I have some help for you. With some very simple alterations you can bake as God intended, at sea level. Generally when baking, you'll start to notice a difference in how your baked goods turn out at about 3,000 ft above sea level. Then you'll start to notice an even greater difference around 7,000 ft in elevation, then again around 9,000-10,000 ft. Now I've got to make a little disclaimer. Cooking is more of an art than a science and many things can affect recipes. You may still have to make some minor adjustments on your own because I may be using different brands, and fresher or older ingredients. You may have to decrease by a little less or add by a little more. Also, crazy as it sounds. Mountain regions can also have their own little micro climates. So, what alterations work for me, may not work for someone over the next mountain. However, I'm going to give you some general guidelines to follow.
At higher elevations there are a lot of different things going on than at sea level. The air is dryer, and the higher up in elevation you go, the dryer the air will be. Moisture is going to evaporate more quickly the higher up you go. The higher the elevation, the lower the boiling point of water. When
water boils at lower temperatures, it takes longer for foods to cook in
or over water. The higher the elevation, the faster leavening gases expand. What might these effects look like? If you make no adjustments in recipes you'll notice your cakes, brownies, breads, those types of things will rise quickly and then fall in the middle. Cookies turn out like really thin hockey pucks. So what alterations do you need to do? There are 4 basic alterations you need to do.
1. Flour
You'll need to increase the amount of flour you use in your recipes. When you add flour to your recipes, it helps prevent your goods from rising too much or too quickly. Use the amount of flour called for in the recipe, then make the following adjustments:
3,000 ft add 1 tbsp flour
5,000 ft add 2 tbsp flour
7,000 ft add 3 tbsp flour
10,000 ft add 4 tbsp flour
2. Leavening (Baking Power/Baking Soda)
You'll need to decrease the amount of leavening you use in your recipes. When you decrease the amount of baking powder/baking soda, it helps prevent the the goods from rising too quickly. When the expansion is too fast, the goods will fall.
3,000 ft decrease leavening 1/8 tsp per tsp
5,000 ft decrease leavening 1/4 tsp per tsp
7,000 ft decrease leavening by 1/4-1/2 tsp per tsp
10,000ft decrease leavening by 1/2 tsp per tsp
3. Sugar
You'll need to decrease the amount of sugar you use in your recipes. The decrease in sugar will help the structure set.
3,000 ft decrease 1 tbsp per cup
5,000 ft decrease by 2 tbsp per cup
7,000 ft decrease by 3 tbsp per cup
10, 000 ft decrease by 4 tbsp per cup
4. Liquid
You'll need to increase the amount of liquid you use in your recipes. This will help make up for the extra moisture loss. I'm going to suggest adding one additional egg across the board for your recipes. It adds liquid as well as additional protein which helps make things set faster. If you find you need to add additional liquid, follow the guidelines below.
3,000 ft add 1 tbsp water
5,000 ft add 2 tbsp water
7,000 ft add 3 tbsp water
10,000 ft add 4 tbsp water
I have not found I need to alter the fat(butter/oils/shortening) content even when I'm baking at 9,000 ft. You'll probably find the higher up you go the less rising time for breads you need. Also, for yeast breads you'll want to let them rise twice, and only till double in size. You may want to try increasing your oven temperature by 15-25 degrees and decreasing your baking time, checking for doneness early. I have not found many recipes I actually need to do this to, even at 9,000 ft. I hope these general alterations help you while baking. They are based off of my own observations, tears of frustration, and dumping the really inedible stuff in the trash. I love cooking, if you love it as much as I do, don't let living at higher altitudes stop you. It's totally doable.
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