Literally baking wood in the kitchen!

After what feels like a lifetime of trying different gingerbread dough recipes, looking for the perfect dough for constructing a gingerbread house, I think I may have the perfect recipe.

I rolled and baked two large rectangles and let them sit on my kitchen counter-top in the rainy damp Pacific Northwest… and low and behold… they are still hard as rock!

We have a winner!

This dough does not require a mixer. It’s simple to make with a sauce pan, large mixing bowl, and a little bit of muscle.

Construction Grade Gingerbread Dough

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Recipe by Loreta Wilson / GingerbreadArtist Course: GingerbreadCuisine: Gingerbread HouseDifficulty: Beginner

This recipe makes enough dough for

484

square inches rolled 1/4″ thick

Construction Grade Gingerbread Dough

Ingredients

2 cup (680 g) Corn Syrup (light or dark)
1 1/2 cup (330 g) brown Sugar
1 1/4 cup (256 g) Shortening
Dry ingredients
9 cups (1,152 g) All-Purpose flour
4 tsp (9.2 g) ground Cinnamon
2 tsp (4.2 g) ground Cloves
1/2 tsp (3 g) Salt

Directions

In a medium saucepan, heat corn syrup, brown sugar, and shortening.
Stir mixture over medium heat until shortening is melted.
Continue to cook until full boil. Remove from heat and let sit until cool enough to handle (approx. 15-30 min).
In a large mixing bowl, combine all dry ingredients.
Make a well in the middle of dry ingredients, and add warm wet mixture.
Mix dough with a wooden spoon or sturdy spatula. Continue to mix until well incorporated.
Kneed dough by hand until combined and dough is smooth (about 10 rotations).
Kneed dough until a dough is smooth, and can shape into a ball.
Divide dough in half and flatten, placing each half in a sandwich zip-lock bag to keep from drying out. Repeat recipe until enough batches of dough have been made as per template instructions.
This recipe makes enough dough to roll-out approx. 484 square inches @ 1/4” thick
Roll and cut pieces according to template. (The Best Gingerbread Templates are available at www.gingerbreadbydesign.com)
Bake gingerbread pieces at 350 F (176 C), for 15-30 minutes (depending on size) or until pieces are firm and light brown around the edges.