I guess I can see an advantage to this method. It would help keep the shape of the window a bit more with less spreading of the dough while baking. I personally cut the windows and doors out first and smooth the baked dough to a clean edge with a fine file or emery board.
Nov 20, 2008
When to cut out windows & doors by: Kelly
Typically, the windows and doors are cut out before baking, when you're cutting out the house pieces.
Some people bake sheets of softer gingerbread and then cut out all of the pieces (house shapes as well as holes for windows and doors) from the cooked sheet. Then, bake the individual pieces again until hard. I've never tried this approach but plan to try it soon.
Again though, MOST people using the recipes on this site cut everything out before baking.
