Sugar High. Nicole Hampton
recipes for me. Again, the leavening is going to rise much faster here, so you’ll actually want to let the dough rise for less time than normal. It’s also common for folks to use cold water instead of warm, or to punch down the dough more frequently to help slow down the rise.
HIGH ALTITUDE AND YOUR RECIPES
Now that we have these basics out of the way, let’s get down to the recipes. Let’s
talk through how several types of recipes
are affected by altitude, and what you can do to make them work. You don’t have to experiment blindly; if you have the right tips and tricks in place, you can really make most recipes work. The next time you see a pretty cake on Pinterest, or some adorable dinner rolls shaped like bunnies, these tips will help
you give them a shot with confidence.
Before trying a new recipe, read through these tips and tricks to help make it successful the first time around. Keep in mind that the same things that work for cake recipes won’t do the trick for bread, and vice versa. Get settled in, I got you.
Quick breads, scones, and muffins:
These types of baked goods that aren’t super sweet, and also aren’t made using yeast, are usually fairly simple to make, but you should still keep some adaption tips in mind: • Of all types of baking recipes, quick breads are most important to avoid overmixing. Most of the time, unless indicated otherwise, you want the end batter or dough to still be lumpy.
• It’s important to achieve a golden-brown top for these baked goods. If you aren’t reaching it at the suggested oven temperature, increase it by 25°F, and decrease the baking time.
• Moisture can be an issue at altitude, particularly with muffins. Consider adding another 2 to 3 teaspoons of whatever liquid you are using in the batter, or of water. Another option is to add 1⁄4 cup of sour cream to a muffin recipe that yields 12 muffins.
Yeast breads: The first time that you make a perfect loaf of bread, or the perfect cinnamon rolls, it’s a truly joyous occasion. I’m talkin’ Champagne all around. Here are some tips and tricks for bread recipes: • Decrease your total rising time when working with yeast bread; you can even put the dough in the refrigerator to slow down the rising process.
• Pay close attention to the actual size of the dough (you’ll see cues in the recipes, for example, “…until doubled in size”) more than the rise time. Rising often happens
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HIGH-ALTITUDE BAKING TIPS
more quickly at altitude, so you want to watch it closely to ensure that the dough isn’t overproofed.
• Decrease your goal size for the dough. When a recipe calls for the dough to double in size, move on to the next step just before it has doubled. This helps avoid overproofing as well.
• Place a small pan half full of water on the bottom shelf of the oven while baking. This isn’t always needed, but it can help develop a sturdy crust on loaves of bread.
• Baking temperatures don’t usually need to be changed for bread, but on occasion the crust can form too early if the baking temperature is too high. If this happens, cover the bread with foil for the remaining baking time.
Cakes: If you’ve got a cake recipe that isn’t working for you, here are some things you can try to adjust: • Decrease the leavening agent in the recipe by 1⁄8 to 1⁄4teaspoon, depending on how much the recipe calls for. If it calls for less than a teaspoon, go for a 1⁄8teaspoonreduction. If it’s more than a teaspoon, go for a 1⁄4teaspoon reduction.
• Increase the baking temperature by 25°F, and bake it for a shorter amount of time—this is particularly helpful for cakes that are sinking.
• Add 1⁄4 to 1⁄2 cup extra flour to the recipe.• Take care not to overmix cake batters, especially when working with eggs. Over-beaten eggs can create those pesky large air pockets and contribute to too-fast rising.
• Grease your cake pans very well! Rumor has it that cake batters sticks more in high altitude. I prepare most of my cake pans with this mix: equal parts room-temperature shortening, canola oil, and flour. Beat the ingredients together until
completely smooth, and store the mixture in the fridge. When a recipe calls for greasing a pan, I spread a thin layer in the baking pan with a brush or paper towel before pouring in my batter or dough. If a recipe calls for greasing and flouring the pan, I add extra flour to the pan after greasing with this mixture, rotate the pan to coat it evenly, and then shake out the excess.
To unmold cake layers from pans, I always let the cake cool at least slightly in the pan. I run a clean butter knife around all the edges, and the cake should then tip right out. If you have issues with the cake sticking on the bottom, gently pry the cake around the edges with the knife to loosen.
Cookies:As I mentioned before, cookies are generally the least affected item when it comes to high-altitude adaptations. However, there are still some modifications to remember if you’re working with a cookie that isn’t turning out quite right: • It can be tough to find the right baking time for cookies. Most recipes give a range for baking times, mainly because you have to keep an eye on the cookies in those last few minutes to avoid under or overbaking. I suggest doing a test batch with only one or two cookies, which will help you figure out the right baking time in the oven.
• Many people worry about overmixing, and of course it’s important to avoid. But at your last stage of mixing, whenever the last set of ingredients go in, make sure you geteverything completely and properly incorporated, even if it seems like you are mixing for a long time. Otherwise, you’ll end up with an uneven batch of cookies that don’t turn out uniformly.
• I do still occasionally reduce the leavening agent in cookies to avoid a too-puffy cookie. Use the same tips as for cake here.
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HIGH-ALTITUDE BAKING TIPS
Bars: Bars can be a bit complex, even without the challenges of baking themat altitude. But adjusting for the right results is important.
• Getting the right balance between too wet and too dry for any bar recipe is important. If you try a recipe, and it’s too wet or won’t set in the oven, consider adding
1⁄4 cup flour and reducing the baking temperature. Remember to also increase the overall baking time.
• On the other hand, if a recipe is ending up dry and brittle, add 1 to 2 tablespoons of butter or oil, or another egg, to the recipe.
• Once again, you’ll need to pay close attention to the baking time in order to achieve a fully cooked center and to avoid overcooked edges.
GETTING IT RIGHT
I’d like to end this section with a few words of encouragement. Living near the mountains is fun for a million reasons, but baking just isn’t always one of them. What got me to a confident place in the kitchen, while living way up here at over five thousand feet above sea level, was finding a few basic recipes that worked, and sticking with them. (And, also, a few drinks here and there in the kitchen. It’s cool—sometimes I bake with alcohol, sometimes I just bake near it.) Seriously though, I hope this book gives you not just a few great basic recipes, but also a kitchen that smells of cinnamon, and brown sugar, and bread, and chocolate, pretty much all the time.
Happy baking—you got this!
Let’s