Sunday, Nov. 01, 2009

What has frosted walls and a gumdrop roof? It's gingerbread time in Belleville

Making a gingerbread house has gone so far beyond four walls glued together with icing and a gumdrop roof. That's especially true if you plan to enter the 20th Annual Gingerbread Contest in downtown Belleville.

With more than $2,500 in prizes given out among five categories, from Masters to Childrens, entries can be downright astounding and amusing in their architecture and creativity.

If you're thinking of giving it a go during this year's stellar contest, the deadline to register is Nov. 20, with judging Nov. 21.

Tan fliers with registration forms and information are available at many downtown Belleville businesses, plus you can register online at www.bellevillemainstreet.net/gingerbread.htm. To help you along on your journey to making a winning gingerbread creation, photographer Derik Holtmann has spent some time in the kitchen with Rosmarie Edwards of Swansea, who has won a variety of awards in the contest, including honorable mention last year in the Master's category. Derik videotaped Rosmarie's progress building a gingerbread creation (not for this competition), from model to near-completion.

You can see her handiwork below. Look for more steps, video and photos here and online in the upcoming weeks.

Gingerbread house: Phase 1

Gingerbread: Phase 2

Here are some tips and the recipe for gingerbread that has been adapted from the contest flier:

GINGERBREAD RECIPE

6 3/4 cups bread flour

1 tablespoon ground cinnamon*

2 teaspoons ground ginger*

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 cups corn syrup

1 1/2 cups brown sugar

1 cup margarine

Place all dry ingredients in a mixing bowl and set aside.

In a heavy saucepan over medium heat, combine margarine and corn syrup. Melt together with brown sugar.

Add to dry ingredients and combine well in mixer. If dough is loose, add flour. If too stiff, add water in small amounts until desired consistency is achieved. The dough should be firm and elastic. (Rosmarie mixes by hand.)

Remove dough from mixer and wrap in plastic wrap to keep it from drying out. Refrigerate.

Roll to desired thickness on floured surface or parchment paper. Bake in preheated 350 degree oven 10-15 minutes, or until edges turn dark brown. Remove from oven and let cool on rack. At this point, it is important to let your gingerbread dry for several days before you begin assembly.

*If making for a contest, you can omit these ingredients; no one is going to taste your gingerbread!

Getting started tips

Use paper to sketch your idea.

Make a rough 3-D mock-up and place on your base.

Use gingerbread recipe from contest brochure (shown here)

When cooking corn syrup, margarine and sugar, warm the mixture up just enough to melt margarine and dissolve sugars. Do not boil.

Mix dough by hand and try not to add too much flour; dough needs to be just tacky enough not to stick to surface.

Cool wrapped dough in refrigerator.

When you are ready to use dough, bring it to room temperature.

Roll dough on parchment paper, which allows you to move dough without it sticking or cracking.

Use a dowel rod to roll out your dough. This will help make the dough even and help eliminate waste.

Use a sharp knife to cut out your patterns.