Rye and Buckwheat Honey French Spice Bread

This Pain d’épices (French for “Spice Bread”) is an iconic French bread associated with the city of Reims, and beloved all over France. It is sold in bakeries, grocery stores, and of course in every Christmas market around the country.

As per tradition, a real French Spice Bread should be made with only rye flour, and dark buckwheat honey as a sweetener (no sugar). You won’t find any butter in it, as it is indeed a bread – not a cake – far less sweet and much drier than its American cousin, the gingerbread. 

As a matter of fact, for the story, a Pain d’épices was originally a sourdough bread made without any added leavening; the flour and honey mixture would be left in a wooden vessel to rest in a cool place for months, during which the honeyed rye flour experienced fermentation. Modern versions of this spice bread now simply relies on baking powder for rising.

Because this is such a popular bread in France, you can find many takes and recipes for it. I myself have a tradition of baking at least one (usually two or three) loaves of it around Christmas time, and this is the recipe I have crafted and tweaked along the way. For me, it is a perfectly dense and just sweet enough spice bread.

It is just delicious on its own, cut in thin slices and enjoyed with foie gras, cheese or simply butter (remember, it is much drier than a cake, so treat it just like a bread). Or you can do what I did here, and serve it as a dessert with a simple sugar glaze – perfect for the Holidays!

Cooking note: 

• I opted for a round bundt cake loaf pan; as I wanted to serve it like a cake for a dessert. But to keep it traditional, you can use a rectangular loaf pan.

Rye and Buckwheat Honey French Spice Bread

Print Recipe

Serves: 1 bread Prep Time: 15 Minutes Cooking Time: 50 Minutes 50 Minutes

Nutrition facts: 200 calories 20 grams fat

Rating: 4.0/5

( 6 voted )

Ingredients

1 cup (340g) dark buckwheat honey
1 tsp vanilla extract
½ cup (125ml) milk (2%)
2 cups (250g) rye flour (or 1 cup wheat flour + 1 cup rye flour)
¾ tsp baking powder
2 eggs
1 pinch of salt
1 and ½ tsp (10.2g) ground cinnamon
1 and ½ tsp (7.5g) ground ginger
½ tsp (1.2g) ground nutmeg
½ tsp(3g) ground allspice
½ tsp (1.2g) ground cloves

Optional: for the glaze 
1 ½ cup (155g) icing sugar
1 ½ tbsp (22.5ml) water

Instructions

Preheat your oven to 350F (180C), with a rack in the middle.

In a sauce pan, warm up and dilute the honey and vanilla extract.

In a separate bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder and spices. Form a well in the middle and pour the warm honey in it. Mix with a wooden spoon.

Add in the eggs, one after another, and finally the milk. Mix until the milk is incorporated and the batter is smooth and shiny. Scrape the batter into a previously greased and floured pan (loaf pan, or circular). 

Bake for 50 minutes to 1 hour, or until a knife comes out clean.

Unmold the bread and transfer it to a cooling rack. 

Once the bread is at room temperature,  wrap it with a cloth (or with foil) and keep aside for 24h, minimum, before eating it (This step allows the moisture from the honey to develop). 

For the glaze (after the 24h) - In a small bowl, mix the icing sugar with the water to get a thick icing, quickly spread it at the top of the bread, and let it drip. Chill for at least 2 hours for the glaze to set.

(Older photo of this same spice bread recipe, with no glaze)

If you try this Rye and Buckwheat Honey French Spice Bread, let me know!  Leave a comment or share a photo on Instagram tagging @pardonyourfrench or using #pardonyourfrench. I’d love to see what you come up with.  

Bon Appétit!

A recipe inspired by Jujube en Cuisine, Cuisine d’Aubery and the book: le Tour de France Gourmand de Julie Andrieu