How to handle the gingerbread dough

There are different types of gingerbreads, such as gingerbread & honey cookies, just honey cookies, those with citrus fruits or on the burnt sugar base (so-called “roes”) and many other options!

We will talk about the honey gingerbread cookies for painting, and for making gingerbread houses and compositions!

Here are some rules:

• It is not necessary to roll the dough thinly; otherwise the gingerbreads will be brittle and hard.
• The roll-out should be approximately 4-5 mm (0.2 inch) thick.
• Roll out the dough on a floured table (oilcloth); you better do it with a plastic or a silicone rolling pin, so the dough will not stick.
• Cut out the shapes from the dough with a sharp knife, a cutter or a scalpel.
• Transfer the finished cut out blank with a large wide spatula (that you usually use to level the cakes) on a baking sheet covered with the baking paper in advance. The gingerbread leaves the paper easily after baking.

THE SECRET OF BEAUTIFUL FLAT GINGERBREADS FOR PAINTING AND MAKING GINGERBREAD HOUSES WALLS

• The secret is simple: after baking and separating the gingerbread from the paper, place it on a flat surface, and press it slightly over the entire area with a cutting board. The gingerbread will become flat.
• Cool the gingerbread cookies on a flat surface. After complete cooling, the gingerbread cookies can be stacked on top of each other and put away in a dry, dark place.
• Store the gingerbread cookies before painting, preferably in cardboard or tin boxes.
• Another softness secret: if it seems to you that it has dried out, put the gingerbread cookies in a container, and place some fresh apple slices there; close and leave overnight. The gingerbread will absorb all the moisture and will be soft again.
• So, you have baked and cooled the gingerbread. What is the next stage? Right, it’s painting! You can use the ready-made icing (to save time and effort).
• There are also those who prefer homemade icing from the raw egg whites. By the way, many chefs are afraid of it, precisely because of the raw egg whites, but it's not as scary as it may seem.

ARGUMENTS FOR THOSE WHO ARE AFRAID OF RAW EGG WHITES IN THE ICING

1. In modern production facilities, eggs are processed with some special formulations that practically exclude the ingress of eggs with salmonella on the store counter.
2. Before cooking the icing, it is highly recommended to wash the egg well with soap and treat it with vinegar, as salmonella is afraid of acid.
3. There is such a large amount of powdered sugar in icing, plus the acid (lemon juice), so salmonella simply has nowhere to develop under such conditions.

Well, if these arguments didn’t convince you, then ready-made icing is your option.