Bake a pryanik (gingerbread)

Don’t rush to the nearest supermarket for a pre-packaged souvenir, there’s a better idea: swing by Tula and bake your own pryanik in its place of origin!

Under the attentive supervision of the gingerbread fairies, you will be able to turn a piece of dough into a real work of gastronomic art: mold it, stuff it, put it in an oil form, slap it loudly on the table, place it on a baking sheet, bake it and cover it with icing.

And then - enjoy every bite of this delicacy with a special herbal tea in a cozy park of the Tula Kremlin...

How to make a pryanik?

🚗 Firstly, get to Tula by car, bus or train - depends on your starting point;

🗺 Find the Tula Kremlin, which is located in the center of the city, and in it - the Museum of the International Pryanik;

🗿Keep it together, don’t just buy up all the pryanik and sweets at once (you can do it afterwards) and sign up for a pryanik cooking workshop, which will be kindly conducted for you by experienced craftspeople;

🎂 After taking the baked pryanik out of the oven, get a cup of hot tea from the special herbal collection;

😋 Enjoying the pryanik, the tea and yourself, you did a great job!

A bit of history

The pryanik business in Tula is known from the records of the 17th century, although it is believed that our ancestors concerned themselves with the production of this delicacy much earlier. Pryaniks of all tastes were baked here: different in shape, additives, fillings, with various decorations and patterns, by which the master baker was recognized.

And one of Tula's merchants even built… a pryanik pavilion as early as the 20th century! Vasily Grechikhin, a merchant from a famous dynasty of entrepreneurs, became one of the most famous pryanik producers in Tula.

His sweets were sold in several cities of the Russian Empire and successfully exported abroad. They even received official recognition at international exhibitions.

In 1900, not too far from the Eiffel Tower, he built a place to sell pryaniks during the next worldwide exhibition. Word has it that this pavilion was made entirely of pryaniks.