Rye and Buckwheat Honey French Spice Bread
This Pain d’épices (French for “Spice Bread”) is an iconic French bread associated with the city of Reims, and beloved all over France. It is sold in bakeries, grocery stores, and of course in every Christmas market around the country. As per tradition, a real French Spice Bread should be made with only rye flour, and dark buckwheat honey as a sweetener (no sugar). You won’t find any butter in it, as it is indeed a bread – not a cake – far less sweet and much drier than its American…
- Prep time
- 15 min
- Cook time
- 50 min
- Yield
- 1 serving
- Difficulty
- MEDIUM
Ingredients
Quantities are shown as originally provided.
- 1 cup (340g) dark buckwheat honey
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- ½ cup (125ml) milk (2%)
- 2 cups (250g) rye flour (or 1 cup wheat flour + 1 cup rye flour)¾ tsp baking powder
- 2 eggs
- 1 pinch of salt
- 1 and ½ tsp (10.2g) ground cinnamon
- 1 and ½ tsp (7.5g) ground ginger
- ½ tsp (1.2g) ground nutmeg
- ½ tsp(3g) ground allspice
- ½ tsp (1.2g) ground cloves
- Optional: for the glaze 1 ½ cup (155g) icing sugar
- 1 ½ tbsp (22.5ml) water
Instructions
- 1
Preheat your oven to 350F (180C), with a rack in the middle.
- 2
In a sauce pan, warm up and dilute the honey and vanilla extract.
- 3
In a separate bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder and spices. Form a well in the middle and pour the warm honey in it. Mix with a wooden spoon.
- 4
Add in the eggs, one after another, and finally the milk. Mix until the milk is incorporated and the batter is smooth and shiny. Scrape the batter into a previously greased and floured pan (loaf pan, or circular).
- 5
Bake for 50 minutes to 1 hour, or until a knife comes out clean.
- 6
Unmold the bread and transfer it to a cooling rack.
- 7
Once the bread is at room temperature, wrap it with a cloth (or with foil) and keep aside for 24h, minimum, before eating it (This step allows the moisture from the honey to develop).
- 8
For the glaze (after the 24h) - In a small bowl, mix the icing sugar with the water to get a thick icing, quickly spread it at the top of the bread, and let it drip. Chill for at least 2 hours for the glaze to set.