Pain d'epices (French spice bread)

Pain d'epices is a classic French spiced bread that's easy to make with a lovely balance of flavors. It's gently sweet, warmly spiced, and perfect to snack on as it is, topped with butter, jam or even cheese. 

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Cooler weather and both baking and warm spice flavors definitely go together and I love the range of ways they come together in different cultures. We love some of the many spiced cookies, like German cinnamon stars (Zimtsterne) and Danish brunkager, as well as spiced breads and cakes like Dutch spice cake (Ontbijtkoek) and Polish piernik. 

This French quick bread is another wonderful example. While it comes with a few variations, like any traditional recipe, it's generally less sweet and is definitely more of a bread than a cake, as it has no eggs and usually no or very little butter. But it has a wonderful flavor from the blend of spices and honey, so is well worth a try!

Origins of pain d'epices

"Pain d'epices" translates as "spiced bread" and is sometimes called French gingerbread, though that can be misleading, given as I say it's less sweet and less cakey. It's most similar to Swedish limpa bread, just this has no yeast.

This traditional French loaf that can trace it's roots back to ancient times. In fact, some say it has it's roots in a Chinese honey bread called Mi-Kong made in the 10th century. The idea made it's way to France by the Crusades via Egypt, where a similar honey bread also became popular.

The original version was apparently just rye flour, honey and spices and the mixture was left to ferment (and so be a kind of sweet, spiced sourdough). These days, using raising agents is more common.

The bread has been commercially produced since at least the 15th century and became a specialty of Reims in the Northeast of France. However the industry there never recovered after WWI and so it's now Dijon that is known for making it.

This lovely loaf is also something that's made at home, particularly during the festive season. And since it's easy to make, I highly recommend trying it yourself.

Ingredients in French spice bread

As mentioned, you will find variations, but below are the ingredients I have used here that are relatively typical:

• Rye flour - this is probably one of the few more unusual ingredients for some, but it's actually more common an ingredient in Northern Europe. It adds a lovely depth of flavor to the loaf.
• All purpose flour (plain flour) - since rye has lower gluten forming capability, mixing it with regular wheat flour helps avoid the loaf being too dense.
• Baking powder, baking soda and salt - these combined help the loaf to rise. It's a relatively tight crumb but enough that it's not overly dense and heavy.
• French gingerbread spices - in France you would probably just add some "melange de pain d'épices" but here I have listed individual spices since you may not get your hands on that. The mix can vary, but generally includes cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, anise (also known as aniseed) and cloves. Some also include cardamom and/or black pepper. 
• Orange zest - just a little adds a lovely brightness to the flavor.
• Honey - this is the main sweetener which adds a lovely flavor to the loaf, too.
• Brown sugar - just a little helps with both sweetness and texture.
• Milk - this both brings it together and adds a little to the flavor.

Variations include some with more or less rye, some are sweeter and others glazed after baking. Some use water as the main liquid, but then often add butter. With water, you sometimes infuse it with orange peel and maybe whole spices as the honey and sugar dissolve to make a gently flavored syrup. To me, I find using orange zest in the mix and milk easier and just as effective.

Tips for making pain d'epices

This is a really straightforward loaf to make, but I would suggest a couple things to help it turn out well. First, be sure to line your loaf pan/tin to make it easier to remove the loaf after baking. Lightly butter the pan first and this will help the parchment stick in place.

Then, whisk together the dry ingredients in a latge bowl before you add the wet ingredients. This helps all the spices and raising agents be well distributed.

Next, warm the milk, honey and brown sugar so that the sugar and honey dissolve and everything is well combined. The honey is difficult to mix in evenly at room temperature, but mixes well when warm. Only warm just enough to dissolve rather than get it hot or boiling.

Add the orange zest to the milk once it has cooled a little - you don't really want to add the zest before as the milk mixture can easily curdle with the citrus zest in there. It's not pretty and so to save wasting ingredients, after is best. You still get the flavor coming through in the loaf, even without that extra infusing time.

Then, add the milk mixture to the dry ingredients and mix so everything is well combined. The raising agents will start to work immediately, so you want to find a balance between stirring out lumps of flour and not knocking out too many of the air bubbles that are forming. So try to fold, rather than beat, and work relatively quickly. Stop when it seems about there rather than over-mixing. 

Pour the mixture into the prepared pan, smooth the top then bake. 

Serving and storing

This bread is lovely to nibble on just baked and warm, but you can also enjoy it at room temperature. You can eat it just as it is, with a smear of butter or add some jam or a drizzle of honey. Being not-too-sweet it can also work with savory toppings, too, like cheese or pate. This means it can be a snack, breakfast or part of lunch!

As with most loaves, it is generally best on the first day but it does also keep pretty well for a few days. Store at room temperature, wrapped or in a container. If it is starting to go a little dry, then gently toast it and add some butter or other topping and it should still taste great.

Pain d'epices is a lovely spiced bread that's easy to make and versatile. It has a wonderful depth of flavor from honey, rye and an aromatic set of spices. The smell as it bakes is indeed a taste of what's to come! So be sure to give it a try soon and enjoy.

Try these other flavorful breads:

• Anadama bread (a lovely New England bread made with cornmeal and molasses)
• Chestnut bread rolls (made with part chestnut flour for a lovely gently nutty flavor)
• Cinnamon star bread (a little more of a project, but both pretty and tasty, with cinnamon filling layered in between bread layers)
• Plus get more bread recipes and French recipes in the archives.

See some of my favorite cooking tools and ingredients in the Caroline's Cooking Amazon store. 

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