Ask A San Francisco Expert: Tips For Building Gingerbread Houses

A San Francisco native, Earl Darny hails from a large family of six children. He has fond memories of growing up in the Castro, where his family would frequent different neighborhood bakeries for their everyday bread needs. A love of pastry was further sealed through lazy Sunday afternoons spent snacking on a pastry at one of the local coffee shops. Darny's early experiences, and modern-day lack of San Francisco neighborhood full-service bakeries, led him to the concept that drives Lotta's Bakery today. From his storefront on Polk St., Darny is devoted to connecting with the local community. The majority of his baked goods are based upon customers' frequent requests and include everything from cakes and pies to cookies and pastries. For over five years, Lotta's has created gingerbread houses for its loyal customers, finely crafted and benefiting from Darny's prior experience doing elaborate gingerbread house displays.

Darny believes patience is the number one most important success factor when constructing a gingerbread house. The process can be lengthy, and occasionally fraught with setbacks if construction does not go as planned. Make sure to allot plenty of time for both setting up the house, as well as for decorating.

Another key to building a successful gingerbread house is to begin with a template. Darny suggests making a template from thick paper, or even cardboard. Cut out the house's design and piece the parts together to create a mock-up. This will serve as a trial run and can help troubleshoot any missteps in the design, without having to sacrifice any parts.

A strong Royal Icing is the key component of a gingerbread house as it is the glue that holds everything together. Darny doesn't have a favorite icing recipe, but suggests locating a recipe online. Most contain a combination of powdered sugar and water, and either egg whites or meringue powder.

Darny believes the gingerbread recipe is not nearly as important as a lengthy baking and set time. He suggest home bakers can have success using any recipe from a reputable online source. The key, however, is to bake the gingerbread a bit longer, and then leave it to harden for a day or two. Letting the bread firm up for a few days will allow it to harden, and it will be more likely to hold up well during the construction process.

Darny's final suggestion is to make sure to buy more candy than you think you need. Between putting the final touches on the gingerbread house and in-process nibbling, there can never be too much candy on hand. One of his particular favorites for roof shingles is Necco Wafers. Darny has found these increasingly difficult to find in recent years, but suggests Walgreens as a consistent stocker. He also thinks hard, shiny candies make for some of the best patterns.