Gingerbread cakes were usually of artistic value and a favorite children’s treat. The cakes were baked in the form of fish, birds, names, and individual letters.
Gingerbread with inscriptions on it was especially precious. Carving a pattern on the board was quite hard, and making an inscription was still harder.
In the 18th and 19th centuries gingerbread was made of sour dough and unleavened dough.
Sour gingerbread was made of inoculated dough. It was more expensive and in demand among wealthy citizens. Dark-brown gingerbread, made of honey and molasses, was rich and sumptuous. Poor people usually made unleavened gingerbread, which was cheaper and easier to make.
Tula gingerbread was considered an expensive gift. According to folk beliefs, gingerbread had medicinal properties and helped treat diseases. These special kinds of gingerbread were baked on gingerbread boards with carved letters corresponding to the names of Archangels.
In the 19th century peasant gingerbread was squeezed out by factory-made gingerbread. Gradually gingerbread lost its ceremonial importance and became a simple kind of food.
Despite the confectionary field now being mostly automated, gingerbread is still made manually: art can not be turned into a mere product.