Paddy McGuinness explores the secrets of the Original BiscuitBakers factory in Shropshire to reveal how it makes 100,000festive gingerbread figures every week in the run-up toChristmas. And it's all hands on deck as he's joined in thefactory by co-presenter Cherry Healey. Together, they getstuck into the baking and icing, and following the productionof Santa and reindeer biscuits.The merriment begins outside atthe intake area with a delivery of the all-important groundginger, where Paddy meets managing director Gemma Williams.Then, with a sprinkle of Christmas magic, Paddy and Gemmaappear in the mixing area – hair nets on – ready to mix abatch of biscuits. Paddy learns that two types of sugar areused, demerara for a caramelised flavour and granulated sugarfor a neutral sweetness. Then, in goes a mix of vegetable oilscalled shortening, bicarbonate of soda to help the biscuitsrise a little and, of course, the ground ginger. They'refollowed by flour, golden syrup and water before being mixedtogether to create gingerbread dough.Gemma loads the dough intoa machine, transforming it into one-centimetre-thick sheets,ready to make the gingerbread shapes. Meanwhile, Paddy can'tresist wallowing in the Christmas joy of the factory, takingextra time to chat to the staff and even sign some autographs.Next, the sheets of dough travel through a special roller thattransforms them into Santa-shaped pieces. And after 25 minutesin the oven, Paddy is able to taste the fruits of hislabour.Now it's time to create the icing which will adorn allthe gingerbread figures. And for that, it's over to Cherry,who is helping to make sugar paste icing for Santa's redwaistcoat. Cherry meets Steph to learn how icing sugar,xanthan gum and sugar gum are mixed together, along with afood colouring called Christmas red, to create a firm paste.The icing is then rolled out and stamped into waistcoat-shapedpieces before being stuck onto Santa's biscuit body.Back withPaddy, he and Gemma are in the heart of the factory, the busyicing room, where Paddy gets a crash course in how to piperunny royal icing onto the Santa biscuits. With the eyes of thestaff on him, he's under pressure to create Santa's hands,eyes and eyebrows. He's never known stress like it, and itdoesn't help that Cherry is watching on too!Then it's Cherry'sturn to ice by hand the reindeer figures – she concedes sheshouldn't have mocked Paddy's attempt! Luckily, the factory'steam of highly skilled professionals make quick work ofdecorating their biscuits perfectly every time. Once the icinghas dried, every biscuit is packed, loaded into boxes andstacked onto pallets ready to leave the factory. Then it'soutside for Paddy to watch a lorry full of 100,000 gingerbreadfigures leave the factory, destined for the stockings ofwell-behaved biscuit lovers everywhere.Elsewhere in theepisode, Cherry learns how to make it snow indoors, visitinga ski centre in Milton Keynes, where a huge snow cannoncreates a winter wonderland. And she perfects the art ofChristmas present wrapping with the help of mathematician BobbySeagull. Meanwhile, historian Ruth Goodman settles in for aspecial message from history for peace on earth with Britishastronaut Helen Sharman.
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