French Spice Bread: A Happy Blend of Gingerbread & Spice Cake

The French Pain d’Épices is a yeast-free, dense, quick bread that is reminiscent of both gingerbread and spice cake. The words “pain d’épices” are French for “spice bread”, literally translated as, “bread of spices”. What make it unique are the additions of dark rye flour and one cup of honey. My version includes chopped candied ginger adding a boost of spice, chewiness, and sweetness. Make this bread ahead of time and serve, or gift it during the holidays.

The Original French Spice Bread

Pain d’Épices recipes vary throughout the different regions in France. The original base of a Pain d’Épices recipe included rye flour, honey, and, of course, spices. Years later, milk and egg were added along with different flours and sugars. The recipe I’m sharing with you brings it all together into a great tasting bread with hints of flavors from many different French regions to include all of these ingredients and more, along with my love for candied ginger.

My Inspiration for Pain d’Épices

You know my love and affection for everything French. If you need a refresher, see my blog on making French Baguettes or watch my YouTube video with me speaking French. That’s why I chose a career as a French teacher and studied in France.

I remember eating French Pain d’Épices when I was a student living in Orléans, France. I would buy it in the store and take it home to eat for a snack. When I started this baking adventure, I knew someday I would make this bread, just like I knew I would make baguettes and eventually croissants and brioche. For me, these breads represent memories of my multiple trips to France and love for French cuisine… people, culture, history, language, etc. 😊

My Version of Pain d’Épices

When I was looking for inspiration to create my version of Pain d’Épices, I discovered so many different variations. After looking at many recipes and reading more about the history of this bread, I couldn’t pick one region of France to focus on with regard to flavors. So, I opted for an all-encompassing version that included the bells and whistles of French spice bread touching on many of the French regions. That explains the dairy, egg, part rye flour, mostly honey, and crystallized ginger. I honestly just wanted to create a flavorful bread that was indulgent, rich, spicy, sweet, a little nostalgic, and everything holiday. That’s where my recipe begins… or ends. 😉

Fun Fact! Original Versions of this Bread were SOURDOUGH Based!

Yes! Huh? French Pain d’Épices actually started out as a sourdough bread. Rye flour and honey were left to ferment (days and weeks) to create the sourdough used to make the bread. Today, though, there’s no sourdough or waiting days or weeks for this bread. The modern, regional versions have become all quick breads allowing for eating in an hour and a half from start to finish. However, the original flavors still remain, minus the “sour” component. Although, the baker in me says… hmmm… sub half of the milk with sourcream… BOOM! “Sourdough” Spice Bread… done!

How to Eat this French Spice Bread

This bread, while eaten throughout the year, is highly enjoyed during the holidays. In fact, it’s quite nostalgic for many French adults as it reminds them of their childhood days eating it as a snack after school. You can serve it warm with a smear of butter or eat it with jam or cream cheese. Why not eat it for breakfast with a cup of hot tea or coffee?

French Pain d’Épices: Spice Bread Making & Baking Process

Spice Bread Ingredients

My recipe includes quite the kitchen pantry of ingredients. But, I just couldn’t help myself for the love of autumn spices. 😊 For the ingredients, you’ll need milk, granulated sugar, a good quality honey, butter, a large egg, all-purpose flour, dark rye flour, baking soda, cinnamon, ground ginger, cloves, nutmeg, cracked black pepper, salt, orange zest, and crystallized ginger, which is optional but highly enjoyed. Whoa! I know that’s a lot of ingredients, but many of them are spices you likely already have in your pantry (if you bake). They all blend well together to create a fantastically flavorful bread.

TIP: If you don’t have or want to use the spices listed, just substitute with 1 tablespoon of pumpkin pie or apple pie spice. There! No grocery shopping stress!!

Preheat the Oven

A quick bread means quick prep. Therefore, preheating the oven is the first step. Set the oven temperature to 350˚F (~180˚C).

Heat up the Milk, Fat, & Sweeteners: Melting & Dissolving

The process starts with heating up the liquid, fat, and sweetener ingredients to help them all combine into a smooth mixture. In a medium saucepan, stir together 1 cup of milk, ½ cup of granulated sugar, 1 cup of a good quality honey, and 4 tablespoons of butter. Then, heat on low to medium heat stirring occasionally until the butter is melted and the sugar is dissolved. Set aside the mixture to cool slightly.

TIPS: Superfine granulated sugar (aka Baker’s sugar or castor sugar) is easiest and quickest to dissolve, but you can use any granulated sugar you have. In fact, to get a superfine consistency of regular sugar, whiz up your sugar in a food processor or blender until superfine (not powder, though). A quality local honey is nice, since there is a lot in this recipe; I use a local, raw, unfiltered honey containing floral notes. Dice the butter unless it is already really soft. The smaller mass helps the butter to melt more quickly.

“Mise en Place”: Very Helpful French Terminology (Idea) in Baking or Cooking

For this recipe, it’s best to have a “mise en place” of your spices and dry ingredients, meaning… have them all measured out before beginning, since we have so many. Measuring out spices ahead of time keeps your mind and space organized. It helps to keep you on track so you easily know what you’ve added and when. In addition, it makes the baking process go more quickly because once you begin, you can go full throttle without stopping to measure out ingredients, etc.

Sift the Dry Ingredients

While the milk, fat, and sugar mixture cools, combine the dry ingredients. In a large bowl, sift together 3 cups of all-purpose flour, 1 cup of rye flour, 2½ teaspoons of baking soda, 1½ teaspoons of ground cinnamon, 1 teaspoon of ground ginger, ¼ teaspoons of ground cloves, ¼ teaspoon of ground nutmeg, ¼ teaspoon cracked black pepper, and ½ teaspoon of salt. Sift the ingredients and just pour in any remaining spices or salt left in the sifter; we don’t want to lose those flavors. Then, whisk in 1 tablespoon of orange zest (from 1 large orange) and ⅓ cup of chopped crystallized ginger.

TIP: Whatever is left in the sifter, just add it to the flour. The purpose of sifting is to primarily get a light, well-separated flour… not the spices. You could even just sift the flours and whisk in the spices with the orange zest and crystallized ginger.

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Add Egg to Cooled Wet Ingredients

Since we’re going to add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, it’s best to have a bowl big enough to whisk and stir everything together. Thus, pour the milk mixture from the saucepan into a different large bowl and whisk in 1 beaten egg.

Combine ALL the Ingredients

Combine the dry and wet ingredients in three additions. Pour about a third of the flour mixture into the wet mixture. Use a whisk to stir in the first addition or so. Then, transfer to a spatula or spoon as the mixture begins to thicken and stir in the remaining additions. Scrape down the sides of the bowl to ensure everything is mixed in evenly.

TIP: Use the spatula or spoon to lift up the dough from the bottom of the bowl to check that the flour has all been mixed in. If bits of flour remain, stir them in.

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Transfer Batter & Bake!

Spoon the batter into a prepared loaf pan. You need a 9×5-inch loaf pan lined with overhanging parchment paper. Do NOT use a smaller loaf pan or the batter will rise too much and potentially fall in the center. If anything, you can use two smaller loaf pans and divide the batter between them and bake at a reduced time. Once the batter is in the pan, wet your fingers with water, and dab the top to smooth it out slightly since the batter is very sticky from the honey. Place the pan in the oven and set the timer to bake for 45 minutes.

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Add Tented Foil & Continue to Bake

Once the 45-minute timer has beeped, tent a sheet of foil and add it to the top of the bread to keep it from burning. Set the timer for another 15 minutes. You may need a total of 1 hour 15 minutes to completely bake this tall loaf. You’ll know when the bread is done when a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Bread is Baked!

Once the bread is done, allow it to cool in the pan for 10 minutes. Then, lift the bread out of the loaf pan holding onto the parchment paper. Place it to cool completely on a wire rack before slicing.

When to Eat Pain d’Épices? Longer Storage Counts!

Ideally, let the bread sit wrapped at room temperature for at least a day, up to 3 or 4 before slicing and eating. This bread is best after it sits at room temperature for a couple of days. The time allows the spices to develop, meld, and the bread to become dense.

Up Close & Personal with French Pain d’Épices (Spice Bread)

Check out the details of the sliced bread. Notice the tight crumb; it’s neither light and moist like a cake nor light and airy like a yeast bread. Notice the tall sandwich-like shape and crystallized ginger dotted throughout; you can see why we chopped the ginger. The dark color of the bread is from the dark rye flour, honey, and dark spices like cinnamon and cloves.

French Pain d’Épices (Spice Bread) Final Thoughts

The French Pain d’Épices (Spice Bread) is a nice international take on a traditional homemade gingerbread or spice cake. You get the best of both worlds, a hearty texture along with sweet and spicy flavors. I think, you can still make a good quick bread even if you don’t have all the spices. You could substitute these spices with 1 tablespoon of pumpkin pie or apple pie spice, if that’s all you have. The key ingredients that differentiate this bread from others are the dark rye flour and honey. If you keep these elements, then you can adjust the others and still hold true to the bread’s French roots.

Make it ahead and give it away or slice and serve it during the holiday season or on Christmas morning. This bread would make great holiday gifts for your neighbors and friends. You can make very small batches (tiny loaves) of this bread, wrap each little loaf in foil, and let the flavors meld in the cupboard for several days. With that, you have gifts ready to give when your neighbor(s) surprise(s) you with a gift of their own. Make the bread days before Christmas, slice it on Christmas morning, and serve it while opening gifts with your family. Serve it with hot tea, hot chocolate, or coffee. Best of all, you can enjoy your stress-less holiday season!

Baker’s Perspective

First of all, this was a fun bread recipe for me to create. I loved the idea of adding rye flour as the secondary flour and honey as the primary sweetener to a quick bread… so unusual (for me, at least). The bread is relatively easy to make. You have a few additional steps than dump-and-bake cakes, like heating up the liquid ingredients and dissolving the sugar along with sifting the dry ingredients. However, these extra steps positively contribute to the overall flavor and texture of the bread. Since the spices can be modified, I think the only ingredients you might have to purchase are the dark rye flour and honey. Other than that, if you’re looking for a different breakfast, dessert, or snack for the holidays, this one is worth trying.

Taster’s Perspective

With my gluten intolerance (and now dairy issues… thanks defected immune system!), I wasn’t able to taste to recall those days of living in France, but Scott was able to do that for me. Mr. “I like anything that’s edible”, of course, had no beef with this bread. He enjoys spices and dishes that aren’t too sweet. This bread was right up his alley. He’s been taking it to the gym as a post-workout snack because it’s hearty, easy to transport, and sustainable. When he tasted it, he described it exactly as it was meant to be described.

“It’s spicy, not overly sweet. It has a chewiness and spice from the candied ginger. It’s dense but between a bread and a cake. I could eat this for breakfast or a snack. Wait! Did you say rye and honey?”

Ironically, the rye flour and honey weren’t prominent flavors for Scott; however, I think they are primary contributors to the bread’s density and texture. While Scott did not detect the rye or the honey, really at all, I bet if you didn’t include these ingredients, the flavors and texture would be altered. If you aren’t a ginger fan, you can eliminate the candied (crystallized) ginger, but you would lose that candy chewiness and boost of sweetness and spice.

If you would like a visual of all the steps, check out my YouTube video, “French Pain d’Épices (Traditional French Spice Bread): A Happy Blend of Gingerbread & Spice Cake“.

Check out some other sweet treat recipes!

My Favorite Homemade Cinnamon Rolls

Nutella Swirl Pumpkin Pie with Gingersnap Cookie Crust

Gingersnap Cookies

Austrian Apple Strudel

Mexican Concha Rolls

Italian Panettone

German Stollen

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