Real Gingerbread

I have lots of cookbooks and lots of gingerbread recipes, but this one from King Arthur Flour is one of the best I've tasted in a l-o-n-g while (since Grandma Dovie made gingerbread!). Best of all, you can make this with whole wheat flour and you can't tell!

King Arthur Flour Gingerbread

• 2 1/4 cups King Arthur white whole wheat flour, or 2 cups King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground ginger
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon each cloves and nutmeg
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted
• 3/4 cup molasses
• 1/4 cup water
• 1 large egg
• 1 cup buttermilk
• 1/2 cup diced crystallized ginger (optional) <- I didn't use any of this
  

Directions:

1) Grease and flour a 9" square pan. Preheat the oven to 350°F. ( This was too thick for my taste in the 9-inch pan so I used a 12 x 7 or so dish.)

2) In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking soda, salt, ginger, cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg.

3) Melt the butter in a heatproof measuring cup. Add the molasses to the cup, and pour into the dry ingredients in the bowl, mixing to moisten.

4) Add the water, stirring until everything is moistened. Whisk together the egg and buttermilk. Stir into the batter until it's evenly combined. Stir in the crystallized ginger.

5) Pour the batter into the prepared pan, and bake for 30 to 35 minutes, until the cake just begins to pull away from the edge of the pan.

6) Remove from the oven and cool on a rack for 15 minutes before slicing; gingerbread is best served warm with whipped cream or ice cream.

You can find the original recipes with pictures here.