A dense, spiced honey loaf that keeps for weeks, sliced thin and eaten with butter or with foie gras.
What makes it pain d'épices de dijon
A lot of honey — often more than flour by weight.
Anise, cinnamon, ginger and clove, with orange.
Dense and moist, made to keep.
Where it comes from
Spiced honey breads came to France in the Middle Ages, and the story often told is that crusaders or the Burgundian court brought them from further east. Reims made them first on a large scale, with rye flour.
Dijon's became the better known, usually made with wheat flour and egg yolk and sometimes glazed or filled with candied orange. The loaf firms and deepens in flavour as it sits.
How it varies
Pain d'épices de Reims
The older rival, made with rye flour.
Nonnettes
Small round cakes of the same dough filled with orange marmalade.