AboutElyse Grau Expertise I can answer any questions about baking. The only thing I'm not too good at is baking pies, nor do I know much about high altitude baking.
Experience I have been baking for over 30 years. One of my hobbies is creating recipes, most of those for baked goods. I made my own wedding cake. Currently I prefer to bake healthier things. I use a lot of whole wheat and other whole grain flours, and prefer to use less sugar or sugar substitutes in my baking. I do a lot with fruit.
Question When I make Scottish baps they have always risen beautifully but the past 2 times have been terrible. All seemed well until I shaped the dough & put the baps on to the sheet. As the dough has its second rising, the dough took on a badly pitted appearance until they looked more like coral or the inside of an English muffin! As they baked, the tops never lost their pale colour. They came out very dense as well. This has never happened before. What's going on??
Answer Lesley:
I can't say I've ever seen the kind of reaction you seem to be describing, so I would just have to guess. It sounds a bit like it may just be rising too much. Perhaps you need to put them in the oven sooner. If they have risen too long, they will fall during the baking which could be causing the dense texture.
Do you have sugar in the dough? Maybe there is too much, which will cause the yeast to rise more. Is the dough wetter than usual? It really sounds like over-active yeast, that would cause the large holes that give it the appearance of an English muffin. where are you doing the rising? Perhaps it was too warm the last couple of times wherever you had the rolls.
