Christmas in France is all about food and at this time of year you see supermarket shelves and market stalls groaning with piles of delicious festive specialities. One of these, found at no other time of year, is pain d’épices. This tasty pâtisserie comes in various guises, but what exactly is it? Literally translated, it is “spice bread”, though it’s often described in English as gingerbread.
Origins of Pain d’Epices
Pain d’épices (also spelled pain d’épice in singular) has ancient origins dating as far back as Antiquity. The Egyptians, Romans and Greeks all had versions of honey bread though today’s version has more in common with a bread made with honey and aromatic plants from 10th century China. The Crusades in the 12th and 13th centuries brought the recipe to Europe in particular Germany and north-east France with the first mention of a “pain d’espessez” in 1372 and “pain d’épices” in 1530.
Pain d’Epices in France today
Pain d’épices these days in France is sort of a cross between bread and cake, and a little different from gingerbread as we know it in the UK and USA. In its most basic form it is baked as a loaf, made from very few ingredients and is quite dry. However, it also comes in festive shapes, such as stars, hearts and figures. In this case there are more ingredients, it’s softer, less dry and often sweeter.
Let’s look at the traditional loaf first which consists of rye flour, honey, baking powder and spices (star anise, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, cloves and pepper). That’s it, no eggs or fat, the honey provides the liquid. This version, traditionally from the town of Reims, is often eaten sliced with foie gras, the controversial duck or goose fattened liver that is such an integral part of many a festive meal in France.
Photo credit: Wikimedia Commons
For a sweeter, more cakey pain d’épices it can be made with the above ingredients plus egg, butter and ground almonds. This version is often shaped into stars, hearts, Saint Nicolas, Christmas trees, Santa etc and decorated with icing sugar or dipped in chocolate. It is more like gingerbread as found in other parts of the world and especially resembles German lebkuchen. Like this it is very popular at Christmas markets and produced mainly in Alsace.
Pain d’épices, gingerbread, lebkuchen, Polish piericzki, Swedish pepparkakor and so on are all variations of a similar festive treat, popular in many places around the world. Have you eaten pain d’épices and do you have a favourite version of this spicy, gingery cake? I’d love to hear about your Christmas food specialities.
Find out more about food at Christmas in France:
13 Desserts: Christmas in Provence
Vin Chaud – a Festive Winter Drink
How to Make Galette des Rois, Traditional Epiphany Cake
School Christmas Dinner in France
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I have never had pain d’épices before! But it looks so delicious, will have to try this next 😍
Bread is my kryptonite, especially a tasty bread. I don’t think I’ve tried Pain d’Epices but now I must! it looks so delicious, especially the ones that look like doughnuts. 😁
Interesting! I’d like to taste these French breads.
I love Christmas and all the baked goodies that go with it. I’ve never had Pain d’Epices before, but I would definitely try it.
I’ve never tried Pain d’Epices but it looks really delicious! Hope to visit those markets in France.
Love reading about new foods! This looks so yummy! Cant wait to try! Thanks for sharing.
-Sondra Barker
I’ve never had this before but it looks so yummy! What a fabulous treat! I wish I could travel to France and try their local cuisines and sweets.
I’ve never had gingerbread, but I’ve always wondered about it, especially with all the stories that are centered around it. It was very interesting to learn of Pain d’Epices and its origins as well as the different ways to make it. In Barbados, around Christmas we make what is called ‘ great cake’ or ‘black cake’. It’s a cake soaked in rum and made with loads of crushed fruits, especially raisins and cherries and served with glazed ham.
Pain d’épices sounds divine. We have a similar type of spice bread that we like to make. Its so neat to see others countries have different type of spiced bread though.
I love learning about different cultures and trying new foods. This is really cool!
I missed being able to visit the markets this year. Let’s hope this December is a bit more normal
I’ve never heard of, or tried, pan d’epices but I’m very keen to try it out. It looks and sounds very delicious. Dipped in chocolate sounds perfect!