Boulder flatironsHigh-Altitude Baking: It's about
atmospheric pressure

Ris Keller aka @vanillagrrl

Hi, I am Ris Keller and I am here to talk with you about high-altitude baking, because it's really all about the atmospheric pressure!

It's simple!
The higher you get,
the thinner the atmosphere

As altitude increases, less atmosphere exerts pressure on your baked goods.

sea levelLess atmosphere means less atmospheric pressure

Atmospheric pressure affects the temperature at which water boils:187 F at 14,000 feet203 F at 5,000 feet212 F (100 C) at
0 feet (sea level)

Long's Peak187

212

Less atmosphere means less atmospheric pressure, and the lower the temperature at which water boils.

When water boils at lower temperatures, it evaporates faster, which can dry out cakes and breads at higher altitudes.

What does boiling water have to do with baking?

Lower atmospheric pressure means you need less leavening

Baking soda, baking powder, and yeast leaven cakes & breads by adding carbon dioxide.

Baking powder, baking soda, and yeast all leaven by creating carbon dioxide bubbles in the batter. When the batter is heated and sets, these bubbles create what is called the crumb. Lower atmospheric pressure and a lower boiling point mean less leavening is needed to lighten the batter before it sets.

Cake recipe adjustments
for high altitude (5,000 feet)

Reduce leavening by 1/2

Increase moisture

Reduce sugar

Increase baking temperature

Some basic cake recipe adjustments:Use half the leavening.Add more moisture. Increase the baking temperature by 25 degrees Fahrenheit.

Five ways to add moisture
to cake batter

Just add water! Or:Another egg

Milk (dairy/soy/nut)

Oil or butter

Applesauce

Because water boils earlier, your baked goods cook faster and earlier and can dry out. These are some things you can add to a recipe to keep it moist.

What happens if you don't adjust the recipe?

Here is a series of photos of cupcakes I baked here the other day without adjusting the recipe for high altitude. At 10 minutes, the cupcakes are already about to spill over the pan, and at 20 minutes they were overflowing. Although they tasted yummy, the cake crumb was open and crumbly; my daughter and I had to eat these over the sink.

Adjustments for sea-level
cake recipes at 5,000 feet

Reduce baking powder, baking soda by 1/2

Reduce sugar by 2-1/2 tablespoons per cup.

For each cup of liquid, add another 3 tablespoons of liquid (or an egg)

Add 2 tablespoons flour

Increase baking temperature by 15-25 degrees F.

From The High Altitude Cookbook, by Beverly Anderson Nemiro and Donna Miller Hamilton, 1969

Another joke?

What is the left side of a birthday cake?The side that's not eaten.

Why was the birthday cake as hard as a rock?Because it was marble cake!

"Doctor, I get heartburn every time I eat birthday cake."Next time, take off the candles."

Why did the birthday cake go to the doctor?Because it was feeling crumby!

Yeasted bread recipe adjustments for high altitude

Use 1/2 the yeast

Add more liquid for a wetter dough

Punch dough earlier
& more often, or let rise in a cool place

Baking Dos and Don'ts

Even without all these handy-dandy high-altitude guidelines, you can remember a few things that will help you bake great cakes and breads wherever
you go.

Sometimes it's important to know what to avoid when cooking. You don't have to learn everything the hard way!Overbeating egg whites can result in a fallen cake; instead, whip them to soft peaks. If they start looking lumpy, your batter could fall.

DO add more liquid!

If you do nothing else to adjust your recipe, add extra moisture to your batter.

DO beat egg whites to
soft peaks!

Good:
Soft peaks

Not so good: Overbeaten, clumpy, dry egg whites

This one is especially Important for folks who don't use leavenings like baking powder or soda, or yeast.Bring egg whites to room temperature before beating them.

DON'T let bread doughs
rise as long!

With less atmospheric pressure at higher altitudes, doughs rise higher and faster than they do at sea level.

Photo from http://twentytwopleasant.blogspot.com

Yeasted bread adjustments

Reduce yeast by 1/2

Add liquid

Punch down/knead
at least 2 times

Reduce baking temperature
by 25 F

NYT No-Knead Bread:
Great for high-altitude bakers

A New York Times* 2008 recipe features a simple, shaggy dough you bake in a hot Dutch oven. It yields a crackling, crusty loaf.

*http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/08/dining/081mrex.htmlor Google speedy no-knead bread

This is a great recipe, so easy. You can start a loaf of bread at 2 and it can be ready for dinner by 6 or 6:30, with virtually no time spent beyond folding the dough. The best part is taking it out of the oven and listening to the crust crackle.

Remember to adjust other recipes, too

Canning,
candy making, & deep-fat frying require temperature and/or time adjustments above 2,000 feet

Two muffins are baking in the oven. One says, Wow! Sure is hot in here!The second one says, Yikes! A talking muffin?!

What do I know about baking at high altitude?

My mom was a pastry chef at Caribou Ranch recording studio in Eldora, and she had to learn to bake cakes for really high rock stars (8,500 feet)

And what does it have to do with Elton John? My mom was a pastry chef at the Caribou Ranch recording studio in Eldora, near Nederland, and she had to learn to adapt recipes to work at 8,500 feet.

High-altitude cooking resources

Pie in the Sky, by Susan G. Purdy

Culinary School of the Rockies

Your local Cooperative Extension office

Go bake some cake!

To bake at 5,000 feet:Reduce leavening by 1/2

Increase moisture

Increase heat for cakes; decrease heat for breads

Links to slides and adaptation details: http://travelsinmybackyard.blogspot.com