Homemade gingerbread loaf is soft, moist, and perfectly spiced with your favorite holiday flavors. Pair with your morning coffee, enjoy as dessert, or give as a gift.
It's that time of year again. Pull out the cinnamon, find the cloves, and buy a fresh jar of molasses. That's right - it's gingerbread season.
You'll love this homemade gingerbread loaf because it's quick and easy to prepare. It also fills your home with fragrant holiday spices. Who can resist the warm and cozy scent of cinnamon, ginger, cloves, and molasses?
Gingerbread makes the perfect snack, morning breakfast, or dessert for fall and winter. Make a gingerbread loaf on Thanksgiving morning, Christmas eve, or for holiday movie night at home.
Prefer muffins? Try my gingerbread muffins recipe! They make a quick and easy seasonal snack.
Ingredients and substitutions
- Unsalted butter - Make sure your butter is room temperature so that it easily incorporates with the rest of your ingredients. Unsalted butter and salt can be substituted with salted butter.
- Brown sugar - Light or dark brown sugar will work in this recipe.
- Large eggs - Allow eggs to come to room temperature before adding to your batter. To bring eggs to room temperature quickly, fill a bowl with hot tap water, add your eggs, and allow to set for 10 minutes. Remove your eggs from the water and dry off before cracking.
- Molasses - I recommend Grandma's Original Molasses (a common brand found in grocery stores). Molasses is a must when baking gingerbread and gives it a distinctive flavor. Light or dark molasses will work in this recipe - dark molasses adds a stronger flavor.
- All-purpose flour - I do not recommend substituting AP flour with any other types of flour. AP flour has the perfect amount of structure needed for a quick bread recipe.
- Baking soda - Cannot be substituted with baking powder. They react differently in recipes and you'll need baking soda for this particular recipe.
- Spices/Extracts - You'll need vanilla extract, ginger, cinnamon, cloves, and salt. All of these ingredients work together to give your bread a well rounded flavor.
Tips and tricks
Properly measured flour - One key to successful baking is properly measuring your ingredients, including the flour. I recommend weighing your flour with a kitchen scale or using the spoon and level method. Gently spoon flour into a measuring cup, then level the top off with a knife. When scooping flour directly from the container with your measuring cup, you're compacting the flour into the measuring cup. This adds up to 25% extra flour to your recipe. This makes your bread dry and bland.
Use a thermometer - Use a thermometer inside your oven to make sure your oven is set to the proper temperature for any given recipe. Here's what I use: Rubbermaid Instant Read Oven Thermometer
To prevent dry bread - If your bread is dry straight from the oven, it's caused by overbaking or substituting ingredients. When baked just the right amount of time, your bread loaf will turn out soft, moist, and tender. Keep a close eye on your bread and don't rely on time alone. Some ovens can run hotter or colder than the next oven, so the time that worked for me may not work for you.
Test for doneness - Stick a toothpick in the center of your loaf. If the toothpick comes out dry or with crumbs, your bread is done. If your toothpick comes out with wet batter, give your bread another 5 minutes and check again. For best results, use an instant-read thermometer. Quick bread is done when it reaches 200 degrees Fahrenheit in the center.
Allow bread to cool before slicing - Dry bread can also be caused by slicing while still hot. Slicing into piping hot bread releases steam and causes it to dry out quickly. Allow your bread to cool most of the way before slicing and enjoying.
Frequently asked questions
Baked goods can turn out dry for several reasons. Here are the most common possibilities:
- Measuring too much flour by packing it into the measuring cup.
- Reducing/omitting/substituting the wet ingredients, including butter, sugar, molasses, and eggs.
- Overbaking.
- Oven temperature is too high (which causes overbaking).
- Not baking on the center rack (which causes overbaking on either the top or bottom of the loaf).
Yes! Check out my gingerbread muffins recipe, which uses the same ingredients.
Homemade bread will stay moist for about 3 days before it needs to be eaten, frozen, or discarded.
Yes, whole loaves or slices can be frozen for up to three months in a tightly sealed freezer-safe container. To thaw, sit on the countertop to bring to room temperature for 1 to 3 hours.
Recommended
📖 Recipe
Gingerbread Loaf
Ingredients
- ½ cup (113 g) unsalted butter, room temperature
- ½ cup (106 g) brown sugar
- 2 large eggs, room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ cup (170 g) molasses
- ½ cup (113 g) hot water
- 2 cups (240 g) all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 2 teaspoons ground ginger
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon ground cloves
- ½ teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Line a 9x5 loaf pan with parchment paper (or grease and flour the bottom and sides) and set aside.
- In a large bowl, add butter and sugar. With a hand mixer (or stand mixer) on medium speed, mix until fully combined. Add eggs and vanilla, mixing until creamed and fluffy, about a minute. Scrape down the sides of your bowl.
- In a separate small bowl, add molasses and hot water. Stir until combined.
- In a third bowl, whisk (or sift) together the dry ingredients: flour, baking soda, ginger, cinnamon, cloves, and salt.
- To your butter mixture, add half of your dry ingredients, stirring until mostly incorporated. Then, add half of your molasses mixture, stirring until incorporated. Repeat once more, adding your remaining dry ingredients and molasses mixture. Stir until just combined (make sure not to over-mix, this can cause your bread to turn out tough and dense).
- Pour batter into loaf pan. Tent loaf pan loosely with foil (remove foil halfway through baking. This ensures that the top of your bread doesn't burn). Bake for about 50-60 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean/with crumbs, not wet batter.
- Transfer loaf pan to a cooling rack and allow to cool completely before removing from pan and slicing.
- Optionally, dust with confectioner's sugar or serve with a dollop of whipped cream.
Equipment Recommendations
Notes
- Gingerbread will keep for up to 3 days in a tightly sealed container at room temperature.
- Gingerbread freezes well and can be kept in the freezer for 3 months. Cover with aluminum foil and place in a freezer bag for optimal results.
- To prevent dry bread: If your oven runs hot, begin checking your bread for doneness a few minutes early. Once your bread is done baking, allow it to cool completely before slicing. Slicing into hot bread allows steam and moisture to escape.
- Properly measured flour ensures your bread doesn't turn out dense or dry. Use the spoon and level method, or use the listed gram measurements with a kitchen scale.
I just want to thank you for the gingerbread loaf recipe! It’s fabulous- I doubled the recipe and it is perfection in texture & spices. I can’t wait to share it with my friends & family. Jennifer
So excited to try this recipe! Do you think it's possible to replace the all-purpose flour with oat flour to make the bread gluten-free?
Hi Emily, I've never worked with oat flour before so I'm not sure how it would turn out in this recipe. Per this website, 1 cup of all-purpose flour should be substituted with 1 1/3 cups of oat flour: https://www.biggerbolderbaking.com/make-oat-flour/
Thank you so much! I'll let you know how it goes.
The oat flour made the loaf pretty dry, but otherwise yummy.
I made this last week and is delicious! When I beat the brown sugar and butter it never got very fluffy and it separated. I will make this again, as I love gingerbread, but it had a different texture and fell apart in my hands. Any suggestions?
Hi Wynama, if the brown sugar and separated when creamed, it sounds like maybe the butter was too warm - did the mixture look greasy? Creaming the butter and sugar together helps add structure and proper rise to the bread when baked in the oven, so maybe that is the cause of the bread falling apart. The video within the recipe card is a good visual of how the batter should look at each step of mixing, as well as the texture of the baked bread. Were any ingredients substituted?
Yes, it did look greasy. I’ll try again and make sure the butter isn’t too warm. The flavor was amazing though. No, I didn’t make any substitutions. Thank you!!!!
I doubled the recipe and used in a Mini loaf pan. I like my bread spicy so I also added additional teaspoon of ginger and cinnamon to the double batch. This quick bread has all the smells and flavors of Christmas. So yummy!
How long do the mini loafs need to cook?
Hi Tanya. I'm getting ready to make this recipe in mini Christmas loafs...paper approx 7"x4" . How many mini loaves did you yield with this recipe and how long did you bake them for? TIA!
Patti H
Ohio
A quick google tells me that mini loaf pans will bake in about 30 to 35 minutes, but baking time can depend on the size of your mini loaves (there are a variety of shapes and sizes available). I'd suggest testing at about 25 minutes just in case.
I did everything wrong on this recipe and people still raved about it, so 5 stars! The batter broke for some reason (I'm sure this is my fault and not the fault of the recipe), but I continued on anyway because I needed the mini loaves for my work Christmas party the next day (and I didn't want to waste the butter and eggs I'd mixed in). I didn't notice that I was supposed to put foil on the pan until 1/2 way through the baking, so I put it on during the middle (loose tents) and then removed it again for a few minutes at the end. I did a double-batch of mini loaves. I didn't get any myself, but I've had 3-4 people email me to tell me how good the bread was, so I'm calling it a win. Thanks for a very forgiving recipe! I'm going to make it again for me, but do it right this time. 😆
Made this today. Accidentally placed the foil on too snug (Made tiny loaves to send in Christmas packages for family and friends. Tripled the batch. .) and it messed up the tops. Warped looking. Lol..Added dark chocolate chips to last pan of 8 tiny loaves and reduced temperature. They came out much better. I enjoyed the house smelling of gingerbread and all the spices.
Thank you for posting the recipe. Have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!
Can I use mini loaf pans for this gingerbread loaf recipe
Hi Dennis, yes this recipe will work in mini loaves. One regular loaf should fit into three mini loaf (3x5.5 inch) pans. Bake time would be reduced to about 30-36 minutes, or until cooked through in the center.
Can I sub orange juice for the hot water?
I haven't tested this recipe with orange juice, so I can't say for sure. Orange juice is acidic and could affect the rise of your bread. If you give it a try, let us know how it goes!
Easy and delicious. I live at over 5000 feet in the mountains in Mexico and when I took the foil off at 25 minutes the bread was nearly ready. I doubled the recipe and both loaves were the same. My gas oven is new and I have tested the temperature settings. Usually things take longer to cook at the higher altitude but I am not complaining. Definitely a keeper.
This recipe was so very easy to follow.
The results were delicious, I followed your recipe exactly & it came out perfect!
Will definitely make this again!!
I followed your recipe for this gingerbread loaf, it SANK in the middle and looks bad 😢what caused this?
Hi Angela, it's hard to say without being in the kitchen with you as to what happened. Quick bread sinking can be caused by a few things: underbaking, too much liquid added to the recipe, or expired leavening agents. Did you substitute any ingredients?
have you doubled this recipe? does it double well?
I have not tried doubling this recipe, so I can't say for sure. If you give it a try, let us know how it goes!
It doubles no problem. I always do for handing out for Christmas.
I am going to make this recipe on the weekend; however I am going to take non sugared ginger, cut it up like Christmas cake peel, use some of the flour and incorporate that into the recipe.
I'll report back
I have a question. Instead of 1/2 cup of hot water, can I also substitute that with milk (or buttermilk) just in case?
Hi Dante, I haven't tested the recipe with either, but I think that milk would work. Buttermilk would change the acidity of the ingredients, so I don't suggest it as a substitution.
Where is the button for metric measurements?
You can find the button right below the list of ingredients inside the recipe card.
Awesome recipe. Great instruction. Ive made gingerbread before but this recipe was really good - crispy perfect taste. Loved it!! Will make it again!!
Can vegetable oil be substituted for the butter? If so, what changes in the amount of salt would this substitution require?
Hi Kenneth, butter can be substituted with oil at 3/4 the amount called for. For this recipe, 1/2 cup of butter (or 8 tablespoons) can be substituted with 6 tablespoons of vegetable oil. Since this recipe calls for unsalted butter, no changes would be needed for the salt. Hope this helps!
I was wondering if I could bake them in small loaf bread pans? How long would I bake them?
Hi Kelly, I haven't tried this recipe in mini loaf pans myself. But it looks like mini loaves will generally bake in about 30+ minutes. If you give it a try, let us know how it goes!
Any suggestions on how to make it more moist? Mine was super tasty but a little on the dry side?
Hi Arleen! I'm sorry to hear your quick bread was a little dry. It could have been slightly over baked, as oven temperatures may vary. I'd suggest checking your bread starting at 40-45 minutes to see if it's done, instead of 50 minutes.
To enjoy the rest of the bread, I'd suggest reheating in the microwave, covered with a damp paper towel. Try reheating in 10 second increments until warm. This should steam the bread to add moisture. Serving with butter also helps!
Light brown sugar or dark brown sugar?
Both will work in this recipe - I used light brown sugar!
I love gingerbread! This loaf is so delicious and warming. Perfect for Christmas ♥