Gingerbread
Ingredients
| 1 cup | milk |
| ½ cup | molasses |
| ½ cup | honey |
| ½ cup | butter, unsalted |
| 3½ cup | flour |
| 1 tsp. | salt |
| 2 tbsp.1 | cinnamon |
| 4 tsp.1 | ginger |
| ½ tsp. | black pepper, finely ground |
| 1½ tsp. | baking soda |
| ½ cup | white sugar |
| 1 | egg |
Directions
Preheat your oven to 350° F. Line a 9in. x 5in. loaf pan with parchment paper.
In a microwave safe container, combine your milk, molasses, honey and butter. Heat until the butter is mostly melted, then stir.2
In a large bowl, combine your flour, cinnamon, ginger, black pepper, and baking soda.
Add your white sugar and egg to your warmed wet ingredients and stir. Whisk the wet mixture into the dry mixture until smooth, then pour into your loaf pan.
Bake for 1 hour. You can tap the loaf to check if it is finished;3 The loaf will have a slight bounce when done. If the loaf jiggles, bake for another 10-15 min. and check again.
When the loaf is done, immediately remove from the pan, peel back the parchment paper, and let cool before cutting.
Notes
You can halve these quantities if you are using freshly ground seasonings.
Heating the wet ingredients is essential as the steam helps lighten the loaf. However, you do not want it to be so hot that it cooks your egg when you whisk it in later. If the butter has not all melted, then we know that the mixture will likely be cool enough.
You can alternatively check the loaf the standard way, with a toothpick or thin wooden dowel.