3. Salvaging large pieces that have softened?
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Offline gwtwred

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Salvaging large pieces that have softened?
« on: October 31, 2021, 03:54:21 pm »
Help! I am relatively new at this, and I am two weeks into a fairly ambitious project, but I am running into all sorts of problems. Is there any way to salvage large pieces I already baked that have unfortunately started to soften? I used a plastic mold to create brick and hardwood textures on several of my side pieces, and I went through multiple attempts with the pieces losing definition during baking before I finally succeeded in getting them to look exactly the way I wanted to. I am now ready to assemble, but to my dismay, these pieces have all softened considerably since I baked them last week. What can I do? Can I put them back in the oven? I realized belatedly that I should have used corn syrup in my recipe instead of molasses, but I don't want to redo everything now and lose that perfect texture. What do you recommend?


Thank you in advance to anyone who can offer any suggestions!
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Offline GingerbreadByDesign

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Re: Salvaging large pieces that have softened?
« Reply #1 on: November 02, 2021, 01:14:43 pm »
I have been there and done that!  Fall damp weather can be so frustrating! 


I would do two things. 


1.  If possible, since the gingerbread pieces have absorbed moisture, put them back in the oven at a low temp (around 200F). Not to bake, but to dry them back out.  You don't want to "brown" them, but you do want to dry them and remove the moisture.


2.  Since I live in Oregon (think rainy PNW weather), I do this with EVERY wall and roof piece.... I spread a thick layer of royal icing on the inside of each wall and roof before building, or decorating the outside of the wall (pre-build).  Takes a little more time to build (having to wait for the inside royal icing to dry), but this provides a bit more strength than just gingerbread.


Hope this helps!
Loreta
« Last Edit: November 02, 2021, 01:20:00 pm by GingerbreadByDesign »
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Offline gwtwred

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Re: Salvaging large pieces that have softened?
« Reply #2 on: November 06, 2021, 04:04:07 pm »
Thank you so much! I ended up redoing all of it. 8) But I appreciate the suggestions!
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