🍞 Pain d'Épices
Pain d'épices is a French honey spice bread made with rye flour, honey and warm spices such as cinnamon, ginger, anise and cloves, enriched with egg and a little butter. It bakes into a dense, moist loaf with a dark crust and a fragrant, gently sweet crumb that improves after a day or two. It is sliced thin and eaten at breakfast or with tea, especially around Christmas.
Diets
Allergens
Contains (in a typical recipe):
What it is made of
Recipe
Ingredients
- 250 g honey
- 250 g rye flour
- 2 tsp mixed spices (cinnamon, ginger, anise, cloves)
- 1 egg
- 40 g butter
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 100 ml water
- 1 pinch salt
Method
- Warm the honey, butter and water in a pan until melted; let cool slightly.
- Mix the rye flour, spices, baking soda and salt in a bowl.
- Pour in the honey mixture, add the egg and stir into a smooth, thick batter.
- Pour into a lined loaf tin and bake at 160 °C for 50–60 minutes until a skewer comes out clean.
- Cool completely and wrap; it slices best the next day.
How to make it lighter
- Cut thin slices of about 40–50 g and enjoy them with tea rather than spread with extras.
- It is sweet and dense, so one slice can replace a dessert.
- Pair a slice with fruit for a more filling snack.
History
Honey spice breads were made across medieval Europe, and in France the towns of Reims and Dijon became known for pain d'épices; Dijon is still closely associated with it. In Alsace it is a traditional part of Christmas markets.
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Values are estimates per 100 g for a typical recipe; home and restaurant versions vary. Diets and allergens are worked out from the ingredients of a typical recipe — always check with whoever cooked the dish. Not medical advice. Nutrition data: Me Nutrition dish database v13. How we count →