Bread Machine Gingerbread

This bread machine gingerbread recipe is perfect for the holidays. It is super easy to make and creates a delicious gingerbread “loaf” or cake. Gingerbread is always great as a winter or fall holiday snack or dessert.

FYI – This recipe produces a soft muffin or cake-type gingerbread loaf. It is not a harder cookie-type gingerbread.

You can also improve this ginger bread by adding homemade whipped cream or some confectioners sugar on top. This provides gingerbread with a beautiful wintery (white) topping.

Bread Machine Gingerbread

Since the gingerbread recipe on this page is done in a bread machine, it is simple & easy to make. It should take you only 5-10 minutes to prepare and then you let the bread machine do the rest of the work. You will also find a printable and “pin-able” recipe at the bottom of this page.

Optional – Add Confectioners Sugar on Top of the Gingerbread

Ingredients – Bread Machine Gingerbread Recipe – 2 lb Loaf

• 1/2 Cup – Vegetable Oil (use a neutral flavored oil such as canola oil) – 115 milliliters
• 2 Eggs (lightly beaten)
• 3/4 Cup – Milk – 175 milliliters
• 1/4 Cup – Molasses (FYI – 1/4 cup = 4 tablespoons) – 57 milliliters
• 1 Cup – Light Brown Sugar (packed cup) – 215 grams
• 2 Cups – All Purpose Flour – 240 grams
• 1 1/2 Teaspoons – Ground Ginger – 4.5 grams
• 1 1/2 Teaspoons – Ground Cinnamon – 4.5 grams
• 1/2 Teaspoon – Ground Cloves – 1 gram – Don’t add too much as this can be a strong tasting spice.
• 1/2 Teaspoon – Salt – 3 grams
• 1 Teaspoon – Baking Powder – 4 grams
• 1 Teaspoon – Baking Soda – 5 grams
• Optional – 1 or 2 Tablespoons of Confectioners Sugar – Added to the top of the finished gingerbread after the bread has cooled.

Servings – Roughly 12 slices

Equipment – Measuring cup & spoons, silicone spatula, oven mitts, cooling rack… and of course, a bread machine.

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Key Ingredients – Ground Ginger & Other Spices

Instructions – Bread Machine Gingerbread Recipe

• Unplug the bread machine.
• Remove the bread pan from the unplugged bread machine.
• Lightly beat the eggs.
• Pour the vegetable oil, milk & eggs into the bread pan and then add the remaining ingredients. FYI – Consider premixing the ingredients before adding the batter to the bread pan if you want to prevent flour sticking to the sides of the bread pan and/or finding small flour “clumps” in the finished gingerbread. See tips below.
• Put the bread pan with all of the ingredients back into the bread machine and close the bread machine lid.
• Plug in the bread machine.
• Enter the bread machine settings (Sweet Quick Bread, Light Color, 2 lb) and press the start button. FYI – Before making this recipe, please read the tips section below for more information regarding the sweet quick bread setting used to make gingerbreads. The setting may be called “quick bread”, “quick bread/cake”, “cake”, etc. However, some manufacturers use the “quick bread” setting for rapid sandwich-type breads that use yeast (and not for quick breads such as gingerbread that use baking powder/soda). Therefore, this setting can be very confusing… but the tips section below will help you to find the right setting to use on your machine. You need to enter the correct gingerbread setting used by your SPECIFIC bread machine model or the gingerbread could be under or overcooked.
• When the bread machine has finished baking the gingerbread, unplug the bread machine.
• Remove the bread pan and place it on a wooden cutting board (without removing the gingerbread from the bread pan). Use oven mitts when removing the bread pan because it will be very hot!
• After removing the bread pan from the bread machine, you should let the gingerbread stay within the warm bread pan on the wooden cutting board for 10 minutes (as this finishes the baking process). Wear oven mitts.
• After the 10 minute “cooldown”, you should remove the gingerbread from the bread pan and place the gingerbread on a wire cooling rack to finish cooling. Use oven mitts when removing the bread.
• You should allow the gingerbread to completely cool before cutting. This can take up to 2 hours. Otherwise, the gingerbread will break (crumble) more easily when cut.
• Please read the tips section below for extra information on how to make this recipe successfully and to avoid common bread machine problems with moister “quick bread” recipes such as gingerbread.

If you liked this recipe, please leave a comment below & give us a 5 star rating. It is ALWAYS great to hear from people who have enjoyed our recipes! Jump to comment section

Other Bread Dad Sections

• Bread Machines – My favorites
• Bread Machine Cookbooks
• Bread Mixes – Ingredient kits
• Bread Tools – Baguette pans, etc.
• Online Classes, Ingredients, etc.

Tips – Bread Machine Gingerbread Recipe

• The tips below are designed to help bread machine “novices” and those who haven’t touched their bread machine in years. I apologize for the lengthy list of “tips” but bread machines differ & we have tried to cover any differences between machines.
• Click on our “print recipe” link if you want to print out this recipe. It includes all of the recipe’s ingredients and instructions. However, the recipe print function does not include our tips section. Please read the tips section in order to avoid common recipe problems.
• This recipe is part of our series on easy Bread Machine Recipes.

• Warning – The number 1 error that people make when creating a bread machine gingerbread is using the WRONG setting. The people who have a problem often use the “quick” setting designed for fast sandwich bread recipes that use yeast… and NOT the “quick bread” setting designed for moist quick breads (i.e. banana bread & gingerbread) that use baking soda/powder. These are two totally different settings. You need to find the correct baking soda/powder “quick bread” setting used with YOUR specific make & model of bread machine. FYI – To avoid this error, please read the setting tips lower down in the tips section.
• IMPORTANT – If your machine’s electronic display is showing 50-60 minutes (total time for mixing & baking) before you press the “start” button, you have entered the WRONG setting. The total time should be roughly 1:40-1:55 hours (100-115 minutes). Moreover, the baking length of the “quick bread” setting is roughly 1:10-1:20 hours (out of the total 1:40-1:55 minutes for this setting). Yeast breads spend a long time on kneading/rising and much less on baking (where as moist quick breads spend only a short time on rising – as they are using fast rising baking powder/soda – and a long time on baking). Therefore, a 1:55 hour yeast bread setting will NOT work for a 1:55 hour moist “quick bread” setting. You need to use the correct setting for this recipe to work in your bread machine.

• Before making this recipe, please read the tips below especially the section focused on the “sweet quick bread” setting (located around the middle of our tips) because bread machines vary & require you to be knowledgeable about your specific bread machine model when making a gingerbread. For example, if you do not use the correct setting, you will have trouble with bread machine recipes (i.e. your gingerbread may be potentially under or overcooked). The setting name used for gingerbreads differs on many bread machine models and may be called “Quick”, “Quick Bread”, “Cake”, “Cake/Quick Bread”, etc. Therefore, you need to determine the specific setting on your bread machine model (READ YOUR MANUAL) that was designed for sweet quick bread recipes (i.e. gingerbread) that use baking soda/powder and not yeast. I know that this can be confusing… but the “sweet quick bread” tips section below will help you to find the right setting to use on your machine.
• This recipe will NOT work in smaller bread machines that have only 1 lb loaf capacities. It will only fit larger bread machines with 1.5 lb or higher capacities. “Quick bread” loaves such as gingerbread and banana bread don’t rise very much (unlike sandwich-type breads). Therefore, this 2 lb loaf should fit into a 1.5 lb or higher capacity bread machine.

• This recipe creates a relatively mild tasting gingerbread. I didn’t want to scare off families new to gingerbread with an overpowering ginger taste!
• Use a neutral flavored vegetable oil (i.e. canola or corn oil) for the best results. Stronger tasting oils can negatively impact the flavor of the gingerbread.
• Optional – As I said above, you can decorate this gingerbread loaf by adding homemade whipped cream or some confectioners sugar on top of the loaf. This creates a “wintery” or holiday topping.

• If you want to evenly spread confectioners sugar (powdered sugar) on top of your gingerbread (versus just dumping on a tablespoon or two on top – like me), you can use something called a confectioners sugar (or powdered sugar) shaker/duster/sifter.
• Confectioners sugar or whipped cream topping is also an easy (and tasty) way to hide a slightly damaged gingerbread top (i.e. you had a problem removing it from the bread pan). FYI – If you want to learn how to make homemade whipped cream, you should read the homemade whipped cream section in our Blueberry Quick Bread recipe.
• Optional – Add 1/2 cup of MINI chocolate chips if you would like to make a chocolate chip gingerbread. They should be added during the machine “pause” (after the first mixing and before the second/final bread machine mixing cycle). FYI – Don’t use regular sized chocolate chips because they are heavier and tend to sink to the bottom of the bread. Mini chocolate chips spread out better (than regular sized chocolate chips) in moist bread machine “quick bread” recipes.

• This is a gingerbread with oil recipe because I wanted to cut down on the saturated associated with butter and to prevent any butter taste from interfering with the ginger, cinnamon & clove flavors. I usually use canola oil when making this gingerbread. However, please feel free to use butter if you prefer butter to vegetable oil.
• This recipe uses only ground ginger, ground cinnamon and ground gloves. I like to keep things relatively simple when making bread machine recipes (as who wants to make a special trip to the supermarket in order to find a missing spice). However, be aware that some bakers also like to add additional spices (such as nutmeg and allspice) when making gingerbread.
• I generally don’t use “blackstrap” molasses when making gingerbread because blackstrap molasses can be sometimes too bitter. Instead, I often use Grandma’s Original Unsulphured Molasses. If you want to learn more about the different “grades” of molasses, you might like to read this Wikipedia molasses article.

• Optional – If you want to make a slightly different gingerbread, you can also add 1 cup of chopped walnuts during the “pause” between the bread machine’s first mixing cycle and second/final mixing cycle. Some machines even sound a beep during this pause in order to tell you when to add nuts, chocolate chips, etc. Just make sure that no one has a nut allergy before serving a walnut gingerbread.
• Use FRESH ingredients (i.e. baking soda and flour) for the best results. For example, if you use stale baking soda and/or baking powder, your gingerbread will not rise properly and will be too dense. Baking soda & powder is best if used within 6 months of opening the container.
• “Sweet Quick Bread” Setting Details – According to Wikipedia and most bakers, gingerbread is a type of “quick bread” (that uses baking soda/powder instead of yeast). Unfortunately, this term (quick bread) has led to a lot of confusion because bread machine manufacturers often use similar setting names to make rapid/express/quick sandwich-type breads as well as completely different sweet quick breads (i.e. gingerbread & banana bread).

• IMPORTANT – Make sure to use the specific setting on your bread machine designed for SWEET QUICK BREADS. Read your manual! This setting is for sweet quick bread recipes (i.e. gingerbread or banana bread) that use baking soda/powder (and not yeast).
• Be aware that the setting name used for gingerbread recipes can vary by bread machine manufacturer. Here are some examples of the setting names used to make gingerbread on various bread machines – the Sunbeam Breadmaker 5891 uses the “Quick” setting, the Hamilton Beach Bread Maker 29881 uses the “Quick” setting, the Black & Decker BOOONJBYXO Bread Maker uses the “Quick Bread” setting, the Breadman 2lb. Professional Bread Maker (BK1050S) uses the “Quick Bread” setting, the Zojirushi BB-PAC20 Bread Maker uses the “Cake” setting and the Cuisinart CBK-100 Bread Maker uses the “Cake/Quick Bread” setting. Therefore, you must check your bread machine’s instructions for the exact setting name used to make gingerbread by your specific bread machine model.
• FYI – To find the setting names used by some of the most popular bread machines, you should visit my Bread Machine Quick Bread Settings page. I set this up to help people find the correct setting for their particular machine.
• However, be aware that some bread machine models (esp. older & more basic models) have only a limited number of settings and may NOT have a setting that can be used for sweet quick breads (i.e. gingerbread). These bread machines are primarily focused on making sandwich-type breads that use yeast (and do not have settings for recipes that use baking powder/soda as a leavening agent). For example, the Oster Expressbake Breadmaker, 2-lb. Loaf Capacity (model CKSTBRTW20NP) does not have a setting for gingerbreads (the “sweet” and “quick” settings on this model are used for yeast-based breads). However, other Oster models do have a quick bread/cake setting. In addition, the Breadman TR444 does not have a setting for quick breads but some of the more advanced Breadman bread machines such as the Breadman 2lb. Professional Bread Maker (model BK1050S) do have a quick bread setting. Always read your bread machine manual carefully in order to see if your specific bread machine model can make gingerbread-type quick breads (that use baking powder/soda). Please check the setting and recipe sections of the manual for definitive examples.
• You can not use regular sandwich-type bread settings in order to make gingerbread. For example, the length of the baking cycle often differs.

• Don’t be fooled by setting names like Rapid Bread or Express Bread (as these settings are often used for very rapid baking of yeast-based sandwich breads and are not used for sweet quick breads that use baking powder/soda). They will leave your gingerbread undercooked. For example, on my Sunbeam, the sweet quick bread setting lasts for roughly 1:40 hours versus the express setting which lasts for only 58 minutes.
• IMPORTANT – Be aware that some bread machine manufacturers even label the rapid/express sandwich bread setting as “Quick Bread”. This can cause a lot of confusion!! because they use the “quick bread” name in order to describe a setting that makes a rapid sandwich-type bread with yeast. This setting is not used to make a sweet quick bread recipe (such as gingerbread) that uses baking powder/soda. In general, a setting used for yeast breads can’t be used to make quick bread recipes (such as gingerbread) due to different rising & baking lengths.
• Moreover, in many bread machines, the “sweet bread” setting is used for sweet breads that use YEAST (not gingerbreads that use baking soda/powder). “Sweet bread” recipes are different from sweet quick bread recipes (i.e. gingerbread) and utilize different mixing & baking times. Therefore, a bread machine gingerbread recipe is unlikely to work on the “sweet bread” setting.

• If you are still having trouble finding the sweet quick bread setting, check your bread machine manual for details regarding the “Cake” setting on your machine. Some bread machines have a cake setting that states that they can be used for gingerbreads & sweet quick breads (and the mixing & baking will last roughly for 1 hour 40-50 minutes). However, other bread machines have a cake setting that is not designed for sweet quick breads. For example, my bread machine (Sunbeam) has a cake setting (that lasts for 2 hours 50 minutes) and a “Quick” (used for quick breads such as gingerbread & banana bread) setting (that lasts for roughly 1 hour 40 minutes). Therefore, this gingerbread recipe would probably not work well with the cake setting on my machine.
• On my Sunbeam bread machine (and a number of other bread makers i.e. Hamilton Beach), the sweet quick bread setting lasts for roughly 1:40 hours… with 20 minutes of mixing & 80 minutes in the baking stage.
• FYI – A couple of visitors have mentioned that their Pohl machines can occasionally underbake moist gingerbreads, banana breads & other type of quick breads (no yeast). As a solution, these visitors like to premix the batter and then use the “bake” setting (not cake setting) to create a longer baking time (versus relying on the preset cake setting) in order to fully bake their quick bread. Given this issue, please read the Pohl manual carefully on how to make moist quick breads with your specific machine.
• Be aware that older and newer models from the same manufacturer can even use different setting names. Therefore, you need to read the manual included with your specific model in order to determine the correct setting used by your bread machine. Don’t guess with settings or assume that the setting used by a similar model from your bread machine manufacturer is the same as the setting used by your model.

• I know this can be super confusing… but always read your bread machine manual and look for the specific setting designed for gingerbreads & sweet quick breads (that use baking soda/powder and have lots of sugar & butter/oil in the recipe).
• If you have lost your bread machine manual, you can usually find it by searching online. For example, I can find my manual by typing “Sunbeam bread machine manual” into Google.
• Many bread machine manufacturers also have recipe booklets where you can also find more information on how to make a gingerbread with your specific bread machine model. These manufacturer recipes can also help if you are still uncertain on what bread machine setting to use. Look to see if there is a sweet quick bread recipe (i.e. gingerbread, banana bread or pumpkin bread) that uses lots of sugar, moisture (i.e. milk, bananas, pumpkin puree, applesauce, etc.), butter/oil, baking powder/soda and NO yeast. This should give you an idea about what setting to use for sweet quick bread recipes on your machine.

• Optional – If the top center of the bread looks too moist when you take it out of the bread machine (or you want to make sure the gingerbread is completely cooked), you can try the classic baking “toothpick test”. Gently push a long wooden skewer (or long wooden chopstick) into the center of the bread and see if any batter sticks to the skewer. Make sure to wear oven gloves because the bread pan and bread machine will still be hot. If batter is sticking to the skewer then it hasn’t completely cooked. Place the bread loaf pan back into the still warm bread machine for another 5-10 minutes. After the 5-10 minutes, remove the bread pan and retest the gingerbread again with the skewer.
• Since a toothpick can be too short, I like to use a long chopstick or wooden skewer when conducting the classic “toothpick” test. Remember always wear oven mitts when dealing with a hot bread pan and bread machine.
• Flour sticking to the sides of your bread machine gingerbread? Unfortunately, bread machines have a harder time mixing moister sweet quick bread recipes (versus drier sandwich bread dough). Therefore, after the first mixing cycle has fully stopped (and before the second & final mixing cycle has begun), I like to scrape the sides of the bread pan with a flexible silicon spatula (not a metal spatula). This loosens any flour that may be sticking to the sides of the bread pan (because a bread machine mixing “paddle” doesn’t quite reach the sides of the bread pan). For safety purposes, I do not scrape the sides of the bread pan when the mixing blade is moving. In addition, people should not stick their hands inside bread machines. Moreover, people should always wear oven mitts when dealing with a bread machine because the bread pan & bread machine interior can get quite hot.
• Nevertheless, ALWAYS follow the instructions included in the manufacturer’s manual for your specific bread machine in order to safely scrape the inside of your bread pan.

• Gingerbread is a type of sweet “quick bread”. Quick breads use baking soda and/or baking powder to rise quickly (versus using slower rising yeast which is often used for sandwich type breads). This rapid rise helps to creates a muffin-like quick bread (that is often eaten as a snack or dessert).
• Here is an interesting fact on why molasses is included in many American gingerbread recipes… According to Wikipedia, “Gingerbread came to the Americas with settlers from Europe. Molasses, which was less expensive than sugar, soon became a common ingredient and produced a softer cake.”

• Finding small white flour “clumps” in your gingerbread? This is caused if your bread machine is having a problem with mixing the flour in the “wetter” quick bread batter. Some people get around this issue by PREMIXING their ingredients. They will first mix all of the ingredients by hand in a mixing bowl and then add it to the bread machine bread pan (versus adding all of the ingredients to the bread pan and letting the bread machine mix everything). While this is an extra step, premixing the ingredients greatly reduces the potential for any unwanted small flour “clumps” and/or flour sticking to the sides of the finished gingerbread. Always remember to add the ingredients (or hand mixed batter) to the bread pan when the bread pan is out of the bread machine and the bread machine is unplugged.
• Another way to deal with flour “clumps” – You can use a fine mesh strainer or flour sifter to sift your flour (before mixing the flour with the wet ingredients). This “aerates” the flour and breaks up & screens out small flour lumps.
• Visitors – If you have any questions about this recipe, please ask BEFORE you make your bread machine gingerbread. This will save you from a possibly over or undercooked gingerbread. Post all questions in the comment box at the bottom of the page.

• Do not open the bread machine cover after the second/final mixing as you will disrupt the baking cycle. This can result in your gingerbread being undercooked.
• If you have a problem with a bread machine recipe, please make sure that you are following the recipe exactly. You will need to make sure that you are inputting the correct bread machine settings, using the exact ingredient measurements (i.e. don’t “eyeball” the measurements versus using a measuring cup), using the exact ingredients called for in the recipe (i.e. baking soda/powder versus yeast or all purpose flour versus bread flour), etc. Please don’t “wing” things with recipes unless you are willing to live with your experiments!
• My recipes are based on US ingredient measurements (i.e. US cups & tablespoons). However, as a courtesy to our European visitors, I have also included some very ROUGH European equivalents (i.e. grams & milliliters). Since I rarely use European measurements when baking, please let me know in the comment section below if any of the European ingredient measurements need to be changed (i.e. for XYZ ingredient, milliliters are more commonly used versus the grams information listed in the recipe).

• Always wear oven mitts/gloves when dealing with a bread machine. The bread pan and the rest of the bread machine can get very hot during the baking process. This means that the bread pan and bread machine is likely to be very hot when you attempt to remove a baked good from the bread machine and/or bread pan.
• Please read the instructions/manual included with your bread machine in order to use it safely and effectively. Recipe instructions & settings may differ slightly depending on the brand & model of bread machine utilized.
• If you are looking for additional bread machine “quick bread” recipes, please visit Bread Dad’s recipes for Bread Machine Banana Bread, Bread Machine Pumpkin Bread, Bread Machine Zucchini Bread, Bread Machine Cinnamon Bread, etc.
• Or you can visit Bread Dad’s main Quick Bread Recipes section for oven-baked quick bread recipes (i.e. blueberry quick bread and cranberry quick bread).
• For more easy bread machine recipes (i.e. white bread, pizza dough, banana bread, French bread, whole wheat bread, etc.), please visit Bread Dad’s main Bread Machine Recipes section.

If you liked this recipe, please leave a comment below & give us a 5 star rating. We LOVE to hear from people who have enjoyed our recipes!! Jump to comment section

Other Bread Dad Sections

• Bread Machines – My favorites
• Bread Machine Cookbooks
• Bread Mixes – Ingredient kits
• Bread Tools – Baguette pans, etc.
• Online Classes, Ingredients, etc.

Reference Sources

• Wikipedia, Bread Machine
• Wikipedia, Ginger
• Wikipedia, Gingerbread
• Wikipedia, Molasses
• Wikipedia, Quick Bread

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