Homemade gingerbread has its own edible attraction. It can be counted as an impressive centerpiece which is not at all difficult to make and is a great holiday activity. It also proves out to be a great way to involve the children in the festive feel of holidays. Once you have created the basic frame, you just have to let the kids get on with the decoration part. Hand them some candies and see how their imagination gets going.
By following a list of instructions you can make sure that the gingerbread house turns out perfect for them.
Instructions for perfect gingerbread house:
Gingerbread house construction will be close to the real housebuilding concept. However, it’s important to plan everything well in advance. Make gingerbread well before so that it’s cool and dry before it can be consumed. Tips and instructions are:
1. Start by cutting the structural templates in a basic manner by using a poster board. Tap the pieces and if they stay as designed through the poster board then the gingerbread house is structurally safe.
2. A plain box house sounds really safe but its not at all important to limit oneself. One can try various shapes ranging from an igloo to the Victorian farmhouse etc. To reduce the construction issues, one can even use a loaf mold which makes it really easy to shape a house.
3. For the base of gingerbread house one can use plywood pieces covered with foil. Or even a platter or baking tray would be great. The movement of the structure truly matters and the easier it is, lesser are the chances of damaging it.
4. Templates should be cut keeping in mind the dimensions of the gingerbread house which should be restricted within 12 by 15 inches of the baking sheet.
5. The dough should be 3/8 inches thick at the maximum scale. If you are planning on baking a house that is bigger than 6 inches square, then use a dough which is 1/4 inch in thickness and for smaller gingerbread houses go for 1/8 inch thickness. The walls that are weight bearing should be comparatively thicker.
6. For an icing covered wall, it’s best to thin out the icing material by using water and then spread it over gently. The icing should be left to dry out. Use a pastry bag to apply glue icing which should rest for 30 minutes to set well resulting in a more stable structure.
7. During the assembling part you can use a generous amount of icing glue to the side of joint and hold firmly. For more stability you can use icing glue to the base walls.
8. For decorating the gingerbread house with icing you can use a pastry bag with different decorating patterns. You can fill the gaps and errors with candy decorations. Clean out drips and smudges using a damp clean towel.
9. Candy decorations can be applied using icing on the candies underside while holding it in place until it sets in.
10. You can use scraps of dough to roll out additional cut-outs that can be applied with icing glue. Impress designs with these cut outs before baking the structure.
