Tried and True High altitude recipes wanted

[sufficientforme]

I would appreciate any baking recipes for high altitude (little under 5000ft). I love to bake bread but very few of my recipes (came from sea level to here) have instructions for adjustment for high altitude. I have been somewhat successful with them by reading up on why they don't work, but would like a variety of proven recipes to choose from. Anyone?

 

[Wifezilla]

I am at 5500'. The ONLY thing that ever worked for me in adjusting my sea-level baking recipes was to add an extra egg.

That's it.

All the adjusting the baking soda, or reducing flour, blah blah blah never worked. Just plop in an extra egg and you should be good to go

 

[sufficientforme]

Well since I have 11 chickens that should not be a problem, I will try it! But what if the recipe doesn't call for eggs

 

[Zenbirder]

OK I am curious about this, what do they say is affected by altitude in bread making?
I am at 6000 feet and bake bread all the time, but my final tweaking of a recipe is always by sight and feel to get the moisture right, along with observation during baking times. I have to admit I never thought much about altitude with baking, just with canning. Does it really make much of a difference?

 

[sufficientforme]

Most recipes I have used for years seem dense, they rise wonderful then become heavy. I know there is a trick, I have just not mastered it yet. I would say yes it does make a difference, but I could not tell you the scientific reason why I too have noticed I have had to tweak the flour, but not sure what else I should do. I will try the egg suggestion also.
P.S. Have you posted your favorite bread recipe in the forum yet?

 

[Wifezilla]

I had several recipes I got from my mom. We lived in Wisconsin. I moved to Colorado when I was 19. I went from being someone who could bake to someone who couldn't bake a blessed thing. Part of it was I was used to a gas stove and then I ended up with a junkie electric one in my apartment. The other part was the altitude...things rising too much or too little...having to adjust liquids, etc...

I gave up baking for quite some time. Then one Christmas I decided to try to bake mom's zucchini bread recipe because I needed an inexpensive gift to give to clients. Not sure why, but I tried the extra egg. It worked like a charm.

Ya know, I can't think of a single recipe I got from mom that doesn't require at least 1 egg. Even my bread machine recipe has eggs.

Of course, now I am low carb and don't eat that stuff anymore, but the egg trick worked great.

 

[sufficientforme]

One of the recipes I whip up for a quick dinner bread is out of the Tightwad gazette II. I have made this more times than I can count, yet it seems so much heavier here.
Cuban Bread
5-6 cups all purpose flour (I substitute up to 2 cups whole wheat flour.)
2 tablespoons of active dry yeast
2 tablespoons of sugar
1 tablespoon of salt
2 cups of hot water (120-130 degrees)
1 tablespoon of poppy or sesame seeds

Mix 4 cups of flour with the yeast, sugar, and salt. Pour in water and beat 100 strokes or 3 minutes in a mixer. Stir in the remaining flour until the dough is no longer sticky. Knead 8 minutes, place dough in a greased bowl and cover with a damp towel. Let rise 15 minutes. Punch down, divide into two balls, place on a baking sheet, cut an x on top, brush with water and sprinkle with seeds. Place in a cold oven middle rack, and add a cake pan filled with hot water to the bottom rack. Heat oven to 400* and bake 40-50 until golden.
*if your food processor has a dough blade, you can avoid the hand kneading. Combine dry ingredients in the processor. As the machine is running drizzle in water intil the dough forms a ball and spin 20 times.

 

[Wifezilla]

If you switch the all purpose flour to bread flour, that might help.

 

[sufficientforme]

Thanks, I will try that also!