Novosibirsk Family Bakes Hundreds of Gingerbread Houses, Even a Khrushchyovka

Gingerbread houses are not the most traditional Christmas dish in Russia, but in recent years they have become quite established. And Novosibirsk residents have even developed this idea, «grounding» it in Siberian reality. Thus, in the Pereladov family«s home bakery, besides the now familiar bright gingerbread houses, a real panel Khrushchyovka (a type of Soviet-era apartment building) appeared with glowing caramel windows and sugar snow on the cornices. Once a year, the couple »builds« hundreds of gingerbread houses. More about their festive edible villages—in the material by Stas Sokolov.

Aleksei and Lida Pereladov are a quite ordinary couple for Novosibirsk. He works as a sales manager in a private company, she works in a government structure. They live in a new building on Bogdana Khmelnitskogo Street with a view of the forest. Magic comes to their home in December when the construction of gingerbread houses unfolds.

It all started with gingerbread cookies from IKEA. When the store first opened in Novosibirsk, they were a revelation for many: inexpensive, unusual, with a bright taste and a sense of holiday. The couple wanted to replicate the cookies themselves, and then they decided to make a house, just for themselves. It turned out beautifully, and Aleksei showed the photo to his work colleagues. Of course, someone else wanted something similar. Then another, a third, and after that orders started coming from Lida«s colleagues.

So for more than 10 years, the Pereladovs have been making Christmas houses from gingerbread. Calling it a business would be an exaggeration, although the houses, of course, cost money (regular ones for 1,500–2,300 rubles, or about $15–$23 at current rates). But there«s also a lot of hassle with them.

The entire «construction cycle» of one product takes four days. The gingerbread sheets must dry, as well as the glaze on them, then the houses need to be assembled, then the final decorations applied.

«Usually at first there are few orders, and we worry that there won»t be any. Then everyone wakes up, and we can barely cope,« admitted Aleksei Pereladov. »So we haven«t done any promotion. We have accounts on social networks, well, we also do mailings to our database.»

«Building» gingerbread houses has to be done on weekends and late evenings, or even nights, because the main job hasn«t been canceled. Senior management might already look askance at such entrepreneurship within the work collective.

This work is seasonal: except before the New Year, there is no need for gingerbread houses. And opening a permanently operating bakery (even a home one) with various desserts that would be in demand year-round, the Pereladovs do not plan for now.

At the same time, the gingerbread houses themselves can be different—from modest huts to three-story mansions. To be able to offer something inexpensive to customers for whom one and a half thousand rubles (about $15) is too high a price, «Pryan-zavod» mastered the production of mini-houses («domyats») for 400 rubles (about $4). This year, Aleksei said, they somehow got carried away and made enough of these little ones for a whole village.

«Since our small houses are the most ordered, this year we send 50 rubles from each one sold to the nonprofit »Diada +1«, which helps children with ASD (autism spectrum disorder) and their parents in organizing resource classes,» he added.

This year, the «model range» of the Pereladov family«s gingerbread houses has expanded: they have implemented a whole gingerbread Khrushchyovka.

«We ourselves lived in a panel building, it»s familiar to all of us. What are these fairy-tale houses to us,« Lida explained with a laugh.

«Now there»s a trend for Khrushchyovkas. I«ve seen construction sets, plywood lamps,» added Aleksei.

It seems, this «temporary housing» was criticized, but after living in new microdistricts—«human anthills», people begin to remember Khrushchyovkas with more warmth. Or perhaps it«s not about the »human anthills«, it»s just that for some it«s part of childhood.

The idea to build a panel building occurred to the home confectioners about eight years ago, but, as they say, they never got around to it—a non-standard product is better to try on yourself, and when it was time to start, their hands were already full.

As with any new house, there was enough trouble with the «Khrushch». But it turned out somehow warmer and more soulful than ordinary gingerbread houses. In it, everything is like in real Novosibirsk panel buildings: inscriptions on the walls (including those one wouldn«t want to see), icicles and snow on the canopies and balconies, and, of course, cats sitting in the windows.

Only one detail was missing. We ask the Pereladovs« little son to bring toy cars and place a jeep so that it almost drives into the entrance. Now everything is really like in life.

After the author of this material published the gingerbread Khrushchyovka in his Telegram channel, comments wrote that something similar had already been made in Novosibirsk. Indeed, several years ago the home bakery Podzu made something similar—there, however, it was a nine-story panel building. The Pereladovs admitted that they hadn«t seen it before, but they don»t claim exclusivity of the idea. Let it be such a Novosibirsk style of gingerbread houses.

Gingerbread houses, of course, are made for gifts and home decoration. But, actually, it«s a dessert—they are eaten. Moreover, the gingerbread cookies themselves turn out with a bright, rich taste and aren»t even particularly cloying. The windows« glass is also edible—it»s caramel. The most difficult thing is to start eating.

«One colleague started eating it in August, and even then only because during a move the house fell and broke. But generally we ourselves can»t tell by taste when the gingerbread for the house was made a year ago or last week,« said Lida Pereladova.

«I have mixed feelings about this. On one hand, it»s somehow a pity when they are eaten on the first day—we made it for four days. On the other hand, it«s food, it shouldn»t stand forever,« clarified Aleksei.

The Khrushchyovka, in principle, «Pryan-zavod» is also ready to make to order, but for some reason such orders haven«t come in yet. On social networks, people like its photos, but apparently not enough to pay 3,300 rubles (about $33) for such »cuteness«. Well, or so far, solvent lovers of Khrushchyovkas or just original desserts haven»t learned about this possibility.

But the Pereladovs are already thinking about a future project.

«We want to make something in the style of Tomsk wooden architecture,» told Aleksei.

Now the main thing is to find time for this new venture. The production capacity of «Pryan-zavod» is still limited by the family«s time and strength.

The gingerbread Khrushchyovka might someday become a traditional Novosibirsk dessert. But for now, lovers of all things old and good better turn to Stas Sokolov«s review. There is also the »Novosibirsk« cake, and eponymous cutlets, and a whole range of products that are associated with the city.