Remember, remember!  
    The fifth of November, 
    The Gunpowder treason and plot; 
    I know of no reason 
    Why the Gunpowder treason 
    Should ever be forgot!

English folk verse c. 1870

Bonfire Night, or Guy Fawkes Night is not a big event for celebration in Australia, but I remember being told the story of the Gunpowder Plot as a child, and more recently, many people probably have more familiarity with the story due to the film V for Vendetta.

melt butter

add treacle, sugar, ginger and spices

mix in dry ingredients

knead dough together

For me, these days, the fifth of November is mostly a reminder to eat gingerbread and toffee!, and I particularly like the conceit of these bonfire sticks, developed by Dan Lepard, which apart from the shape, are also a really deliciously chewy gingerbread, spicy and not too sweet.

I made them with thinly sliced ginger that I glacéd myself, but you can obviously used the ginger that comes in chunks – just dice finely or else it’s harder to roll and cut the dough.  I also used rye flour this time as that’s what I had, but I’ve previously used wholemeal, as in the original recipe.

I think that’s about all I have to say on this one…whether you celebrate Bonfire Night or not, if you like ginger then give these a try!

Bonfire sticks

Adapted slightly from Dan Lepards’s recipe in The Guardian

175g unsalted butter
225g rapadura or dark brown sugar
50g treacle
200g chopped glacé ginger
5 tsp each ground ginger and mixed spice
1 tsp orange extract, or the finely grated zest of an orange
1 medium egg
50g rolled oats
200g rye or wholemeal flour
250g plain flour
1 tsp baking powder

Melt butter in a large bowl or jug in the microwave, about 2 minutes on medium.  Stir in sugar, treacle, ginger, spices and extract until smooth.  Add the egg, and beat until combined.  Add oats, flours and baking powder and mix with a spatula or wooden spoon until combined.  The mixture will be stiff, so you may have to knead in the last of the flour with your hands.

Scrape the dough out onto a large baking paper lined tray dusted with flour.  Sprinkle a little flour over the top, and pat out to a rough rectangle.  Using a rolling pin, roll further until about 1cm thick.  Put the dough and tray in the fridge for about 30 min to chill.

Take the dough out, and using a sharp knife or pizza cutter, cut into 2cm wide strips while on the tray.  Move them slightly apart so there is a gap between each.

Heat oven to 180C (160C fan forced).  Bake for 10 minutes until slightly risen and just set.  Cool on the tray, on a rack, for a few minutes, before lifting the paper off the tray to cool completely on the rack.  Store in an airtight tin.