Ginger GableGingerbread cottage template
A cottage reads wide and low: this one is 8 inches across the front, 6 deep, with 3 1/2-inch walls and a gentle 35° roof. It takes about 2 1/2 lb of dough and prints on 5 sheets.
Side walls are two dough thicknesses shorter than the depth, so they fit between the front and back.
Your six pieces
The cottage, worked
- Front and back wall, cut 2: 8″ wide and 6 1/4″ to the peak: the 3 1/2″ wall plus 4″ × tan 35° (2 3/4″).
- Side wall, cut 2: 5 1/2″ by 3 1/2″: the 6″ depth minus two 1/4″ thicknesses.
- Roof panel, cut 2: 7″ by 5 3/8″. The low pitch makes the panels wide and the roof long over the front.
Dough: about 2 1/2 lb (1,180 g) at 1/4″. The wide front leaves room for a door and two windows.
Questions
What makes it a cottage and not a house?
Only proportions: a front wider than the house is deep, low walls and a low roof. The pieces are the same six.
Can I add a door and windows?
Cut them by hand from the front wall before baking. At 8″ wide, a door about 1 1/2″ wide leaves room for a window either side.
Can I make the cottage roof steeper?
Yes. Raise the roof pitch; at 45° this cottage's peak rises to 7 1/2″ and the roof panels get wider. The front and back walls redraw with it.