HI, Thinking about making a train, or maybe a barn with silo, but at any rate, wondering how to make a tube of gingerbread. I was thinking I could form the dough around a can, but then wondering if it would come off?
I've made curved gingerbread pieces many times before, but I just attempted to make an almost round item (actually an airstream trailer) and discovered just how powerful gravity is with gingerbread!
I made a frame for my trailer out of wire and then laid out a large piece of gingerbread right on the wire to cook (all sitting on top of a baking sheet). In fact, with my first attempt, I attached a flexible baking sheet to the wire frame. Either way (with the flexible sheet and with the wire alone), the gingerbread on the sides of the trailer broke off and sank down onto the cookie sheet (making rather yummy, thick globs of cookies).
It's possible that another recipe (I used the "Easy" recipe from this site) might be thick enough to handle a steep slope, but I haven't found it yet.
Here's what you CAN do though for a cylinder (like a train or silo): You can make 2 half-circle pieces and then "glue" them together. Color your royal icing with chocolate or use chocolate candy melts instead of icing and the seams will be almost invisible.
