If there was such a thing as a Great Liturgical Baking Show (like the Great British Baking Show), I bet Thomasmas Medieval gingerbread would win biscuit week. 🙌😂 What a lovely idea, ties in both the season and his role of architect so beautifully. Going to add to my Advent baking list!
Most of the year, the bread I bake is made with white bread flour, or a mix of white and sprouted whole wheat–just flour, water, salt, and wild yeast. It's usually light and airy with an open crumb and a light caramel crust. As the days grow shorter, however, the bread I bake also get's darker–more whole wheat, or rye. Just before Christmas, I will be removing the water and adding buttermilk and stout beer. I'll add some brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, and clove. When the loaf is ready to shape, I will fold in dried cranberries and pecans and a few chocolate chips. It has always just felt right, felt better and more appropriate, to bake and enjoy this kind of bread during this time of the year. How delightful it was to read this article and learn that my propensity toward a darker, sweeter, and fruitier bread comes from a long tradition that is interwoven into the church calendar! What a wonderful read this was, one that I will come back to over the next couple of weeks.
As for gingerbread houses, I think the idea of purposely making it a house that lays down is a great idea, especially for me, because that is where the pieces of my gingerbread house always end up anyway. :-)
Also, I am thinking of getting these house cake molds. Plus, the book looks adorable. https://www.thetomtecake.com
I'd never even heard of Thomasmas before, thank you for sharing Kristen, it was so interesting to read. I love gingerbread but I'm more on the ginger cake spectrum. I've mentioned to you that my Gramma Doris was a WWII Australian Army cook and she would regularly bake her eggless 'ration recipe' ginger cake. It is so moist and fragrant, I use it for my Yule log cake in my July Yuletide celebrations (that's the middle of winter in Australia), for my children's 'Kagemand' (Cake Man) birthday cakes, and as a bundt cake with Australian bush spices added for Christmas Eve (with leftovers for our Christmas lunch trifle). I wish you all the comfort and warmth of the season from the heat of Summer in Australia.
I love reading about the important role food played in medieval celebrations; while the extent of my gingerbread-making this winter will probably be a few Christmas tree-shaped cookies I will bookmark the stencil for future years! I am curious, from one medievalist to another, if you find information about these kinds of celebrations primarily in academic literature or otherwise. I have so often found it a barrier to general appreciation of the middle ages that some of these fascinating -and relatable -traditions are buried in dense tomes or behind an academic journal's paywall.
I love this! I've never heard of this St. Thomas's story. I live the idea of Thomasmas and the boundary that sets before Christmas. I think this would be a good tradition to start!
I don’t like the gingerbread building sets, but I’d probably enjoy medieval ginger bread. I’m thinking it would be fun to go out and buy all the beverages for Christmas on St. Thomas Day in tribute to him!
This was so enjoyable to read! I love St Thomas, so it was beautiful to see that there was a Thomasmas! Thank you for bringing that Medieval stirring in my heart.
Dec 11, 2023·edited Dec 11, 2023Liked by Kristin Haakenson
What Emma said below! Where am I on the gingerbread spectrum? I'm hungry looking at these photos :-) that's where I am.
Fun fact about THomas (maybe you know this). We opened our MIL apt to a young gal for about 18 mos a couple of years ago. Her family is from Kerala, India and they are all Christians.
Kerala was one of the places it is reported that Thomas showed up to baptize early Chrisitians there in approximately 52 AD. It has remained a mostly Christian area in India all these centuries later.
I love the photos of little hands kneading gingerbread balls, and the fact that you included, and MADE and photographed, a medieval gingerbread recipe!!! (It looks delicious and very aromatic!)
*googles met cloisters gingerbread*. That’s so wild how the various Victorian dilettante interests in the past can contribute to an overall understanding of the Middle Ages! And, we’ll, I’m quite jealous you have a medieval living history museum near you! I’ve never been to such a thing, even in Europe!
If there was such a thing as a Great Liturgical Baking Show (like the Great British Baking Show), I bet Thomasmas Medieval gingerbread would win biscuit week. 🙌😂 What a lovely idea, ties in both the season and his role of architect so beautifully. Going to add to my Advent baking list!
Most of the year, the bread I bake is made with white bread flour, or a mix of white and sprouted whole wheat–just flour, water, salt, and wild yeast. It's usually light and airy with an open crumb and a light caramel crust. As the days grow shorter, however, the bread I bake also get's darker–more whole wheat, or rye. Just before Christmas, I will be removing the water and adding buttermilk and stout beer. I'll add some brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, and clove. When the loaf is ready to shape, I will fold in dried cranberries and pecans and a few chocolate chips. It has always just felt right, felt better and more appropriate, to bake and enjoy this kind of bread during this time of the year. How delightful it was to read this article and learn that my propensity toward a darker, sweeter, and fruitier bread comes from a long tradition that is interwoven into the church calendar! What a wonderful read this was, one that I will come back to over the next couple of weeks.
As for gingerbread houses, I think the idea of purposely making it a house that lays down is a great idea, especially for me, because that is where the pieces of my gingerbread house always end up anyway. :-)
Also, I am thinking of getting these house cake molds. Plus, the book looks adorable. https://www.thetomtecake.com
I'd never even heard of Thomasmas before, thank you for sharing Kristen, it was so interesting to read. I love gingerbread but I'm more on the ginger cake spectrum. I've mentioned to you that my Gramma Doris was a WWII Australian Army cook and she would regularly bake her eggless 'ration recipe' ginger cake. It is so moist and fragrant, I use it for my Yule log cake in my July Yuletide celebrations (that's the middle of winter in Australia), for my children's 'Kagemand' (Cake Man) birthday cakes, and as a bundt cake with Australian bush spices added for Christmas Eve (with leftovers for our Christmas lunch trifle). I wish you all the comfort and warmth of the season from the heat of Summer in Australia.
I love reading about the important role food played in medieval celebrations; while the extent of my gingerbread-making this winter will probably be a few Christmas tree-shaped cookies I will bookmark the stencil for future years! I am curious, from one medievalist to another, if you find information about these kinds of celebrations primarily in academic literature or otherwise. I have so often found it a barrier to general appreciation of the middle ages that some of these fascinating -and relatable -traditions are buried in dense tomes or behind an academic journal's paywall.
I love this! I've never heard of this St. Thomas's story. I live the idea of Thomasmas and the boundary that sets before Christmas. I think this would be a good tradition to start!
I don’t like the gingerbread building sets, but I’d probably enjoy medieval ginger bread. I’m thinking it would be fun to go out and buy all the beverages for Christmas on St. Thomas Day in tribute to him!
This was so enjoyable to read! I love St Thomas, so it was beautiful to see that there was a Thomasmas! Thank you for bringing that Medieval stirring in my heart.
What Emma said below! Where am I on the gingerbread spectrum? I'm hungry looking at these photos :-) that's where I am.
Fun fact about THomas (maybe you know this). We opened our MIL apt to a young gal for about 18 mos a couple of years ago. Her family is from Kerala, India and they are all Christians.
Kerala was one of the places it is reported that Thomas showed up to baptize early Chrisitians there in approximately 52 AD. It has remained a mostly Christian area in India all these centuries later.
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/travel/how-christianity-came-to-india-kerala-180958117/
I love the photos of little hands kneading gingerbread balls, and the fact that you included, and MADE and photographed, a medieval gingerbread recipe!!! (It looks delicious and very aromatic!)
That gingerbread is so lovely and I loved learning more about St. Thomas!
I’ve always been so fascinated with St Thomas and his work in the world. I love the idea of a flat lay gingerbread house!
*googles met cloisters gingerbread*. That’s so wild how the various Victorian dilettante interests in the past can contribute to an overall understanding of the Middle Ages! And, we’ll, I’m quite jealous you have a medieval living history museum near you! I’ve never been to such a thing, even in Europe!