These traditional Scottish baps are soft, floury breakfast rolls with a beautiful light texture and golden crust. They’re especially lovely served fresh and warm with butter, and you don’t need to bake them all at once. Once proved, the unbaked baps can be frozen and baked straight from the freezer whenever you want fresh bread rolls.
INGREDIENTS
- 3 ½ cups all-purpose flour, plus extra for dusting
- 2 tsp salt
- 2 oz lard (about ¼ cup)
- 1 tbsp instant yeast
- 2 tsp sugar
- ⅔ cup warm water
- ⅔ cup warm milk
- Additional warm milk or water, as needed
- Water, for brushing
- Flour, for dusting
DIRECTIONS
Make the Dough
- Warm a large china or glass bowl by rinsing it with hot water, then dry it thoroughly.
- Sift the flour, salt, sugar and instant yeast into the warmed bowl. Add the lard and rub it into the flour with your fingertips until evenly distributed.
- Combine the water and milk and warm until just slightly warmer than skin temperature, approximately 99–100°F.
- Make a well in the centre of the flour mixture and pour in the warm liquid. Using one hand, bring everything together into a soft, sticky dough. If the dough feels too dry, add a little extra warm milk or water, 1 tablespoon at a time. The dough should be noticeably sticky.
Prove and Shape
- Scrape down the sides of the bowl and cover with plastic wrap or a towel. Leave in a warm place until the dough has approximately doubled in volume. This takes approximately 55–60 minutes, although the time will depend on the warmth of your room. I put the dough in the back seat of a warm car and it rose wonderfully.
- Turn the risen dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead for 4–5 minutes, until smooth and elastic.
- Divide the dough into 12 equal pieces, approximately 75 g each, and shape each piece into a round or oval bap. Pull the dough underneath as you shape it to create a smooth top.
- Lightly flour the baking trays. There is no need to grease them. Place the baps approximately 5 cm (2 in) apart and leave them uncovered in a warm place for 10–15 minutes, or until visibly risen. In a cooler environment this may take longer. Mine took approximately 25 minutes.
Prepare and Bake
- About 5 minutes before the baps have finished rising, preheat the oven to 425°F.
- Brush the tops of the baps lightly with water and dust with a little flour. Dip a finger into flour and press firmly into the centre of each bap, pushing down almost to the bottom. This creates the traditional indentation and helps prevent the tops from blistering.
- Bake on the middle shelf for 10–15 minutes, checking after 10 minutes. The baps are ready when golden on top and underneath and they sound hollow when tapped. Mine took 15 minutes.
- Serve fresh and warm with butter.
Freezing the Baps
- You don't need to bake all the baps at once. After the second rise, place any baps you want to freeze on lightly floured aluminium foil, wrap securely and freeze unbaked.
- Bake straight from frozen. Brush lightly with water and dust with flour before baking. The frozen baps will be too firm to make the centre indentation, but I found they baked beautifully without it. Bake for approximately 20–25 minutes, or until golden and cooked through.
Original Recipe
