Torun Gingerbread
Pierniki Torunskie
The most famous “made in Torun” products are the Torun gingerbreads – aromatic cookies
made from top quality flour, exceptional honey and oriental spicy flavouring.
The tradition of baking gingerbread in the town of Copernicus is almost as long as its history.
In the past Hanseatic Torun was located at the crossing of the most important European
trade routes, therefore there were no problems with transporting from the Levant countries
some indispensable ingredients such as ginger, cloves, cinnamon, cardamom, nutmeg, etc.
The Torun masters of gingerbread craft jealously guarded the secrets of their product. The
recipes were kept secret not only from the competition from Nürnberg or Königsberg,
where one attempted reproducing the excellent taste of the gingerbread from Torun, but
also from other gingerbread bakers from Torun. Today the only immediate heir and
continuator of the great Torun tradition of gingerbread making is the Confectionery Factory
"Copernicus" S.A. which was established in 1760 by Jan Weese (Fabryka Cukiernicza
"Kopernik" S.A.).
The present technologies of gingerbread baking are based on the old recipes and methods
which date back to the 16th century. Furthermore, gingerbread is still baked in the
traditional shape of carriages, coats of arms, knights, townsmen and townswomen at work,
hearts and, first of all, Katarzynki, which is one of the most famous Torun gingerbread and
there are several beautiful legends about it.
The Torun gingerbread, as the only true one, is sold all over the world. Because of its
sophisticated taste and quality, since the Middle Ages prominent guests have been
presented with gingerbread designed especially for them. Among the others, Pope John
Paul II received such a gift (gingerbread in the shape of the heliocentric system known from
the work of Nicholas Copernicus "De Revolutionibus…"), gingerbread was also given to
presidents, emperors, kings and Nobel prize winners who visited Torun.
Ala’s Christmas
G i nge r b r e a d
(for 100 cookies)
Ingredients:
1 egg
550 g flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
300 g honey
40-50 g spice for gingerbread
(cinnamon, ginger)
100 g caster- sugar
200 g butter
Cocoa (optionally)
Warm honey and then combine with other ingredients , stir till the dough becomes
uniform. Roll the dough out on a surface lightly dusted with flour to 2-3 millimeters
thickness . Cut out shapes as you wish and put on a baking sheet. Preheat the oven to
180 degrees C. Put the cookies into the oven and bake for 7 minutes. Let gingerbread
cool completely before you decorate it. For decorating you can use warmed chocolate
or sugar-icing. Store the gingerbread cookies in single layers between sheets of waxed
paper in airtight containers. They are the best after fortnight.