Gingered Bread

Catherine would like to have this for a snack in The Altarpiece!

About this recipe:
Difficulty: 1
Preparation Time: 10-12 minutes, 1 hour in the fridge.
Cooking Time: None
Number of servings: Makes 12-16 pieces
Serving suggestions: Serve at the end of a meal or as a snack.
This is a vegetarian recipe
Sweetmeats were served at the end of Tudor meals, marchpaine (marzipan) shapes were painted and guilded, marmelad ( a kind of set fruit sweet) and gingered bread were all served.
There are earlier versions of this recipe, although the Norman version is more like baklava being sticky and very honeyed. This Tudor version bridges the gap between the earlier kind and the more modern cake and biscuit forms.

Ingredients
• 1/2 lb (8 oz) (225g) of slightly stale bread, about 7 slices
• 1/2 pat butter (125g)
• 2 oz (50g) clear honey ( if you weigh the honey in the pan it is easier)
• 1/2 dessert spoon ginger
• 1/4 teaspoon of crushed pepper corns

Making and cooking it
1. Take off the crusts and roughly crumble the bread into a bowl
2. Rub the bread through your fingers to make fine crumbs
3. Melt the butter and honey together
4. Pour the melted mixture into the breadcrumbs
5. Add the spices and mix well to make a stiff dough
6. Line a tin or dish with baking parchment/paper
7. Scrape the dough into the lined dish
8. Leave to cool completely or put to cool in the fridge for an hour
9. Using the paper lift the gingered bread from the tin and slide off onto a cutiing board
10. Cut into squares, arrange on a plate and serve

With thanks to CookIt