VISIT : Gingerbread at Museum Piernika, Torun, Poland

It’s the smell of Christmas - cinnamon, ginger, cloves; all the warming spices and for some reason gingerbread reminds me of the festive season too. So it was very apt that I visited the home of Gingerbread, Torun in Poland, in December; just in time for some Christmas spirit.

Gingerbread making and decorating at Museum Piernika, Torun, Poland

If you want Polish gingerbread, then Torun is the place to go for it. 'Piernik' in Polish (“gingerbread”) originates from the old Polish term describing spice known as “pierna”, added to flour and honey to make gingerbread batter.

Torun has been baking gingerbread since the 13th century and it is most definitely the city’s trademark. We visited the wonderful Muzeum Piernika to try our hand at making gingerbread but also decorating it.

The Gingerbread museum is a full on interactive visitor attraction which comes with a gingerbread witch and her side kick. Their banter with each other and the audience is hilarious and cringey at the same time, but will most definitely leave you with a large happy smile on your face.

The demonstration commences with a chat about the ingredients that make up Polish gingerbread and you’ll be surprised to find out that pepper is one of the main ingredients along with honey, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves and ginger. They encourage audience participation and you’ll soon be up centre stage sifting flour, waving muslin cloth in the air or rolling out the dough.

Gingerbread comes in various shapes and forms from biscuits (the traditional gingerbread men and women) to cakes, cookies, flavoured gingerbreads with chocolate and rose, coffee gingerbreads spiked with vodka, gingerbreads with marzipan and dried fruit!

They are nothing like what I expected gingerbread to be - they are rather spicy (lots of pepper) and not overly sweet and quite hard too. The cake gingerbread is almost bread like but still fairly moist. The Gingerbread dough here is allowed to rest for up to 3 months which enhances its flavour.

The museum experience is split into two parts. On arrival at the museum you are transported back to the Medieval times. The vast workshop space is set up with large tables and gingerbread making stations where all the tools are laid out for your instruction on how to make gingerbread in your chosen mould. The Baker Guild master will take you through this process.

You’re handed a pre-made lump of dough (these cookies that you make here are not edible and for decorative purposes only due to health, safety and hygiene). You roll your dough out and choose your mould.

You oil your dough and then press it into the mould. Remove it and then cut off the excess dough. You can tidy it up or get very intricate and remove all the excess dough. The design is totally up to yourself.

Your design is placed on the tray and popped in the oven.

Half and hour or so later, your cookie ornament it ready to take away! I loved this design so much that I purchased this mould from the shop to bring home. Whilst you are waiting on your gingerbread baking, you have time to look around the gift shop and purchase gingerbread but you are also given lots of gingerbread to eat and mead to drink.

Medieval time gingerbread baking time complete, you are moved upstairs and find yourself in the 19th and 20th century manufacturing room where making dough has moved on from mixing by hand to being mixed and pressed by machines.

Once we indulge in more yummy gingerbread cakes and cookies and a hot cuppa, it’s onto decorating your own gingerbread cookies. This is when you realise that you will never be a contestant on the Great British Bakeoff!

I gave it my best shot but it would take many many months, if not years to obtain these piping skills.

Absolutely fascinating to watch and how I’d love to have these piping skills!

The Muzeum Piernika in Torun is an entertaining few hours. It provides a great insight into the food culture and heritage of Torun, Poland and gingerbread. The interactive tour is very friendly, fun and interactive. Our tour was conducted in English although I believe most of the tours are in Polish so make sure you book the English tour if you cant speak Polish which is listed as the 2pm show on their website.

Our tour group was all adults, but on arrival there must have been 30 young kids that came piling out of the museum having been on the previous tour. I can see why this appeals to children, it is a very family friendly activity and relatively cheap £4.80 per adult and £3.80 for children. The tour lasts at least 1h20 mins.

Muzeum Piernika, The Living Museum of Gingerbreads, 9 Rabiańska Street, 87-100, Toruń, Poland. www.muzeumpiernika.pl