I know I don't 'have access to the formula, methods, and equipment used in the production of this cookie', so I'm asking what could be the reason for these symptoms I've written about.
The taste of the gingerbread is fine. The problem is with the texture. The bottom comes off in the baked dough and it is too compact (dense) and does not melt in the mouth.
Maybe I should actually buy potato starch. I was currently using potato flour and it is not the same. Thank you very much for the tips.
It's interesting what you write about the gingerbread dough standing for several weeks before being baked.
They are not on sourdough, but on sodium or ammonium carbonate.
I think I also took too much water, because the weight of the products with water was, for example, 1250 g, and after baking it was 1150 g.
So the water in the finished product is 13%, and it should be no more than 5%, since they don't list it in the ingredients.
One more thing.
This recipe has supposedly been unchanged for about 250 years.
My guess is that the machinery and product so many years ago were not that advanced and sophisticated. They could probably have been close to what an ordinary person has access to at home.
Given the ingredients list it is unlikely the recipe has remained completely unchanged for 250 years. For example, citric acid wasn’t commercially produced until 1919 —144 years after the company was founded. Similarly, “colour (caramel)” didn’t see industrial use until the 19th century, beginning in the brewing industry to give beer a deeper color.
Unfortunately, the separating dough is anyone’s guess given the possible contributing factors: the formula ratios are off, the mixing technique wrong, excessive leavening, incorrect hydration level, baking temperature, or even a combination of these. The list of ingredients is a reflection of a commercial formula and process, so it cannnot be reverse engineered into a home recipe and proccess.
Sodium bicarbonate (baking soda) plays multiple roles in baking beyond leavening. It helps reduce acidity, which is especially important in fermented doughs that naturally become more acidic over time. It also affects color development—this is why it’s used in a variety of food applications beyond baking, like as a color enhancers in caramel candy production. It also contributes to a tender texture by preventing the dough from becoming tough or chewy. So its inclusion is not an indicator of leavening.
It’s completely understandable to associate fermentation with sourdough, since that’s where many of us first encounter the concept. But fermentation isn’t just about leavening—it’s primarily used to develop flavor and improve texture. For example, I bake sourdough bread several times a week and always do a long, cold fermentation overnight. Once the dough goes into the refrigerator, it stops rising—and that’s exactly what I want. The purpose of that 12-hour fermentation isn’t to create more lift; it’s to build depth of flavor and a better crumb.
Both German and Polish gingerbread traditionally involve fermentation for flavor, texture, and color. You can find more on this by searching terms like:
• “Polish Toruń gingerbread fermentation”
• “German and Polish tradition of gingerbread fermented dough”
Lastly, just a bit of clarification on a couple of the ingredients. Potato starch is not the same as potato flour and caramel coloring is not the same ascaramelized sugar.
Potato starch is starch extracted from potatoes, while potato flour is made from dried whole potatoes. The cannot be used interchangeably.
The characteristics of any starch depends on the variety of plant used. Each variety of potato will produce a unquie potato starch.
It's important to understand that retail starches differ from those produced commercially. This video linked below demonstrates the different characteristics of different starches, even those from the same plant source.
Colour (caramel) is a water suspension food color, not caramelized sugar. You can read more about caramel color from the link below. The sugar source for caramel color can come from a variety of different plants, so it is not table sugar. A water based food color can change the texture of a dough or batter since it adds water. I don’t know how you’re adding caramelized sugar to your dough as an ingredient in place of caramel color. But sugar has more functions than just sweetening. So additional sugar can effect the texture since even caramelized, sugar retains its hygroscopic properties.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caramel_color
