Mysterious baking disasters....what's going on? Has something weird happened to ingredients?!

[sprigatito]

So every Christmas I make scones, lebkuchen and various other things for "afternoon tea" on Christmas Eve. I've used Mary Berry's scone recipe multiple times and it's always worked for me, the same lebkuchen recipe a few years running etc. This year it's just not working! And it's the same kind of weirdness - scones are coming out rounded and quite flat with deeply cracked tops, not like scones at all. I even tried a different recipe even though the Mary Berry one always worked before - exactly the same! Really bizarre. My lebkuchen the same - spreading a lot more than they should, and cracked instead of smooth on top.

Is it butter? Has something happened? Is the flour different? I'm completely flummoxed!

Oven not reaching correct temperature?

Maybe the seal on your oven needs replacing

I haven't noticed any issues, agree with PP that the oven could be the culprit.

Do you have an oven thermometer? You can get them quite cheap on Amazon. I had an oven that ran 10C under all the time. My Mum's oven ran 50C under!!

Stale baking powder
Oven malfunction
Atmospheric pressure
Cold breeze through a window

Do you use stork? The recipe has changed and it’s not inconceivable that are brands have also changed their recipe.

I think it's more likely to be something to do with your oven

I think a lot of cooking marge is now vegan and maybe that's it? Otherwise, if you are using butter, then it's probably an issue with your oven.

No, I only use butter. Was wondering whether something had changed with the butter composition...but consensus so far seems to be that it's my oven 😭 which I definitely can't afford to do anything about before Christmas. Arse.

Are you weighing the butter? Quite a lot of brands have reduced the pack size from 250g to 200g, which would make a difference if you were relying on pack size rather than weighing.

Yep, I always weigh the butter!

Baking powder and SR flour both lose their effectiveness - try a small batch with a new packet?

If you're using block butter it won't be that - there are only tiny changes allowed to butter (e.g. salt content) to still meet the legal description.

I think you've probably got a dud batch of flour or raising agent.
Or your oven is on the blink!

Oh god I hope it's the baking powder... I can't face Christmas with the oven on the blink!

Can you get a cheap oven thermometer for a few quid, and then if it's low, adjust the dial higher so it's the correct temperature inside? So if it's running 25C low, a 165C recipe actually needs 190C on the dial, and so on?

I mixed up baking powder and bicarbonate of soda recently because I bought a different type and the colour of the packet was different. Check in case you have done the same

Do you use Kirkland butter? This is the third post I've seen in three days across social media about peoples baking going wrong and lots of people saying it had happened to them too and they figured out it was the Kirkland butter because they've changed the recipe somehow and the op came back to say yes they did use Kirkland butter.

I Had the same problem, it was my oven door not shutting properly, I used a broom to wedge it shut as a temporary measure until I was able to replace it.

Could well be the oven, as we have solar I only really use my electric fan oven in the summer. I forgot DH had to replace a thermostat last year and this year was baffled as to why everything over-cooked. I stuck a thermometer in and checked the temperature for each setting on the dial, for 180° I have to set the dial to about 155° now. Do check with a thermometer.
If the door seal is playing up, you can possibly reduce the effect by going round it and pulling the seal out by hand so it isn't as flat and thus seals better when you shut the door (have also done this)