UPDATE:
People are either screwing with me (though I asked people who don’t know one another so it’s highly unlikely) and they consistently say that they either never heard of that or that it should be 3-4 weeks maturation time. Primarily because honey and some spices have antibacterial features, so it doesn’t go bad
In: 1305
….what the…
okay, this is not a thing.
Do not “allow your gingerbread batter to ripen”.
It is not a fermentable thing. Gingerbread batter is not a lager or ale. It is not sourdough. It is not a wine. It is not kimchi. It is not sauerkraut. There are no lactic fermentation bacteria in gingerbread batter.
Ignore whoever told you this and make gingerbread the normal way.
And who the hell told you this?
This is not a thing. It’s not remotely a thing.
Whoever does this that you know? Don’t eat their food. ANY of their food. Ever.
Edit: yes, as pointed out in other comments, it’s a thing in [Lebkuchen](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lebkuchen), a traditional German Gingerbread recipe that is specific to Bavaria and other southern German regions. However, unless you specifically make a Lebkuchen-style gingerbread this is highly, HIGHLY inadvisable unless you follow specific fermentation protocols. Don’t just take your grandma’s [gingerbread](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gingerbread) recipe* and dump it in the fridge for a few months. That’s not a thing, should not be a thing, and is an invitation to food poisoning.
Chances are the person who told this to the OP had heard about Lebkuchen’s process and applied it incorrectly to gingerbread without understanding the difference between the two recipes, which brings us back to the original admonition of DO NOT FERMENT GINGERBREAD. You can age Lebkuchen all you want, but gingerbread? Oh hell no.
*unless it’s Lebkuchen and she taught you how to make it.
Second Edit: to be clear, Lebkuchen is NOT gingerbread. ***It is Lebkuchen***. You can look up Lebkuchen recipes and gingerbread recipes, and comprehend the difference between the two. Lebkuchen does not have fat or eggs in it; gingerbread has both.
I did a little reading about this, because I’ve not heard of it.
The main thing stopping it going bad appears to be simply that there’s a lot of sugar in the batter. For example [this recipe](https://tajemnicesmaku.pl/ciasto-na-piernik-staropolski-dojrzewajacy?lang=en) uses 750g honey & sugar to 1kg flour, plus a bit of milk and some eggs.
That’s enough sugar to make it hard for bacteria to grow, especially when you’re keeping it at a cool temperature. The spices may also help a little. (And it also seems like a fair dry batter – most of the liquid in that recipe is honey.) [Someone’s experiments](https://www.sambilton.com/maturing-gingerbread-pt1/) suggest there can be a bit of fermentation going on but just enough to add a little flavour.
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At this rate, with this many people going back and forth about this…I think your best bet is to make two batches and do them each one one way. Take one and follow what you said in another comment your mother told you to do. If you grew up eating her cookies, you want to emulate her for them to feel homey. Take the other batch, and just cook it straight away. Maybe nothing happens, maybe it goes to shit, maybe its a phenomenal secret. Cooking is fun. Just have fun with it.
Do you want to hear from a German who is a baker?
Christmas puddings (the traditional medieval/Victorian fruit cake that is extremely dense and usually contains alcohol and is lit on fire either on Christmas eve or day prior to serving) actually does need to be stored for several weeks if you’re using a traditional recipe that pre-dates refrigeration and so forth.
Never heard about this with gingerbread. Either you’re confused or your friend who told you this is.
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