for success, or is it the ratios of those ingredients to each other? Or, is the mixing method the key to success? One recipe claims honey outlasts molasses, some recipes use margarine not shortening, some use eggs and some don't. Some recipes use roughly equivalent amounts, by weight, of fat and sugar, others use more sugar than fat. One recipe uses very little viscous sweetener, while others use a lot. Some recipes cream the fats and sugars like regular cookie dough, others melt the fats with the syrup/sugar and still another recipe skips this step altogether and uses oil.

Based on your knowledge of baking chemistry, what is paramount to gingerbread house success? Is it the specific ingredients used, the ratios utilized, or the mixing method? Or am I barking up the wrong tree altogether? Does it all come down to environmental conditions (humidity) or technique (architecturally sound house design, coating the gingerbread with royal icing, or using an edible fixative, etc.)?

Looking forward to this discussion!

E.

[HQAntithesis]

I think, to begin with, there are certain environmental factors that would increase the shelf life of the gingerbread house and those that would decrease it. Exposure to air, humidity and light would be somewhat detrimental to the gingerbread. Fats become rancid faster than oils do, so, if everything else was constant within the recipe and environmental conditions then the oil one would be better with shelf life. Perhaps it may be a little less sturdy if it were to be held in a higher humidity environment?

Dense gingerbread would fare better too. It's more difficult for air, light and moisture to penetrate. The density of the final product would be affected by the mixing method (whether the fats are creamed, and if the mixture is worked after adding the eggs).

As for ingredients, it's a balancing act I suppose. With each ingredient playing a part: I'm not totally familiar with the action of each ingredient though. Sugar: Initially a brittleness, adds density, increases rate of moisture absorption. Fats/oils: increases softness and friability, decreases rate of moisture absorption, if it contains an emulsifier it would give a lighter product which again changes things. Invert sugars: gives softer result than sugar initially but does not increase rate of moisture absorption over time like sugar?

[gfron1]

I'm also interested since I gave up making these years ago after numerous warped walls, uneven lines (post baking) and general unsturdiness of the cookie. Surely someone has played with various sugars, flours, baking temps/times, etc.

[reenicake]

I have not made one of these in years, but it comes to mind that for construction purposes, a dough that has a lot of structure (IE gluten) and does not change in texture much between rolling and baking would be best -- I am thinking liquid fat, bread flour, liquid sweetener. You don't need or want aeration/puffiness so no creaming. Basically a pane morte with spices (for that suitable gingerbread smell)... and low, slow baking to dry out without coloring/caramelization, and even drying, possibly baking on a vented sheet pan or turning halfway through to prevent warping.

[JeanneCake]

How long do you want this to last? Just through the holiday season? Or for years? That's when storage will make a difference I would think and all those environmental factors come into play.

I have two recipes, one from RLB, with butter, which I use for the cookies and have used for houses with good success; and the other with veg shortening and works pretty well too.

And, Rob - for making the wall/roof, etc edges fit tight, I use a microplane to even things out and make sure there are no gaps before I start gluing. For the mortar, I've used white chocolate (Felchlin Ultra Gloss because I use it for cookies); royal icing and hot glue (for the non-edible versions.)

[pooleparty]

How long do you want this to last?  Just through the holiday season?  Or for years?  That's when storage will make a difference I would think and all those environmental factors come into play.

For the record, I have traditionally used Teresa Layman's recipe. I have had houses that collapsed after two days, after two weeks and after two months. I've also had a few houses that have survived for years on end without the aid of any special storage conditions (stuck on a high kitchen shelf uncovered, collecting dust, and generally becoming disgusting). One witch's cottage, crafted by my daughter in her kindergarten year, met its end last month only because we finally convinced our now eight-year-old that it had to go.

Last year we made two houses with the Pastry Chef Central recipe and both houses lasted all year, without absorbing moisture or becoming dry and brittle, just as the recipe claimed. We convinced our daughter to toss them, but had we not I expect that both houses would have lasted a very long time.

I guess that is sort of what got me thinking about this topic. What is it about the chemistry of the Layman recipe that yields shelf lives of such varying lengths? What is it about the make up of the Pastry Chef Central recipe that the final product didn't absorb moisture or become brittle?

All six of the recipes I cited in the original post seem to be radically different from each other. Yet they all claim to be the perfect formula for sturdy houses. I am interested in understanding the science behind the gingerbread and I appreciate the responses I've received so far.

Any other thoughts on the subject?

Edited November 13, 2007 by pooleparty (log)