What's Pressoir Cooking? Pain d'Epices

by Victoire Chabert

December 7, 2022

This delicacy, whose name directly translates as “spiced bread”, is made with rye flour, wheat flour, or a combination of the two. There are as many variations of the recipe for pain d’épices as there are regions in France, but the two most famous are the original from Reims, made with dark rye flour and without the addition of milk and eggs, and a version from Dijon made with wheat flour. The most commonly used spices for pain d’épices are cardamom, cloves, nutmeg, ginger, and anise, the last of which is used especially in the Dijon version, while the Reims version always requires at least a pinch of cinnamon. Orange and lemon zest are also added in other regional variants of the recipe. Honey is the most important part of the recipe, and the variety of honey used should, therefore, be carefully chosen, as its aroma will dominate the taste of the bread. Many recipes suggest that rich kinds of honey like pine honey work best. The following recipe is my aunt’s, who has cooked it for all the end of year celebrations since my childhood and which, to this day, remains for me the best.

Ingredients :

250g (2 ½ cups) of rye flour or wheat flour or a mix of both.

125g (1/2 cup) brown sugar

1 tsp baking soda

1 egg 

1 tsp of ground cinnamon

 (1 tsp) of 5 different spices like for example : 

1 tsp of oregano

1 tsp of ground ginger

1 tsp of ground anise

1/2 tsp of ground cloves

1/2 tsp of ground nutmeg

half a packet of yeast (8 g)

175g (2/4 cup) real honey (flower honey)

170 ml (3/4 cup) milk

50 ml (¼ cup) oil 

Bonus : 

These are ingredients that are not necessarily put in the mixture, but add amazing flavor and texture to the bread. One can put any fruit or nuts according to their preferences, or add dried apricots, plums, almonds, and nuts, which are most commonly used in modern variations of pain d'epices. It is important to mix them evenly and keep the amount of fruits and nuts up to around 20% of the batter. You can also add orange zest.

Mix and beat in a food processor preferably but works well by hand - for a good 10 minutes. 

Bake at 150C for 45 minutes (depending on your oven)

Although spice bread is a treat in itself, it is a perfect accompaniment to sweet and savory recipes such as foie gras, salmon, rillettes, duck, as an aperitif.

Cheeses such as Roquefort and Bleu d'Auvergne will be even better with the flavor of honey. To cleanse the palate, tea, cider or Champagne are a common choice, although sweet white wines can make an excellent aperitif. To enjoy gingerbread for breakfast, put butter, jam and fruit on the toast and serve it alongside a cup of hot coffee.