What is the best gingerbread recipe ratio?

A classic gingerbread uses roughly equal parts butter and sugar (by weight), with flour at about twice the sugar weight. Golden syrup binds everything together and adds chewiness. The standard recipe is 350g flour, 175g butter, 175g sugar, 1 egg, and 4 tablespoons of golden syrup.

How thick should I roll gingerbread dough?

For biscuits that are crispy but not too hard, roll to about 4-5mm. For decoration gingerbread (like gingerbread houses), roll to 5-6mm for sturdier pieces. For thin, snappy gingerbread, roll to 3mm. Use rolling guides or spacers for even thickness.

Should I chill the dough before cutting?

Yes, always chill gingerbread dough for at least 30 minutes (ideally 1-2 hours) before rolling. This makes it much easier to handle and cut clean shapes. If the dough softens while cutting, pop it back in the fridge for 10 minutes.

How do I make gingerbread soft rather than crunchy?

For softer gingerbread, reduce the baking time slightly (check at 8 minutes), increase the golden syrup by 1-2 tablespoons, and store the cooled biscuits in an airtight tin with a slice of bread — the moisture from the bread softens them over 1-2 days.

What spices go in gingerbread?

The essential spice is ground ginger (2 teaspoons per standard batch). Common additions include ground cinnamon (1 teaspoon), mixed spice or allspice (half teaspoon), ground cloves (quarter teaspoon), and ground nutmeg (quarter teaspoon). Adjust to your taste.

How long does gingerbread keep?

Undecorated gingerbread biscuits keep for up to 2 weeks in an airtight tin. Iced gingerbread keeps for about a week. Unbaked dough can be refrigerated for 3 days or frozen for up to 3 months — defrost in the fridge overnight before rolling.

BakeCalcs

Gingerbread Calculator

Calculate ingredient quantities for gingerbread dough by number of pieces or total dough weight.

Calculate By

Number of Gingerbread Pieces

Medium-sized shapes (~40g each)

How We Calculate This

This calculator scales a traditional gingerbread recipe based on the number of pieces you want or a target dough weight. The recipe uses the classic combination of butter, sugar, golden syrup, and warming spices.

Base Recipe (~20 gingerbread pieces)

Plain flour: 350g
Butter: 175g
Light brown sugar: 175g
Egg: 1 medium
Golden syrup: 4 tbsp (~80g)
Ground ginger: 2 tsp (~8g)
Ground cinnamon: 1 tsp (~4g)
Bicarbonate of soda: 1 tsp (~4g)

Method Summary

Melt butter, sugar, and golden syrup together
Mix flour, spices, and bicarb, then combine with the wet mixture and egg
Chill, roll, cut shapes, and bake at 180°C for 10-12 minutes

Frequently Asked Questions

Related Calculators

Cookie Batch Calculator

Calculate ingredient quantities for a specific number of cookies based on dough weight per cookie.

Biscuit Cutter Yield Calculator

Calculate how many biscuits you can cut from rolled dough based on cutter size and dough area.

Baking Tray Capacity Calculator

Calculate how many cookies or biscuits fit on a baking tray with spacing.

Shortbread Calculator

Calculate butter, sugar, and flour quantities for shortbread using the classic ratio.

Cookie Dough Ball Weight Calculator

Calculate the weight per dough ball for uniform cookies from a total batch weight.

Last updated: February 2026

All calculations are based on standard ratios and conversions. Results may vary with specific ingredients, equipment, and conditions.